Laasya Acharya
William Mason High School
Mason, Ohio
UAV Application of Multimodal Neural Network with Dynamic Hyperparameters for Crop Disease Detection
Laasya created an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that uses AI to detect crop disease.
View Poster
Laasya Acharya, 17, of Mason, developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to detect crop disease on a large scale for her Regeneron Science Talent Search computer science project. Every year, one in 11 people around the globe struggle with a lack of proper nutrition. Meanwhile, around 30% of food loss worldwide happens during the production and harvest stages. A major reason is the absence of efficient and affordable ways to detect disease.
In her project, Laasya built a neural network and fed it field-based images and videos of diseased crops sourced from farmers and universities. She also designed and built the UAV for crop inspection. She fitted it with a camera, display and Raspberry Pi computer to collect and analyze field images. The system detected crop disease with an accuracy of 87%. Early detection of crop disease helps farmers deploy preventive measures and reduce waste.
Laasya, the child of Rajeshkumar and Reema Acharya, attends William Mason High School, where she is captain of the science fair team. Laasya volunteers as a tutor and with her local Science Discovery Camp.
Beyond the Project
Laasya founded The Ceres Organization, which raises awareness about food insecurity. She received a Congressional Award Gold Medal and the President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award.
FUN FACTS: Laasya pulls up a flight tracking app to check the destination and route of any aircraft she spots in the sky. Airplanes remind her of how science has made the world smaller.
