Lie Tang, ABE associate professor and Yin Bao, ABE graduate research assistant, were granted a patent for their work on a crop stand analyzer. According to the patent abstract, “(the) analyzer includes a first plurality of reflective laser proximity sensors, the reflective laser proximity sensors arranged in a vertical row and perpendicularly to a ground surface to detect plant objects, a distance sensor, and a processor operatively connected to the first plurality of reflective laser proximity sensors and the distance sensor. (It is) configured to generate side-view profiles for the plant objects and then extract plant stand information via these profiles.”