Project Grant 20243353041781

IN RECENT YEARS SUBSTANTIAL EFFORT HAS BEEN INVESTED IN REDUCING GREENHOUSE GASSES AND ACHIEVING NET ZERO INITIATIVES WORLDWIDE. AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES CAN ALSO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT WHEN THE USE OF INEFFICIENT OR IMPROPER METHODS LEADS TO THE RELEASE OF SEQUESTERED SOIL ORGANIC CARBON (SOC), WHICH ALSO PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MAINTAINING THE CONTENT, STABILITY AND NUTRITION OF THE SOIL FOR BEARING CROPS. WHILE ADVANCEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN AGRICULTURE ANALYSIS & CROP SCIENCE, THERE IS STILL A SIGNIFICANT DISPARITY IN ACCESSIBILITY TO THIS THIS TECHNOLOGY DUE TO LACK OF INTERNET AND OTHER ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGES.SHORT-WAVE INFRARED (SWIR) IMAGING POSSESSES THE UNIQUE ABILITY TO SEE CHARACTERISTICS OF OBJECTS THAT ARE INVISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE, EVEN WHEN GIVEN LESS THAN IDEAL CONDITIONS. TRADITIONAL SWIR IMAGING NECESSITATES INDIUM GALLIUM ARSENIDE (INGAAS) SENSORS, WHICH DEMAND LOW-YIELD AND HIGH-COST BUMP-BONDING PROCESSES. BECAUSE OF ITS HIGH COST AND HIGH-POWER CONSUMPTION, INGAAS SWIR SENSORS HINDERED THE WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF SWIR IMAGING. HOWEVER, STRATIO, INC.'S CORE TECHNOLOGIES ARE BASED ON GERMANIUM (GE) WHICH ALLOWS OUR SENSORS TO BE MORE AFFORDABLE, LESS POWER CONSUMING AND LIGHTER BY DESIGN.STRATIO IS PROPOSING A LOW-COST, HIGH-SENSITIVITY GERMANIUM (GE)-BASED SHORT WAVE INFRARED (SWIR) SPECTRAL SENSOR FOR USE IN SOC MONITORING. IN ORDER TO REACH OUR TARGET CUSTOMER, WE INTEND KEEP FINAL COSTS LOW AND OFFER A FINAL PRICE POINT OF LESS THAN $2. ONCE WE HAVE BUILT OUR INITIAL PROTOTYPE, STRATIO HAS RECRUITED DR. JONATHAN SANDERMAN OF THE WOODWELL CLIMATE RESEARCH CENTER AS A CONSULTANT FOR THE PROJECT. SANDERMAN'S TEAM POSSESSES EXTENSIVE EXPERTISE IN THE SOIL SPECTROSCOPY FIELD AND WILL USE THIS EXPERIENCE TO TEST STRATIO'S DEVICE ON A TOTAL OF 300 SOIL SAMPLES FROM LOCAL SOILS PRESENT IN THE AGRONOMICALLY CRITICAL FARMLANDS OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA AND WILL IDENTIFY 5 FARMS TO COLLECT THESE SAMPLES FROM. UTILIZING BOTH STRATIO'S SPECTRAL SENSOR AND TRADITIONAL LABORATORY METHODS AS A CONTROL, SANDERMAN'S TEAM WILL COLLECT THE DATA AND TOGETHER WITH STRATIO WILL ASSESS THE DATA TO ASSESS THE SENSOR'S PERFORMANCE AND MAKE ANY NECESSARY CHANGES TO THE FINAL DESIGN.BY OFFERING SENSORS AT A PRICE POINT THAT ENABLES WIDESPREAD INTEGRATION, STRATIO AIMS TO MAKE THIS IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGY MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ENABLE WIDESPREAD INTEGRATION AND PUT THE POWER OF SWIR SENSING IN THE HANDS OF FAMERS BOTH DOMESTICALLY AND WORLDWIDE. BEYOND AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS, STRATIO ALSO AIMS TO INFLUENCE THE CONSERVATIONAL EFFORTS AS WELL AS THE LARGER ESG MARKET THROUGH BROADER CARBON QUANTIFICATION APPLICATIONS INCLUDING SOC ANALYSIS IN COASTAL WETLANDS AND OTHER AREAS TO INFLUENCE CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND NET ZERO INITIATIVES ON A GLOBAL SCALE.