The Smart-Apply® Intelligent Spray Control System™ by Smart Guided® Systems has won the 2021 SIMA Gold Award for the category of Soils and Crops. The internationally renowned SIMA Innovation Awards honor the agricultural industry’s most innovative equipment, products, techniques and services. Originally launched in 1931, this year’s SIMA Innovation Awards were announced at SIMA’s press center in Paris on April 22.

The Smart-Apply® Intelligent Spray Control System™ adapts to any air blast sprayer and identifies canopy and foliage density with precision using LiDAR, then controls each nozzle individually with Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) to achieve accurate density-based spraying in real-time, while greatly reducing chemical use and environmental impacts.

Smart Guided Systems Founder and Chairman, Steve Booher, who received the coveted award remotely, commented: “To receive the ‘SIMA Innovation Award’ Gold Medal in the category of Soils and Crops is a tremendous honor for us. It gives us great pride that the agricultural industry recognizes Smart Guided Systems commitment to developing innovative high-tech solutions.”

During the ceremony, Frédéric Martin, Chairman of SIMA stated: “This LIDAR detection system, coupled with a nozzle-by-nozzle cut-off mechanism is a notable breakthrough. Without degrading the quality of spraying, Smart Apply opens the way to instantaneous and ultra-localized modulation, significantly reducing the volumes of pesticides and the environmental impact of applications. That’s the reason why this innovation particularly deserves this magnificent Gold award.”

The Smart-Apply® Intelligent Spray Control System™ was previously recognized with the 2020 ASABE AE-50 Award, the distinguished 2020 ASABE Davidson Prize, and the 2020 World Ag Expo Top-10 new product award.

Late 2020, John Deere entered into an allied distribution agreement with Smart Guided Systems to support the sale of Smart-Apply Intelligent Control System through John Deere Dealers in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.