New AI lets farmers train weed recognition in real time
Czech startup Skymaps has today launched Zoneye, an AI model that allows farmers to train the system to recognize weeds unique to their region. Trained to recognize 37 common weed species, Zoneye pinpoints their exact location in the field using drone images. Integrated into the company’s CultiWise prescription-map platform, the tool enables growers to cut input costs by up to 50 percent while boosting yields by up to 20 percent.
Trained on millions of drone-captured images of crops and weeds, Zoneye can identify, within minutes, all common weeds such as thistle, mayweed and ragweed among major crops including corn, winter wheat, soybean, sugar beet, sunflower, rapeseed, potatoes, and onions. Farmers upload their own drone images to the cloud-based software, which delivers results in minutes.
Zoneye is available worldwide to CultiWise subscribers and costs 5-20 euros per hectare. Optional CultiWise drones start at 4,200 euros.
“Farmers have repeatedly stressed the importance of knowing precisely where the weeds are at the plant level so they can tackle these annoying field invaders more effectively while using fewer inputs and reducing environmental impact,” said Kornel Cziria, Chief Technology Officer at Skymaps.
“After more than 500,000 man-hours of development and testing, we are bringing Zoneye to their fields. It is extremely satisfying to achieve this centimeter-level accuracy,” adds Cziria.
How Zoneye works in practice
Farmers capture field images using drones with RGB cameras —flying at heights of 40 to 120 meters, depending on weed size—and upload them to the CultiWise platform. The system processes images through a proprietary AI model trained on millions of drone photos. Within minutes, CultiWise generates precise prescription maps detailing the location, density, and species of weeds, enabling the farmer to decide the exact amount of herbicide required for each area. These maps are exported directly to machinery terminals, guiding sprayers to apply herbicides only to weed-infested areas