St. Louis Danforth Plant Science Center Receives $20M for AIFARMS
St. Louis’ Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is involved in a newly launched AI Institute for Future Agricultural Resilience, Management and Sustainability (AIFARMS). Co-lead by the center’s Todd Mockler and a team of researchers, AIFARMS is one of the seven new AI institutes announced by the U.S Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the National Science Foundation. Each institute has been awarded $20 million in federal funding.
The AIFARMS project focuses on AI research directed at finding solutions to agricultural problems. This will include research and technology development in the areas of computer vision, machine learning, soft object manipulation, and intuitive human-robot interaction.
“Crop and livestock production are extremely complex systems that feed billions of people despite tight cost constraints and chronic risks from weather and other external challenges. I'm excited to be part of a fantastic team of colleagues in diverse disciplines ranging from artificial intelligence to robotics to plant biology,” said Mockler. “The AIFARMS institute is poised to address fundamental challenges facing world agriculture while improving the resilience of crops and the sustainability of crop and livestock productions systems.”