WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University recently hosted researchers, students, industry leaders and the grower community at the 2026 Annual Retreat of the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture, also known as IoT4Ag.

Held May 19-21 at the Beck Agricultural Center in West Lafayette and at regional farms in Indiana, the annual retreat followed the student-led IoT4Ag Bootcamp, which focused on student and postdoctoral innovation, workforce preparation and professional development workshops, officials said.

At the retreat, faculty and students from partner institutions – University of Pennsylvania, University of California-Merced, the University of Florida and Purdue – shared research updates, strengthened collaborations and deployed technologies for the upcoming growing season at Purdue’s Agronomy Center for Research & Education (ACRE), officials added.

IoT4Ag is led by Cherie Kagan, University of Pennsylvania professor of electrical and systems engineering and IoT4Ag’s center director. Officials said she and others had a vision of the benefits and opportunities of sensors, IoT (Internet of Things) systems, and autonomy in agriculture, but needed complementary institutions to partner.

David Cappelleri, a University of Pennsylvania alumnus, is a Purdue professor of mechanical engineering, assistant vice president for research innovation, and the Purdue site director for IoT4Ag, worked to internally propose a team from Purdue representing mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, agricultural engineering and agronomy.

Dennis Buckmaster, Purdue professor of agricultural and biological engineering, told Farm World, “In the end, Purdue University, the University of Florida, and the University of California-Merced teamed with U Penn to bring application expertise to bear.

“The thrusts of the ERC (Engineering Research Center at Purdue) include sensor systems, energy and communications systems, and agricultural response systems,” he said. “The team represents several engineering disciplines, plant sciences and economics.”

Officials said all participants learned from invited presentations, activities, and visits to Ag Alumni Seed and Beck’s Hybrids, and discussed new ideas for technologies and systems innovation, deployment, integration, translation and adoption, and for education to improve agricultural efficiency and sustainability.

During the retreat, students and postdoctoral researchers participated in flash talks, delivering short presentations highlighting their IoT4Ag research projects. Students also took part in a “Shark Tank”-style competition, pitching IoT4Ag-based product ideas to members of the Agricultural Systems Advisory Board and Industrial Practitioner Advisory Board, with the winner advancing to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Perfect Pitch competition at the NSF ERC Biennial Meeting in September.

Launched in 2020, IoT4Ag is a U.S. NSF-funded ERC, uniting expertise across disciplines including agronomy, agricultural engineering, economics, environmental science, and electrical, mechanical, computer, materials and chemical engineering, officials said.

Cappelleri said the center’s mission is to create and translate to practice IoT technologies for precision agriculture and train a workforce that will address “the societal grand challenge of food, energy and water security for decades to come. We’re looking at how technology can help agriculture produce more, while using resources more efficiently.

“By integrating advanced tools and real-time data into farming practices, we can help address the growing global demand for food, energy and water in a more sustainable way,” he added.

He said precision agriculture technologies have emerged as a key solution for increasing crop production, while reducing the use of water and energy resources and minimizing environmental impacts. IoT systems combine sensors, robotics, wireless communication technologies, and artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Buckmaster said the IoT4Ag ERC has many meetings and connection points: “An annual retreat is for the project team to share progress, plans, and integrate the work among the institutions and testbeds. This rotates location and was held at Purdue in 2022 and 2026.”

According to Purdue, a testbed is a specialized, real-world or virtual platform used by researchers, students and industry partners to rigorously test, evaluate and demonstrate new technologies, theories and hardware before they are deployed in actual environments.

Buckmaster added that feedback from the NSF has been stellar with highest ratings, which led to a renewal coming after the fifth year: “The industry member count is increasing and advisory board members have been very supportive of the work, while offering constructive feedback to improve impact.”

Kagan said, “These events are always excellent events in building Center cohesion, and advancing the work of the Center to deliver on its mission.”