Several BSE professors and students are working on a new research project funded by a half million-dollar grant of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute to use drones and sensors to improve irrigation efficiency.
The drones are collecting data from sensors they're equipped with and from in-field sensors to inform a center pivot irrigation system. Using all of the technology together is a new approach.
Christopher Neale leads the project, which makes extensive use of the NU-AIRE laboratory. Wayne Woldt, who directs the laboratory, is also working on the project, along with Derek Heeren, Yufeng Ge, George Meyer and Joe Luck.
Postdoc Burdette Barker and graduate students Mitch Maguire and Sandeep Bhatti are contributing to the research.
Water for Food Global Institute has loaded a video and story about the project to youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S1hTfel_5Y&feature=youtu.be