Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:SAFER AG's efforts engaged a wide range of stakeholders within the agricultural ecosystem. Our primary focus was on fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among industry professionals, growers, farmers, ranchers, researchers, government representatives, Extension agents, and others critical to shaping the future of agricultural safety. These groups were not only encouraged to participate in discussions but were also integral in developing actionable recommendations that address emerging challenges in autonomous agricultural technologies. Industry and Manufacturers Manufacturers, particularly those involved in developing autonomous machinery, played a pivotal role. SAFER AG provided them with a platform to present and refine autonomy standards and engage with a broader set of stakeholders, including those representing social, psychological, and societal perspectives--areas that manufacturers may not typically encounter in their technical processes. The forum allowed manufacturers to gain insights into these adjacent topics, facilitating the development of well-rounded solutions that extend beyond technical challenges. Growers, Farmers, and Ranchers The perspectives of growers, farmers, and ranchers were critical in informing the practicality and relevance of recommendations. By including their voices, SAFER AG ensured that the proposed standards and solutions addressed real-world challenges faced on farms and ranches, particularly in adopting and safely utilizing autonomous technologies. Researchers and Academic Participants Researchers contributed cutting-edge knowledge and data to inform SAFER AG's efforts. These participants explored critical areas such as risk assessment, human-machine interactions, and safety interventions, laying the foundation for evidence-based recommendations. Government and Extension Representatives Engagement with agency representatives fostered meaningful discussions on the role of consensus standards in advancing agricultural safety. Direct collaboration between these groups and other stakeholders highlighted the importance of regulatory frameworks that complement technological advancements while ensuring worker safety. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The SAFER AG initiative has created numerous opportunities for training and professional development, fostering growth for both industry professionals and academic stakeholders: Graduate Student Engagement:At least six graduate students actively participated in the SAFER AG program, gaining valuable experience through volunteering at the workshop, contributing to the drafting and publication of research papers, and assisting in the organization of events. This hands-on involvement helped them enhance their academic and professional skills, particularly in research dissemination and stakeholder collaboration. Functional Safety Training: A three-day functional safety training program was conducted, attended by 30 industry professionals. This program provided specialized instruction on applying safety principles to autonomous agricultural technologies, addressing critical workforce needs in this emerging area. Special Session at ASABE: The project organized a dedicated safety-focused session at the 2024 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) annual meeting. The session, which saw record-breaking attendance with 55 participants, featured SAFER AG collaborators presenting their research. This platform promoted professional networking, knowledge sharing, and awareness of safety concerns in agricultural robotics. Community of Practice Engagement: The LinkedIn Community of Practice, which now boasts 104 members, offers an ongoing platform for professionals and researchers to share knowledge, discuss safety challenges, and stay updated on advancements in agricultural robotics and automation. Academic Publications as Learning Tools: The project resulted in the publication of four open-access articles, which serve as critical resources for students, researchers, and industry professionals. These publications have furthered understanding and application of safety practices in autonomous technologies. These efforts have equipped graduate students, industry professionals, and the broader academic community with the skills and knowledge necessary to address the evolving challenges in agricultural safety and automation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The SAFER AG initiative has prioritized widespread dissemination of its findings to ensure maximum impact across academia, industry, government, and the broader agricultural community. Key dissemination efforts include: Open-Access Publications:SAFER AG has published four peer-reviewed articles in a special issue of theJournal of Agricultural Safety and HealthtitledSafety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture. These articles are open-access to ensure global visibility and accessibility. An additional six articles are under review for this special issue, further contributing to the body of knowledge. Community of Practice:TheSafety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous AgricultureCommunity of Practice on LinkedIn has grown to 104 members. This platform facilitates ongoing engagement and collaboration among stakeholders, serving as a forum for sharing insights, research updates, and resources. Workshops and Conferences:SAFER AG hosted a two-day workshop attended by 100 participants, resulting in actionable recommendations shared openly with all attendees. A special session at the 2024 ASABE annual meeting attracted 55 participants, the highest attendance for any safety-related session that year. This session featured presentations from SAFER AG collaborators and further disseminated key findings to a broader audience. Training Programs:The initiative supported a functional safety training attended by 30 industry professionals, focusing on applying safety principles to autonomous technologies. This training directly addressed workforce needs and expanded the reach of SAFER AG's impact. Media and Outreach:Results were shared with news outlets, increasing public awareness of the initiative's findings and recommendations. Additionally, all workshop recommendations were distributed to participants, ensuring alignment and continuity across stakeholders. Through these efforts, SAFER AG has created a robust ecosystem for knowledge sharing and collaboration, fostering innovation and safety in autonomous agricultural technologies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The SAFER AG initiative has made significant strides in advancing the understanding and adoption of safe autonomous robotics and digital technologies in agriculture. Key accomplishments include hosting a highly successful two-day workshop at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which brought together approximately 100 participants from academia (40%), industry (36%), and government (11%). This workshop fostered cross-sector collaboration and generated actionable recommendations to address critical challenges such as risk assessment, workforce needs, and regulatory frameworks. The workshop outcomes spurred several impactful activities, including the creation of a Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture Community of Practice on LinkedIn, which has grown to 104 active members with over 3000 interactions over the last year. This platform has become a vibrant hub for knowledge exchange and collaboration across the agricultural safety ecosystem. Additionally, SAFER AG's leadership in a special issue (Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture) of the Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health has resulted in four open-access publications, with six more articles under review, ensuring wide dissemination of critical findings. Further impacts include a summer training program on functional safety attended by 30 industry professionals, equipping them with skills to address safety challenges in emerging technologies, and a record-breaking special session on safety and autonomy at the 2024 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) annual meeting, which drew 55 attendees. These activities have strengthened the knowledge base, expanded professional networks, and catalyzed workforce development to support the safe and effective integration of autonomous technologies in agriculture. In conclusion, SAFER AG has been consistently recognized as a unique and effective platform. The discussions initiated have set a foundation for future collaboration, and stakeholders across sectors have expressed the need for similar forums to continue addressing agricultural safety comprehensively. SAFER AGhas been frequently cited as a model for advancing agricultural safety standards and promoting cross-sector dialogue.
