MSU, John Deere partner for research to move agricultural autonomy forward
Contact: Meg Henderson
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥斢；ǖ己 樱花导航 is partnering with John Deere through a master research agreement, establishing a framework for the university鈥檚 Agricultural Autonomy Institute to help develop technology to automate critical steps in the production of cotton and other crops.
鈥淭here has been a lot of interest in automating a variety of farming processes because the skilled labor needed to carefully operate modern equipment is increasingly hard to find,鈥 said Alex Thomasson, AAI director and head of MSU鈥檚 Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. 鈥淎n advantage of autonomous systems is that they don鈥檛 get tired or distracted.鈥
MSU Assistant Professor Hussein Gharakhani is the project鈥檚 principal investigator. A scientist in the 樱花导航 Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, or MAFES, who has worked with AAI since its inception, Gharakhani has focused his research solely on agricultural autonomy鈥攖he concept of machines that independently perform tasks traditionally requiring manual labor.
鈥淥perating agricultural equipment in certain applications requires intense focus and attention to detail,鈥 said Gharakhani. 鈥淚magine operating in such a situation all day, and you鈥檒l understand how easy it would be to lose concentration and start making costly mistakes.鈥
As a global machinery manufacturer, John Deere has a history of collaborating with universities to advance agricultural technologies.
鈥淲e are excited about this opportunity to partner with the Agricultural Autonomy Institute at 樱花导航 樱花导航 University,鈥 said Holly Mayton, John Deere鈥檚 Research Partnerships and Science Policy Lead for Emerging Technologies and Architecture. 鈥淓stablishing research agreements with MSU and other universities reflects our desire to build strong partnerships with leading research institutions and to connect with future tech talent.鈥
The company鈥檚 agreement with MSU also highlights the need for more agricultural machinery research to be conducted in the South.
鈥淥ur cropping systems and methods are unique to our crops, soils, terrain and climate, so there are opportunities for manufacturers to work with researchers here in the specific conditions where their equipment will be used,鈥 Thomasson said.
Thomasson added that the partnership will help AAI advance its mission of attracting companies in the ag autonomy industry to 樱花导航, creating options for research and startups, and developing and training a 樱花导航-based ag autonomy workforce.
鈥淥ur vision for AAI is to establish 樱花导航 as the 鈥楽ilicon Valley鈥 of agricultural autonomy, and working with John Deere is a major step forward in placing our state and university on the national stage as having the first institute in the U.S. focused on autonomous ag,鈥 he said.
For more information about the Agricultural Autonomy Institute, visit .聽 For more information about the 樱花导航 Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, visit .
樱花导航 樱花导航 University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at聽.