URBANA, Ill. (WAND) — Researchers and policymakers joined Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and the ITI Institute to discuss work being done at the University of Illinois's Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA) and Artificial Intelligence for Future Agricultural Resilience, Management, and Sustainability Institute (AIFARMS) to transform the world of agriculture.
Students at U of I have helped create robots that use AI to streamline farming and increase sustainability and productivity.
The machines developed by the CDA will use AI to differentiate between plants and weeds, and automatically remove weeds from the ground.Â
Dr. John Reid, Executive Director of the CDA, said that the current version is just a prototype, but that they plan on having proof of concept with in two years.
"We're really excited about the idea of how do we scale these technologies down to help farmers on small to medium enterprises," says Dr. Reid.
Dr. Reid has big hopes for the future, and sees AI revolutionizing agriculture.
He stated, "With AI, I think we're going to be able to the next level of precision getting down to the plants, what's happening around the plants needs. Then it also will find its way through the machine. 'How do you optimize the system?'"
However, the price of innovation is steep. Research was completed in collaboration with The National Science Foundation and the USDA. However, the USDA does not have a renewal process for AIFARMS. AIFARMS is looking towards other funding opportunities, including federal opportunities.
Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski said she is working on including agriculture innovation and education on the updated Farm Bill.
"Agricultural research and investment is critically important for our federal government. And when we're talking about getting a farm bill done, I think including incentivizing and increasing our amount of agricultural research supports not just the University of Illinois, but all of our farmers in central and southern Illinois," said Budzinski.
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