Interest 

Peer Reviewed Publications

• Sapkota, R., & Karkee, M. (2025). Object detection with multimodal large vision-language models: An in-depth review.  Information Fusion, Elsevier (2025) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2025.103575 

• Sapkota, R., Roumeliotis, K. I., & Karkee, M. (2025). Ai agents vs. agentic ai: A conceptual taxonomy, applications and challenges.  Information Fusion, Elsevier (2025) 

• Sapkota, R., Flores-Calero, M., Qureshi, R., Badgujar, C., Nepal, U., Poulose, A., ... & Karkee, M. (2025). YOLO advances to its genesis: a decadal and comprehensive review of the You Only Look Once (YOLO) series. Artificial Intelligence Review, 58(9), 274.  DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-025-11253-3 

• Sapkota, R., Stenger, J., Ostlie, M. et al. Towards reducing chemical usage for weed control in agriculture using UAS imagery analysis and computer vision techniques. Sci Rep 13, 6548 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33042-0

• Sapkota, R., Ahmed, D., Churuvija, M., & Karkee, M. (2024). Immature green apple detection and sizing in commercial orchards using YOLOv8 and shape fitting techniques. IEEE Access, 12, 43436-43452. DOI:  10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3378261

• Sapkota, R., Ahmed, D., & Karkee, M. (2024). Comparing YOLOv8 and Mask R-CNN for instance segmentation in complex orchard environments. Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture, 13, 84-99.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiia.2024.07.001 

• You, A., Parayil, N., Krishna, J. G., Bhattarai, U., Sapkota, R., Ahmed, D., ... & Davidson, J. R. (2023). Semiautonomous precision pruning of upright fruiting offshoot orchard systems: An integrated approach. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, 30(4), 10-19.  DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2023.3309098 

• Churuvija, M., Sapkota, R., Ahmed, D., & Karkee, M. (2025). A pose-versatile imaging system for comprehensive 3D modeling of planar-canopy fruit trees for automated orchard operations. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 230, 109899.  DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2025.109899 

• Kshetri, S., Bhattarai, U., Paudel, A., Sapkota, R., Zhang, Q., & Karkee, M. (2024). Automated System for Continuous Green Shoot Thinning in Vineyards. Journal of the ASABE, 67(3), 729-741.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.13031/ja.15586  

• Ahmed, D., Sapkota, R., Churuvija, M., & Karkee, M. (2025). Estimating optimal crop-load for individual branches in apple tree canopies using YOLOv8. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 229, 109697.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2024.109697 

• Bhattarai, U., Sapkota, R., Kshetri, S., Mo, C., Whiting, M. D., Zhang, Q., & Karkee, M. (2025). A vision-based robotic system for precision pollination of apples. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 234, 110158.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2025.110158 

• American Society of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering ASABE 1-Minute Video Competition Fan's Favorite Award (2021) 

• Sustainability Top 100 of 2023, Nature Portfolio   ;  Article Link 

• Three-Minute Thesis Competition, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University (2024) Link 

• Annie and Marta Kegel Fellowship, Washington State University (2024)

•  Finalist, American Society of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering ASABE -  Ethics Essay Competition, 2024

• Sapkota, R., & Flores, J. (2021) Using UAV Imagery and Computer Vision to Support Site-Specific Weed Management in Corn [Abstract]. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT      Click here for link to the conference participation details     

• Bhattarai, U., Sapkota, R., Zhang, Q., Whiting, M., & Karkee, M. (2022) Prototype Robot for Crop Pollination in Commercial Orchards, CIGR World Congress, Kyoto, Japan  Click here for the details 

• Sapkota, R., Ahmed, D. , Churuvija, M., & Karkee, M. (2023) Green fruit detection and decision support system for robotic green fruit thinning. In ASABE Annual International Meeting, Omaha, Nebraska; American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers   Link to the  conference  participation  details  

• Sapkota, R., Ahmed, D. , S. R. Khanal, U. Bhattarai, C. Mo, M. Whiting & Karkee. M (2023) Robotic Pollination of Apples in Commercial Orchards. IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Detroit, Michigan, USA   Conference Abstract          &       Link to the conference  participation details 

• Sapkota, R., Ahmed, D., & Karkee, M. (2024) Comparing YOLOv8 and Mask R-CNN for object segmentation in complex orchard environments. In Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture Conference Workshop organized by Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.       Video  

• Sapkota, R., & Karkee, M. (2024) Partial Fruitlet Cutting of apples for robotic fruit thinning , Presenting in ICPA , Manhattan Kansas ; International Society of Precision Agriculture (July21-24)

• Sapkota, R., & Karkee, M. (2024) Synthetic Meets Authentic: Leveraging Text-to-Image Generated Datasets for Apple Detection in Orchard Environments (July 28-31)

• Sapkota, R., Ahmed, D. , Churuvija, M., Kshetri, S., & Karkee, M. (2024)  End-effector Techniques for Robotic Fruitlet Thinning in Commercial Orchards. Presenting in ASABE Annual International Meeting, California; American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (July 28-31)