INNOVATING FOR THE FUTURE
DID YOU KNOW?
By 2050, we must produce 60 percent more food to feed a world population of 9.3 billion. As the industry works to meet this demand, the market for AI usage in agriculture is projected to grow from $1.7 billion in 2023 to $4.7 billion by 2028. MarketsandMarkets, 2024
PLANTING THE SEED FOR SMART FARMING A team of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students, Emanuele Bossi (’26), Francesco Busini (’27) and Diego Spross (’27), earned international recognition for their innovative farming solution, Agri-AI, at the Invent for the Planet (IFTP) Championship. The competition challenged students from around the globe to solve pressing societal issues within just 48 hours. For the Embry-Riddle team, that meant addressing one of humanity’s most urgent challenges: food production in a changing climate.
“We developed our project to improve agricultural methods to be smarter and more efficient,” said Busini, a Mechanical Engineering student. Agri-AI is a high-tech precision agriculture system that integrates Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, machine learning and drone-based automation. The solar-powered drones monitor soil health, predict weather impacts and apply water or fertilizer only where needed — helping conserve resources, boost crop yields and increase farmers’ resilience against climate disruption. “With Agri-AI, we can help bring about a better economic return to farmers by reducing waste and increasing efficiency,” said Bossi, who studies Software Engineering and Data Science. According to the team, Agri-AI could cut agricultural water use by up to 40% while increasing yields by 30%. Agriculture currently consumes nearly 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, making their innovation both timely and impactful.
Their concept won the top spot locally and advanced to the final round at Texas A&M University, where just seven teams were selected globally. Though they didn’t take the top prize, the Embry-Riddle team impressed judges with their creativity, technical depth and potential to scale. “Agri-AI had a creative and elegant solution to a significant problem,” said Texas A&M’s Jim Donnell. “In addition to demonstrating their engineering brilliance, they did an extremely good job pitching their concept to the panel of judges.” The team hopes to secure support to continue developing their system — a testament to how innovation, fueled by purpose, can sprout from a single weekend of inspired collaboration.
LEARN MORE ABOUT AGRI-AI
Read the full story about the award- winning innovation.
17 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
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