IN-FLIGHT DROPLET SIZE MONITORING AND CONTROL TO IMPROVE AERIAL APPLICATION ACCURACY AND EFFICIENCY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1013213
• Grant No.: 2017-33610-27020
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $599,640.00
• Proposal No.: 2017-03456
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Project End Date: May 31, 2021
• Grant Year: 2017
• Program Code: [8.13]- Plant Production and Protection-Engineering

Recipient Organization
INNOVATIVE SCIENTIFIC SOLUTIONS, INC
7610 MCEWEN RD
DAYTON,OH 45459

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
The product being commercialized is a system for optimizing spray system performance on agrochemical application aircraft, commonly known as "crop dusters". Current technology allows applicators to precisely control their location and flight path (GPS guidance), to deal with changing temperature, humidity and wind conditions (Aircraft Integrated Meteorological Measurement System modules), and to control important properties of their chemical mixes. However, it does not allow them to monitor and control a key application parameter, spray droplet size. If the droplets are too small, they drift to unintended locations; if they are too large, plant coverage is poor.The EPA estimates that chemical drift losses exceed $200M annually. Drift litigation claims are also a multi-million-dollar annual cost. Crop loss, environmental damage, and human health costs are other significant impacts of poor droplet size control.This program will provide the missing link: real-time, in-flight, droplet size feedback. It will enable applicators to adjust system pressure and airspeed, in flight, to achieve the desired droplet spectrum. It will allow them to verify the effectiveness of between flight changes such as nozzle settings and chemical mixes. They can now "close the loop" on the key droplet size parameter. Automation of the control process may be possible in future product versions.The savings achieved in chemicals, time, litigation avoidance, and flexibility in optimizing chemical mixes will afford a payback time of less than one year. The product will be sold as an add-on to new systems or as a retrofit to existing systems. It will not impact the design, usage, or cost of other spray system and aircraft components.It will open a $25M market, in the U.S. alone, for our product distributor, Transland LLC. It will provide an opportunity for Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc. (ISSI) to double our current annual commercial sales, with a projected gross annual revenue of $1.3M. Because of the maturity of the fundamental measurement system, we are structuring the program to begin commercial sales immediately after Phase II.The program involves collaboration with the USDA Aerial Application Technology Research Unit (USDA AAT); Transland LLC, the leading US supplier of agrochemical dispersal equipment; Dynanav Systems Inc., a provider of Ag aircraft guidance systems; and evaluators such as Andy Deterding Ag Aviation.

Animal Health Component

40%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

40%

Developmental

60%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
404	5310	2020	60%
133	0320	2020	20%
723	0410	2020	20%

Knowledge Area
133 - Pollution Prevention and Mitigation; 404 - Instrumentation and Control Systems; 723 - Hazards to Human Health and Safety;

Subject Of Investigation
0320 - Watersheds; 5310 - Machinery and equipment; 0410 - Air;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;

Keywords

aerial spray control

agrochemical aerial application

droplet size measurement

Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of the Phase II program is to improve the efficiency and accuracy of aerial spray application by providing applicators with real-time droplet size measurements in flight. Real-time droplet size feedback will enable applicators to make in-flight and between flight adjustments to achieve the desired droplet spectrum, regardless of the composition of the chemical mixture or environmental conditions. During the Phase II program, this prototype system must be refined for general deployment in the agrochemical industry. Processing of image data must be integrated into the in-flight system to provide real-time droplet size measurements. These droplet size measurements must be delivered to the pilot in a user-friendly fashion. Finally, optimum procedures that allow pilots to refine droplet size in flight must be established. Only then will the overall goals of this program be achieved. With these tasks in mind, the following technical objectives have been defined for the Phase II program:Redesign the Particle Shadow Imaging (PSI)system to minimize the size of the LED/camera components and simplify deployment of the system to a broad range of aircraft and spray boom hardware.Integrate on-board control, capture, and analysis of the PSI image data to generate a real-time stream of droplet size data.Establish the accuracy of the Phase II PSI system using wind tunnel testing.Enable delivery of real-time droplet size data to existing Ag aircraft GPS-based guidance system displays.Use the Phase II system on the USDA AirTractor 402b to investigate practical in-flight droplet size control procedures using existing spray system pressure and airspeed adjustment capabilities.Establish best operational practices for using droplet size feedback from the Phase II system to refine the delivered spray droplet size.

