Cognitive MDK-Simulator

Main articles:

• Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture (AIC)
• IT in the agro-industrial complex in the world
• IT in the agro-industrial complex of Russia

2021: Development of a simulator for unmanned agricultural equipment Cognitive MDK-Simulator

Cognitive Pilot, part of the Sber ecosystem, April 29, 2021 announced the development of a universal simulator for unmanned agricultural equipment Cognitive MDK-Simulator. It allows you to test the elements of the control system in a dynamic environment and monitor not only software, but also hardware modules (computing unit, wheel rotation sensor, sensors, etc.) in conditions as close as possible to real ones.

{{quote 'The results of the Cognitive Pilot team in organizing and conducting research and development allow the company to significantly reduce the time to create smart solutions, quickly introduce innovations into the work of agricultural farms, and as a result, occupy high positions not only in the Russian, but also in the foreign market segment.

Thus, the use of Cognitive MDK-Simulator will reduce the testing time of the control system by two or more times. It will also make it possible to save human resources by 15-20% and ultimately save up to hundreds of millions of rubles, "said Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank.}}

Harvesting machinery is used mainly only in summer and autumn, so the ability to test all autopilot systems and equipment in real conditions is limited. The developers of Cognitive Pilot were able to recreate in the format of the stand the work of the main elements of the control system of the smart combine, as it happens on a real machine.

With the advent of Cognitive MDK-Simulator, the company was able to conduct testing throughout the year. Cognitive Pilot has also been able to model operating modes in restricted areas. The need for such tools was especially acute among developers during the pandemic, when the possibility of testing in countries with which active work on agro-topics was carried out: the USA, Brazil, Argentina and others was excluded.

This is what the screen of the Cognitive MDK-Simulator monitor looks like

Cognitive MDK-Simulator is a stand consisting of operating elements of the combine control system. The video camera reads the scene played by the simulator. Then regular neural networks carry out its recognition. The Cognitive Agro Pilot computing unit transmits control signals to the CAN bus and they are worked out by the actuation system - software that receives this control and transmits it back to the simulator.

The "brain" of the combine (computing unit) is connected to the hydraulic control unit

The usual simulator, which is used by many developers of autonomous transport systems to test software control modules, allows you to check only traffic planning algorithms, and Cognitive MDK-Simulator makes it possible to identify all the flaws of the control system, including hardware modules.

The thing is, we use real iron. The real camera that looks at the display honestly gives control to the CAN bus, as it happens on a real combine. And if a breakdown occurs, for example, in the module responsible for issuing control for hydraulics, or there are any unobvious nuances with capturing the picture from the camera, then they will be detected not in the summer on the field, but immediately, in our test laboratory. With Cognitive MDK-Simulator, we got the opportunity to check all elements of the control system and can be sure that we will not have any hidden errors when everything is installed on a real machine, "says Yuri Minkin, head of the Cognitive Pilot unmanned vehicle development department.

To create a simulator, the hardware in the loop modeling method was used, which is used to develop and test complex transport systems.

We managed to assemble a good development team. Very young guys for whom self-realization is in the first place. They are charged with the result, for them the work is high. Do not wear or complain about difficulties, life without a weekend, tests in the fields in the dust and heat plus 50. That is why the guys manage to create breakthrough technologies that shape our future. With them, we can achieve the highest results, "said Olga Uskova, CEO of Cognitive Pilot.