Towards an AI-Driven Cyber-Physical System for Closed-Loop Control of Plant Diseases

Plant diseases are a major biosecurity threat to food production and the bio-energy industry. Early detection and control of plant diseases can improve producers’ profitability and reduce environmental impacts from chemical inputs. We proposed to develop a cyber-physical system with three major components: an AI-driven imaging system for early stress detection, an autonomous robotic system to collect plant samples, and a sequencing pipeline to detect molecular signatures of pathogens for disease confirmation. This system is envisioned to control a detected disease by removing or pruning infected plants. This manuscript describes the major milestones achieved by this CPS project and provides a future perspective on disease control automation in agriculture.