Professor of robotics Dr. Karydis will collaborate with Prof. Scudiera to integrate the passive microwave sensor on autonomous agricultural robots. Potential outputs of the research will include validation for monitoring efficiency and flow for drip and micro-sprinkler irrigated orchards. They will also investigate if it’s possible to predict the yield from each tree using the PoLRa’s vegetation sensing capabilities.

In simple terms, the vehicle based sensor will save growers significant time by allowing them to drive quickly through their orchard and validate that all of their sprinklers or drip nozzles are outputting the desired amount of water and that they are not clogged or broken. The PoLRa can even see through hanging tree canopy to the trunk that you could not see with our eyes. The use of TerraRad’s PoLRa in regions where water is scarce will help to save water and increase efficiency and productivity for food production.