On RFD-TV: Santosh Pitla

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02/26/2025 Added

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Agriculture is evolving, and Nebraska is leading the way. From autonomous tractors to AI-driven crop management, the future of farming is happening now—and it’s happening at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Today, we take a closer look at why Nebraska is the place for students who want to innovate, problem-solve, and drive the next revolution in ag technology. Joining us today is Dr. Santosh Pitla, professor of advanced machinery systems and a leader in digital and precision agriculture. Dr. Pitla, Nebraska has built a reputation as one of the nation’s top programs for agricultural robotics and digital ag.

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[00:00:00.000]From autonomous tractors to AI-driven crop management, the future of farming is upon us.
[00:00:05.920]And UNL is leading the way, helping students drive the next revolution in ag technology.
[00:00:11.240]Professor of Advanced Machinery Systems, Dr. Santosh Pitla, joins us now for a closer look.
[00:00:17.000]Thank you so much for being with us today.
[00:00:19.040]So what makes Nebraska such a hub for ag innovation?
[00:00:22.580]Yeah, thanks for having me, Tammy.
[00:00:25.800]You know, Nebraska is where research meets real-world production agriculture,
[00:00:30.600]and Nebraska is a powerhouse for agriculture.
[00:00:33.300]And at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, you know, over the last few decades,
[00:00:37.660]we have been working on autonomous machinery, next-generation autonomous machinery,
[00:00:42.200]AI systems with the goal of helping farmers do the field operations in an efficient way,
[00:00:48.460]but also in a sustainable way.
[00:00:49.980]And, you know, combined with this, we have an excellent producer network,
[00:00:55.380]which is an on-farm research network.
[00:00:57.380]And we have thousands of acres, research acres, where we deploy these systems in the real world.
[00:01:04.360]Right. And I know because of that, you guys have got a strong reputation for that hands-on learning.
[00:01:11.600]So how do students actually get involved in the digital and precision ag sector?
[00:01:16.260]Absolutely.
[00:01:18.160]So, you know, at Nebraska, we focus on a good blend of theory, but also,
[00:01:24.960]you know, real-world hands-on learning.
[00:01:26.940]And a good example for that is, you know, in the last couple of years,
[00:01:31.080]we won a couple of robotics competition where students applied AI and robotics
[00:01:36.200]to solve really challenging problems in agriculture.
[00:01:38.960]And one of them is a cotton-picking robot.
[00:01:42.000]So students designed the AI system.
[00:01:44.220]and built a robotic arm and whatever they learned in class they put to practice and we were able to
[00:01:49.680]win that competition. And the other competition that we won is targeted weed management. As you
[00:01:54.840]know weeds are a big problem and we're using AI techniques and students develop this AI model
[00:01:59.880]to detect a corn plant from a weed and just to remove the weed. So these are the two examples
[00:02:05.440]where we can see students are really innovating and pushing the boundaries. Yeah very impressive.
[00:02:11.400]Also can you talk about how Nebraska actually connects these students with careers in ag technology?
[00:02:17.240]Absolutely. So we have excellent ties with industry. If you take the example of global companies like
[00:02:25.880]Lindsay and Valley they're you know they're global irrigation companies and then also OEMs like you
[00:02:32.120]know John Deere, Aquent, Kloss. So a lot of our students you know get internships and in some cases our
[00:02:38.920]students are in demand right from the freshman year.
[00:02:41.180]They get picked up by this company. So we have very strong ties and we have a ag tech incubator called the combine. So that's really helping us take research to actual real products in the in the commercial world.
[00:02:55.820]Yeah some great partnerships there. So Nebraska clearly paving the way for the next era of agriculture. What's next for this program?
[00:03:03.020]Yeah so we are very excited for the future and we'll continue to develop the next generation
[00:03:09.980]of autonomous systems.
[00:03:11.100]And then I would say that if you're passionate about the agriculture, digital agriculture, robotics and AI, I would say Nebraska is the place to be.
[00:03:20.780]It definitely is. That's Dr. Santosh Pitla with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Thank you so much for your time today.

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