New institute aims to unlock the secrets of corn using artificial intelligence

Iowa State University researchers are growing two kinds of corn plants. If you drive past the many fields near the university's campus in Ames, you can see row after row of the first. But the second exists in a location that hasn't been completely explored yet: cyberspace. The researchers, part of the AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture, are using photos, sensor data and artificial intelligence to create "digital twins" of corn plants that, through analysis, can lead to a better understanding of their real-life counterparts. They hope the resulting software and techniques will lead to better management, improved breeding, and ultimately, smarter crops.