Young scientists of BSHA are working on a project to digitalize monitoring of reclamation channels

Head of the Department of Rural Construction and Development of the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy Ilya Romanov and Associate Professor of this department Olesya Tishkovich work on their scientific project not only in offices, but also in the field. In order to remotely assess the technical condition of reclamation channels in the future, it is now necessary to collect as much data as possible with a visit to the site. The scale is impressive - more than 160 thousand kilometers. The requirement of the Head of State is the maximum return of reclaimed lands to agricultural circulation and their effective use. And this requires rapid monitoring, and the best solution is digitalization.

Soil drill, level, laptop and camera. Having changed their business style to workwear, Ilya Romanov and Olesya Tishkovich get into the car and go to the fields. The task is to compare the satellite image with the real state of the object: overgrown vegetation, water level, siltation, deformation of slopes and not only. The informativeness of the satellite image is minimal due to low resolution: a narrow channel occupies only a part of the pixel, mixing in color with the shores. The idea of young scientists is to learn by yourself, and then train artificial intelligence to decipher multispectral images. Ilya Romanov demonstrates satellite imagery of the channel we came to monitor:

- Each material has its own reaction to light, a unique passport. Green grass, concrete, water reflect light differently depending on the spectrum. The satellite takes photos in different colors, and the computer compares their brightness by formula and gives a number, which is called the spectral index. We come to the site to describe in detail each numerical value that it corresponds to - water, overgrown bottom, dry concrete walls.

Belarus has 2.8 million hectares of reclaimed land, and their effective use is a question of yield and growth of agricultural exports. Young scientist Ilya Romanov emphasizes that thanks to the colossal state support, Belarus is the only country in the post-Soviet space that has fully preserved the reclamation complex

- The President sets a task to carry out a large-scale reconstruction of reclamation systems and return all unused land to agricultural circulation, so that each hectare would benefit. About 4 billion rubles are allocated for these purposes within the framework of the state program “AIC of the Future”. Digitalization of monitoring of reclamation channels in the future will automate control over their condition, promptly identify defects and plan repairs with minimal costs.

Working in tandem with Ilya Romanov, the teacher of the department Olesya Tishkovich is a candidate of agricultural sciences, her element is soil. In her thesis, she proposed a methodology for the economic assessment of soil damage as a result of the development of water erosion using satellite monitoring. About seven percent of arable land in the republic is subject to destruction by water, which affects yields, and land reclamation could become a “medicine”. Therefore, soil analysis is included in the database, which is replenished with each field trip. Only thanks to a large accumulation of accurate data in the future, they will be able to train artificial intelligence to accurately recognize problems using reference examples, Olesya explains:

- This topic is new for our country, so I actively promote it at scientific conferences. The scientist should set the vector of strategic development and form the groundwork for breakthrough ideas. The President always emphasizes that there can be no country without science, the competitiveness of the economy and the strengthening of the sovereignty of Belarus depend on the effectiveness of the implementation of scientific potential. But his demand for us, scientists, is quite right – we need results and a rapid transfer of technologies to the real sector.

According to the scientists, the computer program they created is quite simple, since it is just a prototype. First, you need to prove the practical utility of your development in order to receive a state grant to improve the digitalization project.

The head of the department says that last year two new scientific laboratories were opened at the reclamation and construction faculty at the training and practical center for environmental management and construction, and two more were equipped from the new academic year. The faculty has more than a century of history, it is the ancestor of domestic reclamation education.

- A competition has grown for our faculty, which is associated with a large-scale state program for the restoration and reconstruction of reclamation systems, adds Ilya Romanov. Applicants see guaranteed distribution, stable work and demand for the profession. The main task of university teachers is to form flexible competencies, practical experience with advanced technologies and the desire to be useful to their country.

kukshinskaya@sb.by