ANNUALLY 37% OF CROPS ARE LOST TO PEST DAMAGE (13% OF WHICH ARE DUE TO INSECTS), WHICH IS A MAJOR THREAT TO INCOMES OF RURAL FAMILIES AND OVERALL GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY. CHEMICAL PEST CONTROL IS A NECESSARY COMPONENT OF CROP PRODUCTION FOR MAXIMIZING YIELDS; SO MUCH SO THAT $15.2 BILLION WORTH OF PESTICIDES WERE APPLIED IN 2016 [51]. AS WE MOVE TO SUSTAINABLY INTENSIFY PRODUCTION TO FEED A GROWING POPULATION, CAN WE LIMIT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT WHILE INCREASING FARMER PROFITABILITY BY MAKING THESE APPLICATIONS MORE EFFICIENT? TYPICALLY, PEST INCIDENCE AND SEVERITY ARE ONLY FRACTIONALLY PRESENT IN A FIELD, SPREAD SPATIALLY, BUT PRUDENCE, TIME AND LABOR CONSTRAINTS WARRANT WHOLE FIELD SPRAYING AND TREATING EVERY PLANT THE SAME WAY REGARDLESS OF INJURY LEVEL. IN CASE OF INSECT PESTS, PRODUCERS WAIT FOR THE INSECT INFESTATION TO REACH A TREATMENT THRESHOLD AND THEN SPRAY THE ENTIRE FIELD USING A LINEAR ARRAY OF NOZZLES TO APPLY AN EXCESSIVE, UNIFORM, AND CONTINUOUS SPRAY PATTERN. THE DECISION IS BASED ON A FIELD "AVERAGE"--SOME PLANTS HAVE REACHED AN INJURIOUS LEVEL, WHILE OTHERS ARE PEST-FREE. UNDER SEVERAL MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS, ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF AREAS RECEIVES A JUSTIFIED AMOUNT OF PESTICIDE, WHILE OTHER AREAS LOSE YIELD DUE TO DELAYED TIMING AND DAMAGE BY PESTS, AND REMAINING AREAS RECEIVE A SUPERFLUOUS SPRAY APPLICATION WHEN THERE IS NO PEST PRESENCE. THE DECISION TO TREAT AN INFESTATION IS LARGELY BASED ON AN "ENTIRE FIELD MENTALITY" WHICH IS MOSTLY OUT OF NECESSITY AND A LACK OF AUTOMATED RESOURCES OR TECHNOLOGIES TO STREAMLINE DECISION MAKING WITH APPLICATION NEEDS. AUTOMATION PROVIDES A VIABLE AND MARKETABLE SOLUTION; HOWEVER, THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY FOR INSECTICIDE APPLICATION HAS NOT BEEN EXPLORED PRIMARILY DUE TO UNAVAILABLE CAMERA VISION CAPABILITIES TO LOCATE PEST INCIDENCE AND SEVERITY WITHIN A COMPLICATED CROP CANOPY. THERE IS A DEMAND FOR AN INTELLIGENT APPLICATION SYSTEM DESIGNED TO ACCURATELY SPRAY ON INFESTED CANOPY BUT ONLY WHERE INFESTATIONS ARE PRESENT. LACK OF AUTOMATION RESEARCH IN PESTICIDE APPLICATION IS A CRUCIAL PROBLEM FOR THE LONG-TERM FOOD PRODUCTION GOALS AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP GOALS AND SUSTAINABLY INTENSIFYING PRODUCTION TO MEET A GROWING POPULATION. QUITE SIMPLY, CURRENT MANUAL LABOR COSTS ARE TOO HIGH AND MODERN SPRAY TECHNOLOGIES ARE TOO INACCURATE. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE SEEK WAYS TO USE TO TECHNOLOGY TO ADDRESS THE GRAND CHALLENGE OF GLOBAL FOOD PRODUCTION.OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO REDUCE THE HIGH-VALUE PESTICIDE USAGE ON CROPS USING AN INTELLIGENT AUTONOMOUS SPRAY SYSTEM TO CONDUCT SITE-SPECIFIC APPLICATION BASED ON CRITICAL PEST POPULATIONS ON SELECT PLANTS. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL, WHICH IS KEY TO ACHIEVING OUR LONG-TERM GOAL, IS TO DEVELOP A STATE-OF-THE-ART AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM TO SENSE, IDENTIFY, AND MANAGE PEST FOR ALL CROP GROWTH STAGES. THIS OBJECTIVE IS BASED ON THE HYPOTHESIS AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS (SEC 4.) THAT COMPUTER VISION CAN BE USED TO DETECT PEST INCIDENCE AND SEVERITY ON A HIGHLY SPATIAL BASIS AND BE MANAGED USING A MACHINE-VISION SYSTEM TO SITE-SPECIFIC SPRAY INSECTICIDES. SUCCESSFUL ACHIEVEMENT OF THIS OBJECTIVE WILL HELP: 1) APPLY PESTICIDE ONLY ON CRITICALLY INFESTED PLANTS BY ELIMINATING PESTICIDE APPLICATION ON SOIL AND PLANTS NOT REQUIRING APPLICATION; 2) REDUCE OVERALL INPUT COST (LESS INSECTICIDE AND LABOR COSTS) BUT INCREASE YIELD POTENTIAL DUE A MORE TIMELY DECISION TO SPRAY ONLY INFESTED PLANTS; AND 3) REDUCE PESTICIDE EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT BY REDUCING EXPOSURE OF THESE MANAGEMENT TACTICS ON BENEFICIAL ORGANISMS, THUS PROMOTING A MORE INTEGRATED AND BALANCED APPROACH TO PEST MANAGEMENT. OUR PROPOSED SYSTEM WILL BE FULLY SCALABLE TO TRAIN COMPUTER VISION SYSTEM TO SENSE, IDENTIFY AND GEO-LOCATE INSECT PESTS. WE ENVISION OTHER FUNCTIONS LIKE SENSING OF PLANT HEALTH STATUS (DISEASE, NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES, ETC.,) BEING INTEGRATED INTO FUTURE INTERACTIONS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH CREATES A FOUNDATION FOR MORE ACCELERATED EVOLUTION IN TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, INCLUDING FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF MULTI-ROBOT MISSION ARCHITECTURE TO EXECUTE WHOLE FIELD OPERATION TO HARNESS ECONOMIC AND AGRONOMIC ADVANTAGES. OUR CURRENT PROPOSAL IS FOUNDATIONAL TO THE DEPLOYMENT OF SUCH ARCHITECTURES.