Project Methods
Redesign the PSI system to minimize the size of the LED/camera components and simplify deployment of the system to a broad range of aircraft and spray boom hardware: The overall system, including the camera, data acquisition, LED, LED driver, and pulse generator, will be integrated into the mounting brackets and reside near the selected spray boom nozzle. A micro-PC will be located with the camera for data acquisition and processing. The LED driver will be paired with a pulse generator and mounted near the LED. This compact design will be made possible by redesigning the pulse generator, LED driver, and data acquisition system using compact modern electronics. The mounting hardware system will be redesigned to support deployment on any commercial boom with only the need for boom-specific mounting clips.Integrate on-board control, capture, and analysis of the PSI image data to generate a real-time stream of droplet size data: Data acquisition requires collection of camera image data at 10-30 Hz over GigE or USB3. Conversion of image data to droplet size in real-time is slightly more computationally intensive. Image processing includes a series of linear algebra processes such as computing a running average of images, subtracting this average from individual images, setting a threshold, detecting edges of in-focus particles, and blob analysis to estimate droplet size. The Jetson TK1 is a low-cost micro-PC that would support our requirements, having Ethernet and USB3 for communication and an array of GPUs for data processing. Custom software for the controller will be developed to communicate with the camera, collect data, and convert the data to droplet size distributions. Finally, the processed data will be streamed to the guidance system over Ethernet, wireless network, or Bluetooth.Establish the accuracy of the Phase II PSI system using wind tunnel testing: The accuracy and resolution of the Phase II system will be evaluated and established by acquiring droplet size data on several spray units in a wind tunnel at the USDA AAT facility. Here, data can be compared to several well-established measurements acquired using their "gold standard" Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer. It is noted that the PSI system will acquire data over a limited region of the spray pattern, and repositioning of the sensor in flight is not possible. The spray pattern from several nozzles at a range of operating conditions can be mapped out in the wind tunnel and the optimum position for in-flight data acquisition will be determined. This should also identify any potential interactions between the PSI system and the spray nozzle and reveal any potential aerodynamics issues associated with the in-flight system.Enable delivery of real-time droplet size data to existing Ag aircraft GPS-based guidance system displays: Aerial applicators already use combined GPS and spray control systems to paint targeted fields with a specific quantity of material. For maximum benefit, the droplet size system must be integrated into these existing GPS/spray systems to provide visual feedback to the pilot, who can then adjust the spray pressure and airspeed as needed to tune the droplet size. Integration of the system into the aircraft guidance and control system will be accomplished through a cooperative agreement between Dynanav and ISSI. Dynanav currently manufactures and sells the Vektor series of light bar guidance systems and has offered to collaborate with ISSI in the integration of the droplet size measurement system into their guidance system. While the initial integration procedure will focus on the Vektor package, the development process will be expanded later to allow integration into any commercial guidance system.Use the Phase II system on the USDA AirTractor 402b to investigate practical in-flight droplet size control procedures using existing spray system pressure and airspeed adjustment capabilities: The prototype Phase II system will be deployed at the USDA AAT research station on the AirTractor 402b. Droplet size data will be acquired over a matrix of test conditions, already established by the USDA AAT, including airspeed, spray pressure, and chemical composition, that simulate real-world application of agrochemicals. Several rounds of testing will be conducted by the USDA team.Establish best operational practices for using droplet size feedback from the Phase II system to refine the delivered spray droplet size: Using the data from both existing and new wind tunnel testing, as well as data collected in flight from this program, it should be possible to establish correlations between airspeed, spray pressure, and droplet size. This relationship is already well-established for wind tunnel testing; the goal here is to incorporate this existing knowledge with in-flight measurement of droplet size, to allow the pilot to tune droplet size between passes over the field. We envision a simple initial input from the applicator, for example, a target droplet size (Dv10, Dv50, Dv90) distribution that is fed to the guidance system or PSI system. Using these targets, combined with the airspeed/pressure/droplet size correlations, a refined operating point can be fed to the pilot. The data can then be refined on each pass toachieve the targeted droplet distribution.Product marketing: Aerial applicator acceptance will be significantly enhanced by USDA AAT involvement in the development of the droplet measurement system. Applicators consider this group their "dedicated" research team. It is completely appropriate for the USDA research team to produce technical reports describing best practices for using in-flight droplet measurements. This team cannot, however, participate in direct marketing and sales of the commercial system. This role will largely belong to Transland LLC and their dealer network. For product introduction and initial marketing, Transland will emphasize the use of Fly-Ins. These events will include the measurement system mounted on an aircraft, spray pattern demonstrations, presentations by industry experts, and often CEUs for applicator participants. In addition, Transland and ISSI will utilize our websites, product brochures, and trade show participation as marketing and sales tools. Once the effectiveness of the system is demonstrated, ISSI and Transland will approach chemical manufacturers and insurance providers to include this technology in their recommended "best practice guidelines". A chemical label statement such as the following would serve to incentivize sales: "One means to ensure compliance with our droplet size recommendation is use of an in-flight droplet measurement system." Marketing activities and expenses will be borne by ISSI and Transland, outside of the SBIR funding.

