(KMAland) — Researchers have been collecting data for centuries, and now artificial intelligence can “learn” some of that information and use it for modern applications in agriculture.
Austin O'Brien is an associate professor of computer science at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. He says many universities use their own experimental crops or livestock herds as information sources, and it's time to really put all that research and data collection to use.
“So using drones to fly over different fields and take pictures and identify where there's crop damage or disease or pests or where the soil needs to be enriched and things like that,” O'Brien said. “That's the beginning of what we're doing, and then automating the process so that these machines can maybe do it themselves. I think that's the longer-term goal that we have with automation.”
O'Brien said researchers are also looking into the application of AI in animal production.
“The goal is to be able to identify disease as early as possible – to have pictures of the disease and other sensors like thermal temperature,” he says, “so we can prevent it from infecting animals before it spreads through the herd, or catch it sooner than it would normally.”
While AI may be a relatively new tool, keeping information safe is something Dakota State has been doing for years, O'Brien said.
“I think that's what we've been doing so far – along with artificial intelligence, trying to ensure that information and data protection, everything on the tractor, all the information going in and out of the tractor, is secure and that the controls are protected from anyone trying to hack into it,” O'Brien said. “It's another angle to it – if we want to help supply the AI, how is that data used by the AI and how do we protect the machinery from attack?”
O'Brien said AI can be used to improve precision in things like meeting nutritional requirements for livestock feed or spraying pesticides on fields.
