Kyiv (Kiev)-based startup Petiole, whose mobile technology can perform plant leaf area measurements, has been ranked in the top 20 of the world’s hottest startups in 2015 by CNBC.
The plant leaf area is measured in less than one second. “This is 1,000 times faster than using graph paper and 100 times faster than scanning and processing leaf image in Photoshop,” the startup claims.
Beyond leaf measurements, Petiole has developed a recommendation system for precision agriculture. A data cloud service allows users to collect and process data, and shows dynamics of growth in an affordable manner.
Petiole thus helps researchers understand how a plant reacts to different factors (weather, growth promoters, etc.). “It is like a smart tracker for plant growth,” writes CNBC.
Great awards, but no visa
The solution emerged in 2014 when Viacheslav Bykov, a co-founder at Petiole, needed to measure the size of a chestnut leaf for his research.
Since 2014, Petiole has measured 2,500 plant leaves, and three research projects have been completed using this technology.
The next steps for Petiole are to quantify leaf greenness and make leaf disease diagnostics.
The startup has just launched its website. The team is now develop a user app version.
Petiole initially applied for Startup Open, a startup contest in the USA. Out of 800 applications, the jury selected 50 startups, of which CNBC named the best 20 startups.
The project was also selected to participate in the Founders Space incubation program in San Francisco. However, due to visa denial the team could not attend the program.
On November 28, Petiole participated in PioneersKyiv as one of eight pitching startups.
