Auburn University

Smart Systems
Engineering

Advancing cutting-edge research in smart horticulture systems, sensor networks, and data-driven engineering solutions for a sustainable future.
Lab research

10+

Ongoing Projects

15+

Awards

5+

Publications

6

Graduate Students

Our Mission

We develop intelligent systems that bridge the gap between engineering innovation and real-world agricultural challenges. Our interdisciplinary team combines expertise in robotics, IoT, data science, and plant science.

About the Lab

The Smart Systems Engineering at Auburn University is dedicated to creating transformative technologies for precision agriculture and smart horticulture. We leverage advanced sensing, machine learning, and automation to solve critical challenges in food production and sustainability.

  • Smart sensor networks for crop monitoring
  • AI-driven decision support systems
  • Autonomous robotic platforms
  • Sustainable resource optimization
Learn more about us

Lab Highlights

Latest projects, publications, news, and opportunities from the lab.

Florabot - Automated Path-Following Ground Robot for Plant Counting and Quality Assessment
Project

Florabot - Automated Path-Following Ground Robot for Plant Counting and Quality Assessment

Ornamental nurseries contain hundreds of thousands of plants across various varieties, making their counting, quality assessment and continuous management challenging. Florabot offers a solution to a…
Xylem Vision
Project

Xylem Vision

A high-throughput pipeline for root anatomy analysis using knowledge distillation with DINOv2 to train YOLO11/RT-DETR. Detection-guided SAM segmentation achieves IoU up to 0.95 with only 50% labeled …
E-Day 2026
News

E-Day 2026

Last Friday, more than 3,500 future engineers arrived on campus for Auburn Engineering's annual open house. BSEN loved getting to show prospective students and their families around our lab spaces, s…
Hamid Syed wins 13th Graduate Engineering Research Showcase (GERS) 2026
News

Hamid Syed wins 13th Graduate Engineering Research Showcase (GERS) 2026

Hamid, a PhD Candidate in our department, was awarded the Biosystems Engineering Winner Award, receiving a plaque and cheque at the 13th Graduate Engineering Research Showcase (GERS) 2026. His r…
Tanzeel Rehman receives 2026 Outstanding Biosystems Engineering Faculty Award! 🎉
News

Tanzeel Rehman receives 2026 Outstanding Biosystems Engineering Faculty Award! 🎉

Since joining Auburn in 2022, Dr. Rehman has built an innovative research program focused on robotics, sensing, and artificial intelligence for smart agricultural systems. His work advances automated…
Empowering a Sustainable Future: AI & Robotics in Agriculture featured by the FFAR Fellows Program: Future Leaders for Food & Agriculture
News

Empowering a Sustainable Future: AI & Robotics in Agriculture featured by the FFAR Fellows Program: Future Leaders for Food & Agriculture

Dr. Tanzeel Rehman’s lab research work “Empowering a Sustainable Future: AI & Robotics in Agriculture,” has been featured by the FFAR Fellows Program: Future Leaders for Food & Agriculture in…
Publication

Transformer-Based hyperspectral image analysis for phenotyping drought tolerance in blueberries

Md. Hasibur Rahman Savannah Busby Sushan Ru Sajid Hanif Alvaro Sanz-Saez Jingyi Zheng Tanzeel U. Rehman

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture · 2025

Publication

Forecasting growth dynamics of hydroponic kale in controlled environment agriculture through vision-based phenotyping and time-series modeling

Md. Hasibur Rahman Emmanuel Ayipio Dorcas Lukwesa Jingyi Zheng Daniel E. Wells Hamid H. Syed Tanzeel U. Rehman

Smart Agricultural Technology · 2025

Publication

A graph convolutional network approach for hyperspectral image analysis of blueberries physiological traits under drought stress

Md. Hasibur Rahman Savannah Busby Sajid Hanif Md Mesbahul Maruf Faraz Ahmad Sushan Ru Alvaro Sanz-Saez Jingyi Zh…

Smart Agricultural Technology · 2025

Supported By

Our Partners

Funding Partners

United States Department of Agriculture

United States Department of Agriculture

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Biosystems Engineering, Auburn University

Biosystems Engineering, Auburn University

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USDA NIFA | National Institute of Food and Agriculture

USDA NIFA | National Institute of Food and Agriculture

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Join Our Team

We are always looking for passionate researchers, engineers, and students who want to make an impact at the intersection of technology and agriculture.