Tech x Permaculture: BSEE Students Present their Research Projects in Virtual Brown Bag Session

Los Banos, Laguna

Four BS Electrical Engineering students presented their research proposals and outputs this afternoon in a virtual brown bag session organized by Dr. Anton Domini Sta. Cruz of the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology, University of the Philippines Los Banos (CEAT-UPLB). 

Pioneer Permaculture Research PH (PRPH) Scholar and DJI Tello drone recipient, Jayson Osayan, presented the results of his drone tech study entitled "Development of Non-GPS Drone Mission Control through Computer Vision and Ground Control Points." The research was conducted to help designers and researchers automate their drone monitoring of land use and land cover change in permaculture landscapes. Another study in collaboration with PRPH was presented by AJ de Vera entitled "Raspberry Pi-Based Bird Classification System Through Bird Vocalizations in a Permaculture Setting." The study aims to help practitioners and researchers identify bird sounds in permaculture landscapes to monitor avifaunal diversity. The technologies being developed by these students will hopefully inspire more permaculture-based research at the university.

Aside from these two projects, there are new research proposals as well. John Mhel Policarpio will use the Tello to measure windspeed in his study entitled, "Wind Estimation using the Onboard Sensors and Visual Positioning System of a Micro-Drone." While Reign Cyril de Vera will build on AJ's research with a proposal entitled "Microcomputer-Based Sound Source Localization Development for Instantaneous Bird Count Estimation."

Thanks to these future engineers and scientists, the future of tech-driven permaculture research is bright (Read: Modern farming is harming the planet. Tech-driven permaculture could heal it). We need all the help we can get if we want to reimagine agriculture and avoid a major planetary crisis in 2030.

Last January 30, 2022, PRPH awarded a small research grant, two Tello drones, and free mentorship to two undergraduate students. Hopefully, we will be able to continue to do this and reach more disciplines in the natural and social sciences.

PRPH is an independent research initiative. Our goal is to document and study permaculture designs in the Philippines for ecosystem restoration.