Tailored technologies for controlled environment agriculture

The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Engineering Lab at Dallas aims to pioneer research in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies tailored for CEA.

We are committed to developing innovative and intelligent solutions that minimize labor requirements, provide decision support to optimize resource usage, and reduce production costs to enhance the sustainability of the CEA industry.

Research areas of focus

Areas of research focus in breeding for controlled environments include:

1. AI-assisted computer vision systems to monitor various aspects of crop health and growth, such as biotic and abiotic stresses, organ development and growth, and yield prediction.
2. IoT-edge AI systems for real-time monitoring and precision management of different production components such as nutrients, pests/diseases, and irrigation.
3. Robotics and intelligent automation solutions to reduce labor requirements for various production operations, including transplanting, harvesting, and sorting.
4. AI-assisted microclimate controllers to optimize recipes (light, temperature, CO2, humidity) for creating the ideal environments for cultivation.