Progress 09/01/17 to 05/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:USDA Agricultural Research Service: The spray droplet measurement system will provide a valuable tool for validation of models and wind tunnel testing results and for the development of new application methods and guidelines. We continued our interaction with them in preparation for,and during, the final wind tunnel testing. The final flight testing did not occur because of the lack of availability of a test aircraft. The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA): They are the professional organization for aerial applicators and provide an excellent channel for information exchange and marketing to the target and associated audiences. We participated in the 2016-2019 annual meetings but did notdo so in 2020 or 2021, largely because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Changes/Problems:Although ready for flight testing during the Phase II effort, the inflight system was only tested in the USDA Agricultural Research Service Aerial Application Technology (ARS AAT) Research Unit wind tunnel. The ARS AAT test aircraft suffered catastrophic damage midway through the Phase II effort and was not able to be repaired. Although the ARS AAT made a significant effort to provide an alternative solution, the Covid pandemic stifled efforts for testing with independent aerial applicators. This situation prevented completion of Objectives 5 and 6 of the planned program, and also contributed to ISSI's decision to abandon our patent application as described below. During the course of the Phase II program, ISSI submitted both a provisional and a full patent application. The patent examiner initially rejected the application. This was followed by two rounds of revisions and resubmittals before reaching the stage where an appeal would need to be filed to continue the process. Due to the additional costs associated with this process and a reduction in what could likely be patented, compared to the original application, ISSI decided to abandon the patent application in June 2021. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?ISSI participated in the 2016 - 2019 annual meetings of the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) which is the premier venue for product introduction and continued marketing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through participation in workshops and through emails, telecons, product description sheets, and PowerPoint presentations. Midway through the program we participated in aspray pattern testing clinic sponsored by the National Agricultural Aviation Assn, Research & Education Foundation Operation S.A.F.E. (Self-regulating Application & Flight Efficiency) program. The location was Mattoon, IL. We were able to introduce our system concept to a variety of aerial applicators and obtain their feedback on desired system capabilities.The consistent feedback was that participants would prefer a portable system that could easily be moved from aircraft-to-aircraft, would collect and process data in real-time, but would download it for analysis post-flight. This feedback led to our emphasis on a battery-powered portable version during the second half of the Phase II program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Rugged, weather-proof components were designed that are easy to install, will not interfere with aircraft or spray operations, and can operate in a stand-alone, battery-powered mode. The total weight of the system is less than 10 pounds. On-board control, data capture and near-real-time data processing were developed and field tested in a ground-based configuration. Wind tunnel testing identified the optimum measurement window location in the spray plume, the number of droplets required for a stable statistical size estimates, and measurement system adjustments that will be required during daily operations. Initial collaborations were conducted regarding product distribution and marketing with a major supplier of aerial application equipment. Evaluations of additional markets including ground-based field spraying, orchard spraying, and UAV-based aerial applications were conducted as well. The first two were determined not to be commercially attractive at this time. While manned aircraft spray applications have been the primary focus of this program, the growing use of UAVs offers new opportunities with only minor changes to the system. Two devices were developed based on the original manned aircraft design and tested with spray UAVs: a ground-based unit which measures droplet size near crop level, and a droplet sizing system which can be mounted on small multi-rotor spray UAVs to measure droplet size immediately downstream of the nozzle. Both systems were successfully tested at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Aerial Application Technology Research Unit (ARS AAT). We demonstrated a ground-based droplet measurement system that could augment the manually intensive "string and card based" data collected during spray pattern testing. Pattern testing is routinely conducted with operational Ag aircraft. We see this as the most viable near-term commercialization opportunity with UAV applications being second.