Publications
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Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:We have reached out to and encouraged industry, growers, farmers, ranchers, researchers, government and Extension to participate in conference and help in developing recommendations Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been shared in open documents with all SAFER AG participants and have been turned into research publications. Each publication was published in open access format to increase visibility and accessibility of the reports. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We have completed the review of data collected in SAFER AG 1.0 and turned them into four publications of which two have been published at the time that this report was due.
Publications
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Khorsandi, F., Pinkerton, K. E., & Hong, M. (2024). Perspective: Closing the regulatory gap:
Addressing challenges for autonomous agricultural equipment in California. J. Agric. Saf. Health, 30(4), 155-
161. https://doi.org/10.13031/jash.16112
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Shutske, J. M., Issa, S. F., Johnson, T., Lincoln, J., Khorsandi, F., Pate, M. L., Smith, E. B., Gorucu, S., Walsh, J., Yoder, A. M., Dukes, E., & Aby, G. R. (2024). SaferAg Risk Assessment, Data, Design Standards, and Regulation: Needs and Recommendations. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, (in press). https://doi.org/10.13031/jash.15855
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Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:We have reached out to and encouragedindustry, growers, farmers, ranchers, researchers, government and Extension to participate in conference and help in developing recommendations. Changes/Problems:We have completed conference on target and under budget. We are focusing on publishing all the results we have generated from the conference. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes, we have presented this work across many different conferences and shared the results with news agencies that published some of our findings. We have also created a special collection of articles at the Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health calledSafety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture Special Collection. So far one journal article has been acceptedto this journal collection and we are expecting another 4-5 articles to be published in this collection by next year.We are covering the open access costs for all of these articles to promote access to them. We have submitted an outline of the recommendations we generated to all conference participants. Lastly we have created a new community of practice on LinkedIn called SAFER AG that already has 68 members. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We aim to support and promote a second SAFER AG conference, host 3 webinars on the outcomes of the first SAFER AG conference and complete publication of 4 articles dedicated to the outputs of SAFER AG conference.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A two day workshop was successfully hosted at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus on Nov 9th -10th. This two day workshop generated significant interest from both academia and industry and about 100 individuals particiated in this two day event. About 40% of the participants came from Academia, 36% came from Industry and 11% came from government. Organized the workshop around three tracks: 1) Understanding the risk associated with agricultural robotic technology and therole that regulations and standards will play in the adoption of safe digital technologies. 2) Identify gaps in occupational safety research 3) and identify Workforce need and societal implicationsof new technology adoption, including training needs, cultural implications, impact on labor supply, and rural connectivity. The first day of the conference was used to introduce each topic (regulations, research & social implications) and bring everybody to thesame page. It wasfilled with presentations on these topics from thought leaders in the field. Also onday one we also caught a glimpse of the "Farm of the Future" which is the University of Illinois-led study that is developing an 80-acre agricultural testbed, where commodity crops (corn and soybean) and livestock are farmed usingsynergistic and sustainable practices. On day two we hosted a workshop, all attendees brainstormed on each topic during the morning. Every attendeethen prioritized next steps for action regarding areas of risk assessment, safety research and workforce implications.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Aby, G.R., Chowdhary, G., Issa, S.F. (2024). SAFETY RISK ASSESSMENT OF AN AUTONOMOUS AGRICULTURAL MACHINE. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health (IN PRESS)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Issa, S.F., Shutske, J. ,Lincoln, J., Yoder,A., Khorsandi, F., Pate, M., Johnson, T. (2023). Findings from the Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture Workshop Symposium. International Society of Agricultural Safety and Health Conference. June 2023 Tampa Florida.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Issa, S.F.(Aug 2022). SAFER AG Workshop. UIUC Agricultural Safety & Health Program. http://go.illinois.edu/SAFERAG
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Issa, S.F. (2023). Findings from the Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture Workshop. WCAHS Emerging Technology in Agriculture: Keeping Health & Safety at the Forefront Conference. May 11, 2023. Davis California.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Issa S.F. (2023). Findings from the Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture Workshop. WCAHS Webinar. April 3rd, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyBWzL3Bw68
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Issa, S.F., Shutske, J. ,Lincoln, J., Yoder,A., Khorsandi, F., Pate, M., Johnson, T. (2023). Findings from the Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture Workshop. American Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers. July 2023 Omaha Nebraska.
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