CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 04/03/13

Technology to play key role in future of agriculture

By Clint Thompson

Remote-controlled helicopters, unmanned aircraft equipped with imaging sensors; welcome to the future of agriculture.

Farmers and technology experts from across the Southeast got a glimpse of the future last week at the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s Unmanned Systems in Agriculture Conference at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. Unmanned vehicle developers hope the new technologies will make farming more cost effective, and better for society and the environment.

“This unmanned aerial systems conference is really important because it’s highlighting existing technology, which can have immediate impact on agriculture,” said Joe West, assistant dean of the UGA Tifton Campus. “It’s demonstrating how unmanned aerial systems, which were developed with military applications, are transferring that technology over to agriculture where we’re essentially using those systems as platforms to carry technology to monitor crops and many other things; disease, drought, mineral deficiencies.”

Unmanned autonomous systems are becoming more common place as a tool for farmers, according to the Association of the Unmanned Vehicle Systems, also known as AUVSI.

Scientists are already using remote-controlled helicopters to detect diseases in farmers’ fields. Unmanned helicopters are also popular in Japan where more than 2,300 are used to spray rice fields and keep a close watch on the health of crops.

“Agriculture is very technology-oriented,” West said. “We’re very advanced from the science standpoint, technology standpoint, even business standpoint. It’s going to be another tool that lets us reach further, make decisions better and then respond quicker.”

One of the remote-controlled helicopters at the conference Thursday, the Aerobot 100, was designed to be used as an eye in the sky for the military, police or fire department. With a camera attached on its bottom, the Air Robot 100 allows its user to get a bird’s eye view of areas that are otherwise inaccessible.

For example, it would provide another set of eyes for the fire department to see how many people are trapped in a burning building. Producers who farm large fields could use the machine to inspect crops for insect or disease damage. Using the Air Robot 100 could help farmers identify an emerging insect or disease problems before it’s spotted by crop scouts.

“This is not specifically an agricultural UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) but it has a lot of potential. I think it’s representative of the class of UAVs that people who may come to this conference wouldn’t have known about,” said David Price, a senior research technologist with Georgia Tech. Price operated the Aerobot 100 with a remote control that also displayed video of what was being filmed.

More and more universities around the country are studying unmanned aerial vehicle technology in agriculture. Highlighted by AUVSI, Virginia Tech uses unmanned aerial vehicles to locate microbes in the atmosphere that could lead to plant diseases. The research conducted will be used to create an early warning system for pathogens.

As fewer people work on the farm, adopting these new technologies could play a key role in the success of farms everywhere.

“It makes our farms more efficient. It makes them more sustainable and environmentally friendly,” West said. “Change is difficult. Adopting new technologies is difficult, especially if you’re older and haven’t been exposed to technology as much …

“Adoption is more difficult. However, there’s one thing that makes adoption easy, and that’s if it makes money.”

Clint Thompson is an agriculture writer based in Tifton, Georgia.

Authors:
Clint Thompson
Experts/Sources:
Joe West
Onlookers watch as an Air Robot 100B, an unmanned device, is demonstrated Thursday afternoon at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. The demonstration was part of a two-day AUVSI Atlanta Chapter Unmanned Systems in Agriculture Conference. The Air Robot 100B, which is equipped with a video camera, is controlled by David Price (with controller), a senior research technologist at Georgia Tech. It is is designed to aid the military, police or fire department, by reaching a certain height and looking down on something.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
Nathan Tesfayi on the roof of the Geography Geology building. CAES News
NASA internship launches student’s exploration of novel solutions to water and climate issues 11/07/24 Cole Sosebee
Nathan Tesfayi’s story is about resilience and big ambitions. Born in State College, Pennsylvania, to Ethiopian parents, his life journey has taken him from studies at the University of Georgia to research with NASA and more.
Combining data collection and analysis with plant pathology, precision agriculture and robotics, the UGA team will build a photographic library of the foliar symptoms caused by onion diseases and other physiological disorders, feed them into the AI software, and use machine learning to identify the diseases based on pattern and color recognition from the images. CAES News
UGA uses AI, robotics to improve Georgia’s Vidalia sweet onion crop 10/23/24 Jordan Powers
A multidisciplinary team of UGA researchers aims to enhance the competitiveness of Vidalia onion growers in Georgia by providing them with the ability to confidently detect onion diseases early, enabling them to make management decisions on their crop at a critical time. These abilities, researchers say, should result in increased yield and quality of marketable onions and an overall increase in efficiency and productivity.
Helenedamage web CAES News
Hurricane Helene: Preliminary damage assessment on Georgia agriculture and forestry industry 10/10/24 Claire Sanders Kinnard, Matthew Agvent
Today, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, in coordination with Governor Brian P. Kemp, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Georgia Forestry Commission, announced the preliminary estimate of Hurricane Helene’s economic impact on Georgia agriculture is $6.46 billion. This figure represents the sum of direct crop losses, losses to businesses that support agriculture and forestry, losses to workers in those related industries, and estimated recovery and restoration costs that agricultural businesses will face.
heavily infestedToH web CAES News
CAES combats invasive spotted lanternfly threatening U.S. farms and vineyards 09/24/24 Jordan Powers
The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), an invasive insect pest that first arrived in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to 16 additional states in the Eastern U.S., has state governments urging residents to be on the lookout and to use caution when moving firewood. The insect’s preference for feeding on the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) — another invasive species — has led to significant pest reservoirs, affecting vineyards and other agricultural sectors, including hardwoods and other ornamental and fruiting trees.
Most of Georgia’s vegetable crops are grown in the southern part of the state, which, similar to California, faces drought risks. However, as the climate warms, the area is expected to receive slightly more rainfall than usual, according to CAES economist Jeff Mullen. If vegetable production in California decreases and prices rise elsewhere, Southeast producers may consider shifting from row crop to vegetable production. CAES News
Georgia vegetable production may expand as a result of climate change 09/17/24 Maria M. Lameiras
Changing weather patterns are influencing cropping systems and where certain crops can be successfully grown. Researchers in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences recently published a study in the journal Sustainability examining the feasibility of expanding fresh vegetable production in Georgia as increased temperatures and more frequent and extreme droughts threaten producers in the Western United States.
SoilMoistureSensorTech CAES News
UGA Extension program helps farmers adopt sustainable irrigation methods 07/25/24 Emily Cabrera
Georgia's leading industry is agriculture, which relies significantly on irrigation — approximately half of the state's cropland is irrigated. For most farmers operating on razor-thin profit margins, irrigation is essential as insurance against drought and extended dry periods. In a concerted effort to address water conservation in agriculture, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Ag Water Team helps farmers adopt water-saving practices that boost yields, lower production costs and conserve water for future generations.