Publications

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:USDA Agricultural Research Service: The spray droplet measurement system will provide a valuable tool for validation of models and wind tunnel testing results and for the development of new application methods and guidelines.We continued our interaction with them in preparation for final wind tunnel and flight testing once the Covid-19 pandamic permits us to proceed. The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA):They are the professional organization for aerial applicators and provide an excellent channel for information exchange and marketing to the target and associated audiences. Weparticipated in the 2019 annual meetingbut will not do so in 2020 largely because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Changes/Problems:As noted at several places in this report, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused significant delays in our planned wind tunnel and flight testing. The USDA has granted a no-cost time extension to enable completion of this testingby May of 2021. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We participated in a 2019 workshop, focused on UAV-based agrochemical applications, heldin conjunction with the 2019 NAAA annual meeting in Orlando FL. We see this as a growing field that will have an equal, or greater, need for in-flight droplet size monitoring and control. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through participation in workshops and through emails, telecons, product description sheets, and PowerPoint presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?While significant wind tunnel testing is already completed, additional testing will be performed with the flight sensor to benchmark to other droplet sizing techniques. Once the USDA ARS AAT AirTractor is operational, flight testing will commence with multiple sensor designs. Although the internal configuration will be identical between the designs, the external characteristics (the shape of the enclosures and the boom clamp/strut) will vary in an effort to find the optimal aerodynamic configuration that will cause minimal downstream perturbations. These flight tests will address objectives 5 and 6.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. The design of the interchangeable boom clamps and struts to attach the sensor to the spray boom has been completed. Several manufacturing challenges were addressed, and fabrication of the first fullprototype is nearing completion. 2. Integration of an on-board, real-time data acquisition and processing system was completed during the previous reporting period. A new calibration rig was constructed to speed up the testing and calibration of various processing schemes. 3. No wind tunnel testing was performed in the reporting period. Although additional wind tunnel testing was planned during this reporting period to compare the flight sensor to other droplet sizing techniques, that testing has been postponed due to closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 4. Based on discussion with applicators and researchers, this may not be a desirable feature for the initial, wireless version of the sensor. 5, 6. Initially, these were planned for the spring of 2020 but due to closures and travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which have also delayed the repair work on the USDA ARS AAT Air Tractor, they have been postponed.

