Daniel Ayuba

This PhD research project will investigate the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as robotics, computer vision and deep learning to aid in precision agriculture (PA). PA is slowly becoming the standard way for farms to remain competitive in the agricultural marketplace. It allows for higher yields at reduced cost by enabling farmers and other agricultural stakeholders to monitor the state of a field or crop. This monitoring comes in many forms, from built-in soil sensors to weather stations, satellites and, more recently, active robotic platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with multi-spectral sensors. The use of AI has also become key; as more and more data becomes available, standard human-driven analysis is slowly becoming unfeasible. The project will focus on leveraging AI technologies to develop key areas of research for PA, including crop health monitoring, soil quality estimation, as well as other key indicators of crop yield.