Interns Tackle Ag Challenges With the N.C. PSI Makerspace

NC State’s think-and-do spirit thrives in the N.C. PSI Makerspace, where three next-generation engineers and computer scientists have complemented their coursework with hands-on experience shaping the future of farming.

NC State University’s think-and-do spirit thrives in the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative’s Makerspace, where three next-generation engineers and computer scientists have complemented their coursework with hands-on experience in shaping the future of farming.

Interns Connery Tran and John Glenn II graduate on Saturday, May 9, and Vy Hoang is on track to finish up this fall. They’ll be taking with them new knowledge gained as they designed and built an array of tools — from a tractor-mounted imaging system to a sensor that could measure greenhouse gases in a cow’s rumen.

Along the way, they have mastered an array of skills, from soldering and creating three-dimensional models to designing printed circuit boards, working on teams and communicating effectively and efficiently with others with different disciplines and backgrounds.

These interns will not only leave with practical, hands-on skills, they will also be workforce ready and highly motivated to tackle the challenges facing modern agriculture.

As Makerspace Director Andrea Monteza notes, they also came to appreciate agriculture’s importance, the challenges that growers face and the need for rugged, yet creative, solutions.

“The experience these students gain in the Makerspace allows them to translate classroom learning into real-world applications — both in collaboration with research labs across NC State and at agricultural research stations,” Monteza says. “These interns will not only leave with practical, hands-on skills, they will also be workforce ready and highly motivated to tackle the challenges facing modern agriculture. At the same time, our researchers gain the tools and technologies needed to advance their work.

“Having Vy, Connery and John on our team has been a win for them, a win for the future of agriculture, and a win for the N.C. PSI,” she adds.
 

Engineering Meets Art in Hoang’s Approach to Problem-Solving

Among the interns, Vy Hoang has had the longest tenure in the Makerspace.

Having grown up in Raleigh, Hoang joined the Makerspace early in her sophmore year. At the time, she had no agriculture beyond her family's small chicken farm.

“I didn't have much interest in working with agriculture before the Makerspace, but my time here has given me a deep appreciation for this field,” she says. “Many of the projects and research that I've worked on focus on reducing labor costs through automation, minimizing environmental impacts or improving disease detection.”

Now, as she prepares to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a minor in art and design, she says she’s eager to begin a career in design or embedded systems and open to working in ag tech if, as she puts it, “the right opportunity comes along.”

In the Makerspace, Hoang racked up impressive experiences, having helped automate reactant dispensing, creating sensors to measure nitrate levels in soil – and more.

It was work on imaging tools for on-farm automation that led her to her favorite project, the C3POil.

The device is designed to cool – and to look cool.

The C3POil was a good proof of concept ... that both looks cool and works.

The idea came to Hoang on two blistering August days when the Makerspace team joined a horticultural science crew at a field lab behind the JC Raulston Arboretum to test a tractor-mounted camera system the team calls “Hawkeye.”

The system is designed to guide equipment that will automate tomato and pepper production tasks such as placing stakes and tying plants to them.

“Since the system was out in the heat for hours, it overheated pretty fast. Andrea was thinking about ways to cool it, and as a joke was thinking, ‘If only we can just submerge it in water.’ But technically we could cool it with mineral oil,” Hoang recalls.

Hoang went back, filled an aquarium with oil and submerged a tiny, affordable computer known as a Raspberry Pi, then added gravel and aquatic plants.

The look Hoang created and the device’s name have generated a level of intrigue that routinely draws attention when Hoang shows C3POil off at student-related events.

The system, she explains, “includes all the necessary connections and peripherals to function as a fully operational computer. The cooling liquid used is mineral oil, which is non-conductive and excellent at absorbing heat, helping maintain stable performance even under heavy workloads.”

The little computer is connected to a camera module capturing live video that can be viewed on a display monitor, allowing users to both process and visualize data, Hoang adds.

I’ve met so many wonderful people and learned about things I never would’ve encountered otherwise.” 

