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 GRYFN, which offers precise geomatics solutions for coaligned
and repeatable multisensor drone data collection, is adding
members to its team, growing its space, and looking to empower
the future of agriculture research.
“The pandemic forced us to change the way we train and onboard
new clients, and we moved to a larger, more traditional office
space at the Purdue Research Park to accommodate growth and a
safer workplace,” said Trenton Lindenman, the chief operating
officer at GRYFN. “These past several months have provided
numerous opportunities for us to expand, adding team members,
and evaluating new technologies to empower researchers and
breeders.”
GRYFN is using technology developed at Purdue and licensed
through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology
Commercialization. The GRYFN approach uses an unmanned aerial
vehicle platform with a coaligned sensor package – visible RGB,
LiDAR and very near infrared hyperspectral – along with
processing software to enable breeders to scale research
operations and empowers them with precise, repeatable data for
research and high throughput phenotyping and other applications
in the field.
“We have added a full-time pilot and analyst to help with data
collection and processing, a director of solutions for
hardware-software integration and support, and we are actively
recruiting a research scientist,” said Trent, who is also an
alumnus of agronomy and agriculture education at Purdue. “This
year was about operational excellence, driving evidence to
support our capabilities and collaborator feedback. Now we turn
to telling our story, to sales and customer support for the
coming season.”
As part of its continuing research and development work, the
GRYFN team is actively integrating thermal and short-wave
infrared hyperspectral technologies for use on platforms in
2021.
Leveraging a special FAA waiver this summer, GRYFN collaborated
with Purdue to fly day and night missions over corn to
demonstrate an operational capacity to research nighttime crop
stress due to heat and drought.
The startup partnered last year with Purdue and received a $2.25
million sub-award grant from the Advanced Research Projects
Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), a division of the U.S. Department of
Energy. Eight Purdue professors founded GRYFN with backgrounds
in aeronautic technology, biology, plant sciences, agricultural
and biological engineering, civil engineering, and electrical
and computer engineering.
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The technology was originally developed under the
Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA)
program, through a $6.6 million ARPA-E grant awarded in 2015.
GRYFN is expanding into a new location in Purdue
Research Park West Lafayette.
About Purdue Research Foundation
The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation
created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in
1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds
scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue's
intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on
behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue
Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park, Purdue
Technology Centers and University Development Office. In 2020, the
IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup
creation and in the top 20 for patents. The foundation received the
2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place
from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more
information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue
Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more
information about involvement and investment opportunities in
startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at
foundry@prf.org.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a top public research institution developing
practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5
Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World
Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and
out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online,
real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to
all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen
tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than
ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the
persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.
[Writer: Chris Adam
Source: Trenton Lindenman] |