Publications

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:USDA Agricultural Research Service: The spray droplet measurement system will provide a valuable tool for validation of models and wind tunnel testing results and for the development of new application methods and guidelines. A CRADA with the Aerial Application Technology group in College Station, TX was signed during the reporting period. The Application Technology Research Group in Wooster, OH has expressed interest in orchard airblast and crop ground spraying applications. We visited them during the reporting period and are preparing to conduct a test of our droplet measurement system with an airblast sprayer during the next year. Agrochemical developers:We continued to interact withWibur-Ellis. The spray droplet measurement system will provide a valuable tool for development of low-drift chemical formulations and application specifications. A discussion with a representative for their helicopter operations is scheduled for the next year. Product distributors: We continued our interaction with Transland LLC, the major US distributor of agrochemical dispersal equipment. They represent one, but not the only product distribution path. They recently acquired SATLOC, amajor US supplier of aerial application gudance systems, which represents another distribution avenue. The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA): We plan to participate in the 2019annual meeting of this group. They are the professional organization for aerial applicators and provide an excellent channel for information exchange and marketing to the target and associated audiences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We participated in two workshops focused on UAV-based agrochemical applications. One workshop was sponsored by the USDA Aerial Application Technology group in College Station, TX and the secondby the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH. We see this as a growing fieldthat will have an equal, or greater, need for in-flight droplet size monitoring and control. Our work with LARTA and the advisor they provide affords significant mentoring and growth in our business development and product commercialization skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through participation in workshopsand through emails, telecons, product description sheets, and PowerPoint presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?While significant wind tunnel testing is already completed, additional testing will be performed with the flight sensor to benchmark it against other droplet sizing techniques. Once the USDA Aerial Application Technology group'sAirTractor is operational, flight testing will commence with multiple sensor designs. Although the internal configuration will be identical between the designs, the external characteristics (the shape of the enclosures and the boom clamp/strut) will vary in an effort to find the optimal aerodynamic configuration that will cause minimal downstream perturbations. These flight tests will address objectives 5 and 6. We will continue to work with FAA certified A&P mechanics and FAA Designated Engineering Representatives (DER) on the most cost-effective approach for certifying the airworthiness of our spray droplet measurement and control system.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? IMPACT: The product being commercialized is a system for optimizing spray system performance on agrochemical application aircraft, commonly known as "crop dusters". Current technology allows applicators to precisely control their location and flight path (GPS guidance), to deal with changing temperature, humidity and wind conditions (Aircraft Integrated Meteorological Measurement System modules), and to control important properties of their chemical mixes. However, it does not allow them to monitor and control a key application parameter, spray droplet size. If the droplets are too small, they drift to unintended locations; if they are too large, plant coverage is poor. Using EPA data, an estimated 7 million pounds ($200M value) of crop protection products are misapplied annually because of drift. Drift litigation claims are also a multi-million-dollar annual cost. Crop loss, environmental damage, and human health costs are more difficult to quantify, but may represent even more signficant impacts of poor droplet size control. This program is providing the missing link: real-time, in flight, droplet size feedback. It will enable applicators to make guided adjustments, in flight, to achieve the desired droplet spectrum. It will allow them to verify the effectiveness of between flight changes such as nozzle settings and chemical mixes. They can now "close the loop" on the key droplet size parameter. Automation of the control process may be possible in future product versions. ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: 1. The enclosures for the LED, camera, battery, and processing unit have been designed and prototypes have been manufactured meeting the size and weight targets. The design of interchangeable boom clamps is nearing completion, which will allow the customer to operate the device on a variety of boom styles with minimal need for additional hardware. 2. A highly portable, battery-powered system with no connections to aircraft power or guidance systems is still of most interest to the applicator community and is therefore the primary design focus. A small data acquisition and processing computer has been integrated in the enclosure designs and processing algorithms have been developed which can process the data in real time. 3. No wind tunnel testing was performed in the reporting period. Wind tunnel data obtained in year one continue to be used to test algorithm improvements. 4. Based on discussion with applicators and researchers, this may not be a required feature for the initial, wireless version of the sensor.but can be easily implementedin future versions. 5, 6. These will be addressed in year 3 after system fabrication is completed and the USDA AAT AirTractor is operational.

