Student receives grant for AI project in agricultural technology

Bulgarian master's student Simeon Dimov from Fontys ICT has received a €124,000 MIT grant for his start-up Synthgen. The grant supports an innovative AI project that uses synthetic data to make agricultural robots smarter at recognizing crops and weeds. The project was developed in collaboration with the Venlo-based company Luxeed Robotics and contributes to the further development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Netherlands.

The collaboration between Synthgen and Luxeed Robotics arose during a networking event, where both companies exchanged ideas. Together, they investigated how artificially generated images (synthetic data) can expand and improve agricultural datasets. These images mimic real plants and weeds, enabling AI models to better distinguish between different crops.

The result: a larger and more accurate dataset that can be used by agricultural robots. This enables these robots to better distinguish between crops and non-crops, which increases efficiency in agriculture.

From Fontys student to AI entrepreneur

During his bachelor's degree in ICT at Fontys, Simeon founded the company Synthgen together with fellow student Martin Tomov. Their fascination with synthetic data grew during their studies. In the Master's program in Applied IT, Simeon continued this research and worked on practical applications of this technology.

The award of the grant means that Simeon can focus entirely on further developing the creation, validation, and labeling of images, as well as the entire technology behind it. “This is a big step forward in the Netherlands,” says Simeon Dimov. “Synthetic data is still a young technology, but it has enormous potential. In the future, we will be able to use this technique in all kinds of sectors, such as healthcare, construction, industry, and infrastructure.”