Eyes in the sky, intelligence on the ground: Suind's AI-powered agricultural revolution

In the heart of Maharashtra's banana plantations, a farmer watches intently as a drone hovers above his crop, its sensors scanning for early signs of the devastating Black Sigatoka fungus. This isn't just any agricultural drone – it's a sophisticated machine that can detect diseases weeks before they become visible to the human eye. For the watching farmer, whose previous harvest required four rounds of chemical spraying, this technology has already cut his spraying frequency in half while improving his produce quality enough to command a 20% premium in the market.

This transformation comes from Suind, an Indo-Swiss agritech startup born in the research labs of ETH Zurich. Co-founders Kunal Shrivastava and Kevin Kleber, specialists in computer vision and drone AI, saw a persistent gap in agricultural innovation. "Agriculture is, like, in almost all cases, at the tail end of getting to take advantage of advanced tech," Shrivastava observes. "We wanted to change that."

Revolutionary technology at the core

What sets Suind's drones apart is the sophisticated computer vision-based autonomy system. "A small, lightweight camera system captures over 12 million data points per second, compared to a heavy and expensive LIDAR," Shrivastava explains. This approach not only makes the spraying drone the lightest in its category but also enables precise navigation in challenging terrains.

The system includes smart features like obstacle detection and avoidance, precision terrain following, dynamic battery management, which actively calculates return-journey power requirements and intelligent spray monitoring that triggers auto-return when the tank empties. "These small features make a big difference when it comes to smooth and safe operations," Shrivastava notes.

Combined with customised high-quality hardware, including a specialised spraying system, Suind’s drones have shown that they can reduce chemical usage by 60%, water usage by over 90% and costs by 50% while doubling the efficacy of the operation.

Beyond spraying: A data-driven revolution

Suind's true innovation lies in its comprehensive crop protection suite. Its analytics drone, equipped with multispectral sensors, creates detailed 3D maps of farms, distinguishing between crop and soil data through advanced machine learning algorithms. "We're building a system where you can effectively process different inputs and generate meaningful, actionable insights for farm managers," Shrivastava says. The system also helps farms track green cover, potentially qualifying them for carbon credits.

It integrates multiple data sources – from weather stations to soil sensors – creating actionable insights into the field's health and even facilitates the creation of prescription maps. Using these maps on Suind’s spraying drones reduces the chemical and water usage even further.

This precision approach shows remarkable promise, as it minimises the chemical usage to the bare minimum, by spraying exactly where it is needed. This has not only a positive effect on the environment and the farmers' pockets by reducing chemical usage, which is already significantly lower using Suind’s spraying drones, but also protects the soil from acidification and its microbiome. "We can modulate the spray rate based on where higher dosage is required and where lower dosage is required," Shrivastava explains. This ensures that the soil stays healthy and productive for the future. The environmental impact of this technology is substantial.

Building a system for the farmer

Understanding farmers' hesitation towards new technology, Suind takes a practical approach. "Farmers are entrepreneurs," Shrivastava explains. "They fear return on investment. But once they see it working in one cycle, they gain confidence."

The company offers a drone-as-a-service model to reduce upfront costs and suggests splitting farms for trials – implementing the system in one part while maintaining traditional methods in another. It is also working with government agricultural institutes to develop standard operating procedures, making the technology more accessible to farmers.

The Swiss advantage

Suind's journey has been significantly enhanced by its partnership with Swissnex. "They've helped us get connections with the right people, understand the local business culture, and connected us to investors," Shrivastava acknowledges. This support proved crucial during their seed funding round, where they raised Rs 5 crore. "As a founder, you need that kind of support where you can just call and discuss a problem."

With market entry planned for early 2025, Suind's vision extends beyond commercial success. "Five years from now," Shrivastava envisions, "I want Suind to be synonymous with crop protection. Just like opening Google Maps for navigation is second nature today, I want farms worldwide to think of the 'Suind method' for crop protection."

As climate change intensifies and agricultural land shrinks, Suind's technology offers a glimpse of farming's future – where precision, sustainability, and productivity go hand in hand. Back in Maharashtra's banana plantations, as another farmer sees his yield improve while using fewer chemicals, it's clear that this future isn't just taking flight – it's already landing.

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