Publications

Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Aerial agrochemical applicators ("crop dusters"). This is our primary target audiencesince the spray droplet measurement and control system is beingdevelopedfor use on their aircraft.During the reporting period we interacted with aerial applicators at a spray pattern testing clinic in Mattoon IL to acquire feedback on thePhase IIdesignand features that are important to them.We also had discussions with Deterding Ag Aviation, an aerial application company, about design and usageissues. Program SAFE analysts. A second target audience, not included in the project initiation report,are the analysts who run the pattern testing clinics. We interacted with this audience at Mattoon IL and via telecons and email.They see our system as a tool forspray system calibration during their clinics.Although this groupoffers a small number of sales, they represent early adopters and would provide valuable exposure to applicators participating in the clinics. Product distributors. We continued our interaction with Transland LLC, the major US distributor of agrochemical dispersal equipment.They represent one, but not the only product distribution path. Manufacturers of aerial application guidance systems.Theyrepresent another distribution path, since the spray measurement system would function as an accessory to their systems.We are working specifically with Dynanav on system integration, and will broaden this to other guidance system manufacturers as the product matures during Phase II. The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA). We participated in the December 2017 annual meetingof this group. They are the professional organization for aerial applicators and provide an excellent channelfor information exchange and marketing to the target and associatedaudiences. Insurance providers. In discussions at the NAAA annual meeting, this group generally agreed that our system could eventually impact insurance prices if it reduces the size and/or frequency of drift claims. Agrochemical developers. We interacted with Syngenta, Precision Laboaratories, DowDuPont and Wibur-Ellis.The spray droplet measurement system will provide a valuable tool for development of low-drift chemical formulations and application specifications.These groupsexpressed interest in prototype evaluation and system purchase if effective in their application. USDA Agricultural Research Service: The spray droplet measurement system will provide a valuable tool for validation of models and wind tunnel testing results and for the development of new application methods and guidelines.A CRADA with the Aerial Application Technology group in College Station, TX will be signed in the near future.The Application Technology Research Group in Wooster, OH has expressed interest in orchard airblast and crop ground spraying applications. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Although training and professional development are not a significant objective of this program, our continued participation in the NAAA annual meeting and activities such as pattern testing clinics provide significant enhancements in our understanding of the Ag aerial application domain. Our work with LARTA and the advisortheyprovidealsoaffordssignificant mentoring and growth in our business development and product commercialization skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through the NAAA annual meetings, through participation in spray pattern testing clinics, and through emails, telecons, product description sheets, and PowerPoint presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?- As noted above, the USDA ARS AAT factilities are expected to be back on line early in year 2 and available toaddress objectives 3, 5 and 6. - We expect several iterations on the measurement system design, based on the wind tunnel and flight testing results. - We will continue to workwith FAA certified A&P mechanics and FAA Designated Engineering Representatives (DER) on the most cost-effective approach for certifiying the airworthiness of our spray droplet measurement and control system. - We will identify opportunities for prototype testing with aerial applicators and agrochemical developers.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? IMPACT: The product being commercialized is a system for optimizing spray system performance on agrochemical application aircraft, commonly known as "crop dusters". Current technology allows applicators to precisely control their location and flight path (GPS guidance), to deal with changing temperature, humidity and wind conditions (Aircraft Integrated Meteorological Measurement System modules), and to control important properties of their chemical mixes. However, it does not allow them to monitor and control a key application parameter, spray droplet size. If the droplets are too small, they drift to unintended locations; if they are too large, plant coverage is poor.Using EPA data, an estimated7 million pounds ($200M value)of crop protection products are misappliedannually because of drift. Drift litigation claims are also a multi-million-dollar annual cost. Crop loss, environmental damage, and human health costs are more difficult to quantify, but may represent even more signficant impacts of poor droplet size control. This programis providingthe missing link: real-time, in flight, droplet size feedback. It will enable applicators to make guided adjustments, in flight, to achieve the desired droplet spectrum. It will allow them to verify the effectiveness of between flight changes such as nozzle settings and chemical mixes. They can now "close the loop" on the key droplet size parameter. Automation of the control process may be possible in future product versions. ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: 1. The weight and size of the LED, camera, battery, and mounting components has been reduced to an approximate 12-15pound range, which is easily supported by current spray booms and their attachment structure. The only component that will be somewhataircraft specific is the clamp that mounts on the boom and will need to accomodate different boom shapes and sizes.This is an easily fabricated and minor cost component. 2. Applicators have expressedthe mostinterest in a highly portable system thathas nowired connections to aircraft power or to the guidance system. This will allow them to use the system when needed and move it from aircraft to aircraft as desired. A battery-powered, bluetooth-based system will also be the most appropriate format for SAFE analysts, agrochemical developers, and the USDA ARS. This configuration could communicate with the aircraft's GPS-based guidance system in flightand with a laptop computer or tablet post flight. 3, 5, 6.These objectives will be addressed in year 2 after system fabrication is completedand the USDA ARS AAT wind tunnels and AirTractor are back online. 4. Interaction with DynaNav on integration with their GPS-based guidance system is ongoing, particulary regarding the wireless communication option.

Publications