“The C3POil was a good proof of concept that it could happen and became a good project to showcase something that both looks cool and works,” Hoang says. “It brought together a lot of the skills I learned at the Makerspace while also letting me express my artistic side.”

As Hoang contemplates life beyond graduation, she’s grateful for the Makerspace internship.

“The experience I’ve gained will absolutely support me in any of my chosen paths,” she says. “I’ve met so many wonderful people and learned about things I never would’ve encountered otherwise. It’s been an incredibly positive and impactful experience.” 

Tran Bridges Software and Hardware for Tools That Work

Hoang’s positive Makerspace experiences encouraged her friend and fellow computer science student Connery Tran to join the team.

Connery shared Hoang’s interest in using computer science to solve practical problems, and he found working on the Hawkeye system as rewarding as she did.

“It took a couple days to set up all the Raspberry Pis and the tractor boom,” he recalls. “The whole team was out there sweating, putting together the huge apparatus, but it was a great time. We were laughing, listening to songs and making jokes.”

Still, Tran was nervous.

He remembers thinking, “What if my software had an unseen bug? What if the cameras failed? What if it was too hot for the Pis? Or what if it rained?”

But then came relief.

“It worked!” he says, then quickly adds, “Sorta … not as well as we hoped, but it was a starting place, something to iterate on.” 

Learning about printed circuit boards, breadboards and embedded systems was entirely new to me.

As the project unfolded, Tran saw his skill set grow in unanticipated ways as he learned to bridge software and physical hardware.

“Learning about printed circuit boards, breadboards and embedded systems was entirely new to me,” he says. “Writing software that directly drove and responded to hardware components was so cool.”

Tran says the experience also taught him more about developing for a consumer.

The project involved “asking questions and designing a solution in a way that would be most beneficial for users,” he notes. “When we test our projects, we go on site to the farm and talk to the farmers. That way we get feedback straight from the source.”

 As Tran approaches graduation, he’s been looking for software development jobs, including ones in ag tech.

“I’ve always wanted to work in a field that left an impact on people, that could help make the world a better place,” Tran says. “Working at the Makerspace gave me that experience. … The Hawkeye project has the potential to impact farmers all over North Carolina, lessening the physical toll by automating tomato staking, tomato counting and tracking of diseases.”

Glenn Navigates Real-World Challenges in Mechanical Engineering

Like Hoang and Tran, mechanical engineering student Glenn came to the Makerspace with little experience with agriculture but a strong desire to put his academic training to good use and test it out on projects designed for impact.

“As a student, we are not given much hands-on experience when it comes to designing, building and working with real systems. (In the classroom) all problems are clearly defined and have an objective correct answer,” Glenn says.

Engineering systems to perform in agricultural applications involves a set of constraints that are unique and often reward simplicity and robustness.

As he’s learned in the Makerspace, that isn’t always the case out in the real world – and perhaps especially so in farming.

“Through working in the Makerspace, I can appreciate the role of technology” in agriculture, Glenn says. “Engineering systems to perform in agricultural applications involves a set of constraints that are unique and often reward simplicity and robustness.”

Glenn says he’s found it rewarding to help work on projects that help farmers improve their efficiency and do things they previously couldn't.

He is especially proud of his work on a senior design project that entailed creating a robot that could autonomously harvest tomatoes.

“I still vividly remember the first time we tested the control system by giving it a desired location to go to,” he remembers. “Watching it move to the correct location was pretty cool.”

Glenn, who hails from Hillsborough, had met Monteza while he was working on that senior design project as an undergraduate. He joined the Makerspace team soon thereafter, as a master’s student in mechanical engineering.

Glenn calls the experience he’s gained in the Makerspace with CAD software, programming, control theory and design “incredibly valuable.”

After graduating, Glenn plans to work in the guidance, navigation and control, or GNC, field.

“Although I will not be going into ag tech, I have had to solve many GNC problems during my time at the Makerspace which will benefit me greatly in the future,” he says.