News/Research

Ken Goldberg Part of Team Introducing Robotics to Water Conservation in Farming

30 May, 2019

Ken Goldberg Part of Team Introducing Robotics to Water Conservation in Farming

Ken Goldberg is part of the team led by UC Merced that is seeking to introduce robotics to water conservation in farming.

The project, Robot-Assisted Precision Irrigation Delivery — or RAPID for short, is featured on UC Merced's site here! It describes how the robots will patrol farms and make adjustments to drip emitters for optimal water flow — ensuring less waste and healthy produce. It is currently being tested in vineyards in the Central Valley and a patent is pending!

The team includes Stefano Carpin (UC Merced), Thomas Thayer (UC Merced), Joshua Viers (UC Merced), Ken Goldberg (UC Berkeley), and Professor Stavros Vougioukas (UC Davis).

RAPID is funded by the National Science Foundation and a nearly $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).