Sensors in the Field (10 minutes)

Before an AI-powered crop monitoring system can detect crop health, it first needs accurate information about the field itself. Farmers and agricultural engineers collect measurement and directional data to help AI systems understand the size and layout of farmland before monitoring crops. AI systems rely on high-quality input data. If the system does not know where crops are located, how large the field is, or the direction of paths, the system may collect inaccurate information or move inefficiently through the field.

Connect this lesson to the AI Systems Framework students explored in Lesson 1:

1. Input → the system collects data
2. Processing → the system organizes and analyzes the data
3. Output → the system generates information or classifications
4. Action → the program responds based on the output

Explain that this lesson focuses on collecting the input data that future AI systems will rely on. Students will use Ari’s Distance App and Compass App to collect measurement and directional data about farmland.

Ari’s Apps & Sensors (10 minutes)

Distance App

The Distance App uses the Time of Flight (ToF) sensor to measure how far away something is.

• Explain that students will use this app to collect distance data to determine the size of each plot. By measuring the side lengths, students will calculate the perimeter and area of each field plot.
• In agriculture, land surveyors measure plots to determine how much can be planted. They use these measurements to divide land efficiently and plan resource use.

Compass App

The Compass App measures direction in degrees, indicating which way something is facing.

• Explain that students will use this app to collect directional data for pathways and travel routes around the field plots.
• Clarify that compass readings are given in degrees (°), minutes (′), and seconds (″):
  • Degrees indicate the general direction
  • Minutes and seconds provide more precise measurements
  • Note that compass minutes and seconds are not units of time. Just like a degree can be broken into smaller parts, one degree is divided into 60 minutes, and one minute is divided into 60 seconds. This allows surveyors and navigation systems to describe direction much more precisely than using whole-number degrees alone.
• In agriculture, land surveyors use directional data to map land and understand how plots are oriented. Farmers use this information to plan sunlight exposure, organize planting rows, and design irrigation systems.

Explain the Challenge (5 minutes)

The Challenge: Find the distance and directional data for 5 field plots using Ari’s apps and sensors, then use a map scale to determine the real-world size of each field in yards.

Overview

1. This lesson uses section A of the Agriculture Mat.
2. Use the Distance App to measure the side lengths of each field plot in centimeters.
3. Calculate the perimeter and area of each field plot.
4. Use the map scale to convert the measurements into yards.
5. Use the Compass App to collect directional data for 5 pathways around the field plots.
6. Record compass readings in degrees (°), minutes (′), and seconds (″).

Agriculture Map Scale

After measuring the field plots in centimeters, students will use the map scale to convert their measurements into yards. Explain that agricultural maps often use a scale to represent large fields in a smaller space. Measurements on the Agriculture Mat represent much larger distances.

1 centimeter on the Agriculture Mat = 10 yards in the real field

Setup (10 minutes)

1. Turn on Ari and open the Toolkit folder.
2. Place the mat on a flat surface.
3. Model how to use Ari’s apps.

How to get a distance reading:

1. Open the Distance app.
2. Swipe the screen to change the measurement unit to centimeters.
3. Place Ari at the corner of a field plot with the ToF sensor facing along the side of the plot.
4. Place a book, card, or flat surface perpendicular to Ari at the opposite end of the side to measure the distance.

How to get a compass reading:

1. Open the Compass app and select On a Map.
2. Calibrate Ari by following the directions on the screen.
3. Set North to align with the map compass.
4. Place Ari so it is facing in the direction of the pathway or travel route.
5. Record the degrees (°), minutes (′), and seconds (″) readings shown at the bottom of the screen. Tap the center of Ari's screen to freeze the compass readout.

Data Collection & Analysis (35 minutes)

Have students turn to the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hvk9-8Y9bqxBoUqW3l2zhCAwUfkQwxMSF07M9GjkU/edit?usp=sharing">Module 2, Lesson 2 activity sheet in their Field Notebooks. They will use this page to record their work throughout the lesson.

Students should work through each section of the activity sheet to collect, calculate, and analyze the field data using Ari’s apps and sensors.

The Data Analysis questions may be completed independently or discussed as a group before students record their responses.

1. Which field plot has the largest area in square yards? Why might this information be important for a farmer?
2. How could directional data help tractors, drones, or other autonomous farming equipment move more efficiently through the farmland?
3. Why is it important for agricultural AI systems to collect accurate measurement and directional data before monitoring crops?
4. How could an AI system use the data you collected today?

Exit Ticket - Explain Your Thinking (10 minutes)

Conclude the lesson by presenting the “Explain Your Thinking” question and having students independently complete a written response in their Field Notebook.

Explain Your Thinking:

How could an agricultural AI system use the distance and directional data you collected today, and why is it important for that data to be accurate?