Innovation soars with AT&T 5G at Texas A&M, RELLIS: Precision Agriculture

As an educator and tech strategist, I have the privilege of working with many of the world’s leading technology companies.?AT&T Business, the sponsor of this post, is one. I recently had the privilege of visiting Texas A&M RELLIS as their guest to see first-hand the 5G-related research and innovation at the school. The opinions expressed in this post may or may not reflect the views of any company I work with. My goal is to make technology more accessible and beneficial for all.

"Aggies" take smart farming to new heights with AT&T 5G

Students at Texas A&M are often referred to as "Aggies", recognizing the University's legacy as a land-grant academic institution with a specific mandate to advance research and study in the field of agriculture.

Though more than half of the school's students now major in engineering, agriculture remains an important part of the school's heritage and academic excellence. An "Aggie" is an abbreviation for agriculture and the nickname stuck - along with the school's reputation for excellence in the field of agriculture.

Today, a high-tech "research testbed" at Texas A&M, RELLIS, powered by an AT&T 5G network, is helping students and faculty at the University bring new innovations to agriculture, making it more precise, efficient, and profitable. The use of high-tech in agriculture is often called "smart farming" or precision agriculture. 5G accelerates and scales the use of new technologies in agriculture.

5G Precision Agriculture with Drones

RELLIS' 5G "research testbed" using an AT&T 5G network is, according the school, unique because of its "combination of lower latency (fast speed of data transmission), massive connectivity (capacity to connect and communicate with many devices at once), and speed (time it takes to upload or download data)."

Determined to bring new innovations to agriculture using its AT&T 5G network, RELLIS is advancing a host of new use cases for AI-embedded 5G drones.

What makes 5G drones so special?

5G empowers drones with near real-time data exchange, letting farmers know what is happening with their crops and livestock with great precision, in terms of timing, location, and detail. Drones using cameras embedded with artificial intelligence (AI) can automate analysis of important details of agribusiness, from assessing the health of a particular animal with the use of thermo-imaging, to the precise and early detection of a diseased crop based on subtle cues that might be missed by human visual inspections, allowing more timely and efficient corrective measures.

Once a 5G drone detects a problem, that information can be nearly instantly communicated to commence automated corrective measures.

In the case of livestock discovered to be feverish, alerts could be provided so that a veterinarian could be dispatched to examine the feverish livestock and possibly inoculate other nearby animals. Early and precise detection of livestock sickness can have enormous benefits by stopping the spread of any healthcare conditions and providing a remedy to any ill livestock.

If there is a detection of a crop infestation or infection, another 5G drone could be dispatched for the precision application of essential herbicides and pesticides. As with livestock, the early detection of problems with crops can provide enormous savings limiting the scope of the problem by the early commencement of corrective measures and by the ability to minimize the amount of herbicides and pesticides used by spraying only where problems are identified.

Students and faculty at Texas A&M are also working on other smart farming innovations that put the power of 5G to work to automate other equipment and farming operations to reduce labor needs and improve agribusiness success.

5G drones and cameras aid in disaster response and recovery in agriculture

When a natural disaster strikes, 5G drones and cameras, embedded with AI are called into action to assess the impact on farm crops and livestock, to determine the damage, and to prioritize emergency response. 5G drones can quickly survey large areas and provide detailed information in near real-time so that emergency response measures are as efficient and effective as possible. Data obtained in near real-time from 5G drones would, for example, be used by veterinarians "to inform the triage and treatment of livestock."

Innovation in agriculture is soaring to new heights at Texas A&M RELLIS with AT&T's 5G network through the imagination, design, and testing by students, faculty, and government and enterprise collaborations.

References

5G Research Testbed at RELLIS Opens for Business of Innovation

AT&T and Texas A&M to Launch Private 5G Test Beds

RELLIS: Drones and UAS Submissions

5G Research Testbed at RELLIS Opens for Business of Innovation

Texas A&M AgriLife Research Targets Feverish Cows with Drones