UVA’s 28 August 2026 report describes five days of drone fieldwork at the Morven Sustainability Lab. The collaboration used thermal and optical measurements to examine plant condition, drawing together expertise in sensing, flight guidance and ecology. Researchers planned further analysis to assess the approach’s performance.
Students collected overlapping ground observations and readings from STELLA, a low-cost handheld sensing instrument developed through UVA–NASA collaboration. Comparing measurements from different platforms helps test whether aerial signals reliably describe conditions on the ground. Earlier detection and better-targeted management are intended benefits; the announcement did not report a completed farm-level yield or cost comparison.
