David Eisenmann is bringing Ground Penetrating Radar to agriculture at the CNDE

The Center for Non-Destructive Evaluation (CNDE) is the premier US research organization for the development and application of inspection and sensing technologies. Extensive materials characterization studies and inspection system developments have been applied and implemented for metals, ceramics, and composites of interest to several industrial sectors.

Materials Science and Engineering Assistant Teaching Professor David Eisenmann has several projects at the CNDE, including innovating Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to help the precision agriculture industry. He has been using GPR for over a decade, from evaluation of concrete to inspecting earthen dams and levees. He has now turned his attention to South America, where he is helping crop producers track their planting rate using GPR.

“GPR works on the variance of conductivity. Conductivity of the seed is different vs. the surrounding soil,” Eisenmann said. “Not only can we use GPR to detect seeds, but we can also tell the crop producer where the moisture level is for better planting success.”

Creating a system to detect not only the rate of planting but as well as how deep to plant can further make precision agriculture obtainable throughout the world.