India and many other countries face a looming food security issue, and require tools to assist in assessing crops, managing inputs, increasing yields, and reducing risks in agricultural operations.

Recently, e-Extension services have stepped in to fill the void left behind by defunct and ineffective government agriculture extension programs, but they struggle to get timely, accurate data about farm conditions to inform and personalize the advice they give to farmers.

This research project will develop the tools to collect, process, and supply super-resolution multispectral images of Indian farms for analysis by agriculture experts and use by farmers. Multispectral imagery offers the ability to remotely measure crop properties such as nitrogen level and photosynthetic activity, as well as identify disease and pest infestations. Work will encompass technical challenges in image acquisition and processing, as well as system design for the analysis and delivery of data. A particular focus will be given to maximizing image resolution enhancement to increase the altitude and reduce the cost of data collection.

Timely, accurate, site-specific crop information has potential to increase yields, as well as smooth market fluctuations and invite more investment in the agriculture sector.