AgSlicing

NSF VINES Track 2 — predictable RAN and spectrum slicing for precision agriculture

AgSlicing — Predictable RAN and Spectrum Slicing for Precision Agriculture — is a multi-institution project funded under the NSF Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems (VINES) program, Track 2. Precision agriculture, which is essential to food security, depends on last-acre connectivity for real-time data exchange, edge- and cloud-based analytics, and AI model updates. Today’s wireless solutions cannot support these varied communication needs predictably, nor do they provide the affordable, predictable spectrum access that pervasive rural deployment requires.

AgSlicing tackles this by enabling predictable Radio Access Network (RAN) slicing and spectrum slicing, and integrating them with precision agriculture. It builds on algorithmic and systems advances already at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3–4: predictable interference control, predictable per-packet reliability and timeliness, predictable capacity allocation, scalable massive MIMO, accurate channel modeling, and reinforcement learning. The goal is a TRL-8 system that supports the most demanding agricultural use cases, such as sprayer teleoperation and monitoring, which need predictable low latency and high reliability. Its standards compliance, software-based implementation, and O-RAN support let it benefit from improving radio performance and the cost advantages of O-RAN.

The system will be developed, demonstrated, and evaluated across the 272 square miles of farmland covered by the ARA Wireless Living Lab, with commercial pilots in rural America (e.g., rural Montana). The project will also produce first-of-its-kind real-world measurement data and models of agricultural wireless channels and communication systems, along with curated experiments that support reproducibility and invite community participation in agriculture wireless research.

Broader impacts. AgSlicing aims to unlock significant economic benefits in the U.S. and globally, and to help fight hunger, reduce fuel use and pollution, lower agricultural water use, and reduce chemical applications. Through the team’s work in the NextG Alliance, O-RAN Alliance, and OnGo Alliance, and its leadership of the O-RAN Alliance Open Testing and Integration Center (ARA-OTIC), the project will inform national and international policy on 6G, rural broadband, and agriculture. The far-edge wireless advances are also expected to benefit utilities, public safety, and defense. The project will broaden participation in computing and networking and enrich undergraduate and graduate research, education, and K-12 outreach at Iowa State University and the University of Virginia.

The team is led by Iowa State University and includes the University of Virginia, Skylark Wireless, Salin 247, and Federated Wireless, bringing together academic research, wireless industry, and agricultural technology partners.

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