Researchers use artificial intelligence to help farmers | Local News

East Carolina University researchers, led by Dr. Ciprian Popoviciu and Colby Sawyer, are using AI and IoT to gather and analyze real-time data from sensors in Hyde County’s farms and canals.
They developed Piton, an IoT platform, to deploy low-cost sensors to collect environmental data, aiming to ease the monitoring burden on farmers.
The AI-agent developed by Sawyer processes this sensor data and provides actionable alerts and recommendations to the farmers directly via an app.
The farmers can rely on automated alerts and decisions, potentially saving time and enabling better crop management and environmental monitoring.
The team is working on expanding the use of their technology to other farms in Hyde County, encouraging the next generation of farmers to use AI in their operations.
The long-term vision includes integrating this technology on a broader scale, possibly with funding from local or state governments and aiming for accessibility for all small and medium farms.