Engineering Students Honored for Robotic System Addressing On-Farm Challenges
A team of biological and agricultural engineering students from the University of California, Davis, won the Western Growers Award for Excellence in Specialty Crops during the 2026 Farm Robotics Challenge.
The Farm Robotics Challenge is an international design competition for middle schoolers, high schoolers and college students to create solutions to farm production challenges with artificial intelligence, automation and robotics. It is hosted by UC ANR Innovate, the innovation arm of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems.
“These students are not just solving problems; they are building the next generation of agricultural technology,” said Kelly Scott, director of the Farm Robotics Challenge.
The UC Davis prizewinning project, named Aggie Aerial-Ground Robotics, uses artificial intelligence to combine aerial images of orchards with on-the-ground images of trees captured by a robot. Judges praised the design for its ability to equip farmers with useful insights about pollination, nitrogen and optimal yield-potential decisions.
“This award reflects the dedication and hard work of every team member, as well as the exceptional mentorship of [Assistant Professor of Teaching] Ali Moghimi, who was not only guiding us but also working alongside us through all of those long hours in the lab and on the farm,” said Mohammadreza Narimani, a member of the Aggie Aerial Ground Robotics team and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
