AGRI-SWARM: ENABLING LOW-COST AUTONOMOUS AGRICULTURAL UAV SWARM FOR CROP MONITORING

• Sponsoring Institution: Agricultural Research Service/USDA
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: USDA COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0446554
• Project Start Date: Aug 15, 2024
• Project End Date: Aug 15, 2028
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
University of Texas at Tyler
3900 University Blvd.
Tyler,TX 75799-0001

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
(N/A)

Animal Health Component

60%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

60%

Developmental

0%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
402	2300	1140	20%
402	5310	2020	80%

Knowledge Area
402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
5310 - Machinery and equipment; 2300 - Weeds;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 1140 - Weed science;

Keywords

unmanned

aerial

vehicles

weed

management

Goals / Objectives
To create a cost-effective and scalable unmanned aerial vehicles based monitoring solution that is fully autonomous and supports sustainable farming.

Project Methods
This project will develop a decentralized, autonomous flock of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor large agricultural fields for crops and weeds. The proposed drone swarm will consist of small, low-cost drones equipped with specialized cameras for collaboratively gathering data on crop health and identifying the presence of weeds. Based on the collected data, the system will enable at least one large spraying drone to reach the identified spot with optimized path planning, thereby closing the feedback loop. This system will provide farmers with real-time insights, enabling precise and timely interventions to enhance crop yield and reduce reliance on manual monitoring of large agricultural fields.