Russia is claiming the first standard production artificial intelligence powered combine harvesters will come to market this month. Autonomous driving technology specialist, Cognitive Pilot, and Bryanskselmash, agricultural equipment manufacturer, have agreed fit automated drive technology to series produced harvesters rolling off the production line from the end of April 2021. The partners plan to expand joint marketing and other activities that will increase the attractiveness of the solution and expand its geographical reach. In another venture, Cognitive Pilot and Rosagroleasing, Russia's largest state-owned agricultural leasing company, have announced first contracts for AI-based agricultural equipment. This will make equipment available to domestic agricultural enterprises, seeking to improve efficiency, including both medium-size and small-size enterprises.

Russia: Cognitive Agro Pilot, an autonomous AI-based driving system for farming equipment which was designed by Sber and its ecosystem member Cognitive Pilot – has succeeded in industrial use across 35 regions of Russia when reaping the 2020 harvest. From June to October 2020, over 350 New Holland, John Deere and CLAAS autonomous combines equipped with Cognitive Agro Pilot system farmed over 160,000 hectares of field and harvested more than 720,000 tonnes of crops. With the help of Cognitive Agro Pilot as many as 590,000 metric tonnes of grain crops such as wheat, soybeans, barley, oats, sorghum, buckwheat, among others, were harvested over 130,000 hectares, and some 130,000 metric tonnes of row crops and roll crops (corn, sunflower, etc.) were harvested over 30,000 hectares in Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kursk, Belgorod, Tambov, Penza, Rostov, Tomsk, Kurgan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk and Stavropol regions. Thanks to the use of Cognitive Agro Pilot, this harvesting season stakeholders were able to save – on fuel and other related materials, shorter harvesting time (machine hours), equipment depreciation, extended active use of equipment before capital expenditures, fewer human errors, optimisation of business processes, and other parameters. According to the estimates of project members, in the next three years, every 10th harvester in Russia may become autonomous.

Cognitive Pilot, an autonomous driving technology joint venture between Russia's Sberbank and Cognitive Technologies Group, signed a deal for the development of an AI-based computer vision system for urban trams. Jack Wu, CEO of Fitsco, says an AI-based solution can increase safety and efficiency of public transport: "The new technology will reduce the number of transport accidents in the city and will minimise their dependence on the human factor." The deal involves R&D, testing and commercialisation. "The implementation of all stages will be facilitated with all the ongoing projects," says Olga Uskova, CEO of Cognitive Pilot. "The result of the project's first stages will be the development of AI-based advanced driver assistance system. During all the upcoming tests, the tram operator will still be in the cab, but he will act as a safety controller".