USDA-NIFA

The aim of the project is to address the rise of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in agricultural technology. Many problems in the food, agriculture, and natural resources require workers to classify, segment, detect objects in images or signals. The first goal is to provide underserved students the necessary skills to deal with artificial intelligence through research projects combining computer science and agriculture. The second goal is to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills by providing students high impact learning practices: project based learning and research experiences where they can gather, analyze data, and publish their results. The rationales of the project are: Students in agriculture must develop computing skills to propose and create new innovative solutions requiring artificial intelligence techniques; Students in computer science must have domain specific knowledge and awareness to apply their skills in the Central Valley of California in relation to agriculture. The project will provide Undergraduate Research Experiences to underserved students with applications of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in agriculture for enhancing the leadership skills of students. These projects will integrate undergraduate students from computer science and agriculture to work in teams solving relevant problems. Learning activities include the creation of systems that perform the automatic classification and detection of fruits in the fields. This project will have a key impact in the Central Valley of California by providing skilled workers who are able to bring state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence and Big Data techniques in the agricultural field to improve harvest and resource management.