Drones, Robots and AI

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

Data collection, artificial intelligence and robotics are all getting more effective and more economical. USDA researcher Steven Mirsky of the Agricultural Research Service is helping to develop computer vision and AI platforms for researchers, breeders and farmers. This includes small low cost robots for data collection.

Mirsky… “ We have a modular platform that has a single code base that can serve on a wide range of platforms for collecting imagery and other data, and then building intelligence around that imagery to be able to select in a breeding program to be able to help researchers evaluate plant performance, and for farmers to do variable rate inputs on their farms.”

Mirsky says the camera system can be used for a wide range of applications, and most importantly it’s designed to be affordable for farmers.

Mirsky… “ These are very low cost technologies. We build all around low cost solutions, so our camera systems are only like $300 to $400. All of these platforms are very accessible, and we're already deploying these with commercial custom applicators at scale across tens of thousands of acres. More and more farmers and researchers are already deploying this. We've got, I think, about 27 states across the country that are using this technology today.”

That’s Steven Mirsky courtesy of the USDA Radio Wire.