Associate Professors Liu Hui and ShenYue, from the School of Electrical and Information Engineering, received the distinguished “Rain Bird Engineering Concept of the Year Award” for their project “Laser-Guided Intelligent Sprayer for Nursery, Orchard, and Grape Applications.”

This award is a great achievement in their five-year research cooperation with Dr. Heping Zhu, a chief scientist from the USDA/ARS (US Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service). The Rain Bird Engineering Concept of the Year Award honors an engineer or team for a unique contribution to developing or advancing a new engineering concept. Associate Professors Liu Hui and Shen Yue were ranked second and fourth in this year’s award. It is the first time researchers from institutions in China and Jiangsu University received the honor since the award was founded in 1974.

This year’s annual ASABE International Conference was held in New Orleans, USA from July 25 to 29, 2015.

The “Laser-guided intelligent sprayer for nursery, orchard, and grape applications” demonstrated an innovative approach to developing precision sprayer technology that characterizes size, shape, foliage density, and presence of target plants to apply optimum amounts of pesticides with minimum human involvement. Field tests of six full-scale prototypes in commercial nurseries have demonstrated that this new sprayer technology could reduce pesticide use by more than 50%, resulting in cost-savings of approximately $230 per acre. The new generation of precision spraying systems advances significantly the technology for efficient pesticide spray applications. Consequently, specialty fruit and ornamental crop growers will have new precision sprayers to prevent excessive pesticide use and increase profitability, worker safety, and environmental stewardship.

ASABE is an educational and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems. Founded in 1907, ASABE is composed of nearly 9,000 members representing more than 100 countries. ASABE members serve in industry, academia, and public service sectors of our industry. The Annual International meeting brings engineers from industry, academia, and public service sectors of our industry together to share the latest technological advances in agriculture and industries concerned, including the development of important new standards within the industry.