New digital “all-seeing eye” on the tractor to cut agriculture’s herbicide use by at least 40%

A new research and innovation project will give the tractor an all-seeing eye. Using cameras and artificial intelligence, it will ensure that farmers spray only where needed, and with the necessary quantities and products. This can significantly reduce agriculture’s chemical use, benefiting both biodiversity and the bottom line. Innovation Fund Denmark is investing DKK 8.3 million in the project.

The partners behind the OdinsAEye project are developing a “CropCareCam” that can easily be mounted on tractors and implements, collecting high-resolution images while the farmer is already in the field sowing, fertilising and tending the crop.

In Norse mythology, Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to gain unrivalled insight and overview. Today, Danish agriculture faces enormous pressure to reduce the use of chemicals and protect the environment—and there is a clear need for precisely that kind of overview. With the investment from Innovation Fund Denmark, the OdinsAEye project will equip the farmer’s existing machinery with intelligent cameras—modern versions of Odin’s ravens—that continuously monitor the field and provide the farmer with an unprecedented basis for decision-making.

Modern agriculture currently lacks the crucial digital link between what can actually be seen in the field and the machines that carry out the work. This often leads to spraying “just to be safe” across the entire field instead of only where the weeds or pests are.

“It is about knowing when not to act”

“OdinsAEye is not about removing the farmer from the decision-making process, but about equipping him or her to make the right choices before the season, throughout the season and after the season. We are building a system that tells you when to act—and, even more importantly, when you can safely refrain. If we can hit the mark with artificial intelligence and cameras on existing implements, we can reduce herbicide use by at least 40% without compromising the bottom line. That is a major step in the green transition of agriculture,” says Rasmus Nyholm Jørgensen, Senior Researcher at Aarhus University and project lead for OdinsAEye.

Technology that can withstand mud and busy seasons

More specifically, the partners are developing a “CropCareCam” that can easily be mounted on tractors and implements. These cameras collect high-resolution images while the farmer is already in the field sowing, fertilising and tending the crop. Advanced ‘Agentic AI’ (artificial intelligence) analyses the images in real time, recognises specific weed species and rapidly translates this complex knowledge into a simple, concrete spraying plan directly in the farmer’s existing systems, while also evaluating the effect after a treatment.

“Without the investment from Innovation Fund Denmark, it would not be possible to bring together researchers, tech start-ups, machinery developers and hands-on farmers to build this necessary bridge that finally closes the gap from observation to insight and rational action, as well as follow-up effect evaluation—the so-called ‘closed loop’,” says Rasmus Nyholm Jørgensen.

To ensure that the technology does not just work on a desk but also in mud and unpredictable weather, the solution is tested in real-world conditions from day one. Behind OdinsAEye is a strong consortium led by Aarhus University in close collaboration with the tech companies AI Lab, I-GIS, PerPlant and AG Precision, as well as the innovative farm Sigridshøj.