COUNTY AGENT ADVISOR SYSTEM (CAAS)

XMCO HAS IDENTIFIED AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONDUCT RESEARCH TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A COUNTY AGENT ADVISOR SYSTEM (CAAS). THIS INNOVATIVE CONCEPT WOULD INVESTIGATE THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY, SPECIFICALLY HYPERMEDIA TECHNOLOGY WITH EMBEDDEDEXPERT SYSTEMS, TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND REQUIREMENTS OF COUNTY AGENTS. THIS MEETS A USDA NEED FOR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO ASSIST LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN RURAL AREAS. COUNTY AGENTS ARE REQUIRED TO ANSWER AND RESEARCH A VARIETY OF QUESTIONS ON A VAST ARRAY OF AGRICULTURAL PROBLEMS FOR LOCAL CITIZENS. QUESTIONS RANGE FROM INDETIFICATION OF PESTS AND DISEASES, TO CONTROL METHODOLOGIES AND OTHER FACETS OF AGRICULTURE. ADDITIONALLY, THEY MUST HAVE ACCESS TO EXPERTS SUCH AS PLANT PATHOLOGISTS, ENTOMOLOGISTS AND WEED SCIENTISTS. THE PROGRESS BEING MADE TODAY IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP A HYPERMEDIA SYSTEM FOR THE COUNTY AGENT. OUR TECHNICAL APPROACH IS TO INTERVIEW SELECTED EXPERTS IN THE COUNTY AGENT ENVIRONMENT, DOCUMENT THEIR DECISION PROCESSES, SELECT PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUES, DEVELOP AKNOWLEDGE BASE, AND FINALLY DEVELOP A HYPERMEDIA SYSTEM PROTOTYPE. THIS APPROACH WILL RESULT IN DEMONSTRATING THE FEASIBILITY OF CAAS AND WILL BE THE FOUNDATION OF A FULL-UP OPERATIONAL PROTOTYPE EFFORT IN PHASE II. AT THE END OF THE PHASE II EFFORT, USDA WILL POSSES A DOCUMENTED SOFTWARE PACKAGE AND HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS TO OPTIMALLY RUN THE CAAS. THIS PROGRAM WILL CONTAIN THE ACCUMULATED KNOWLEDGE AND DECISION PROCESS OF SELECTED USDA AND COUNTY AGENT EXPERTS. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: XMCO STRONGLY BELIEVES CAAS COULD BE REPACKAGED INTO A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS AND RETAILED TO THE CONSUMERS ENGAGED IN GARDENING. FOR EXAMPLE, A PROGRAM FOR VEGETABLE GARDENERS WOULD OFFER EXPERT ADVICE ON HOW TO PLAN, PREPARE, PLANT CARE FOR, HARVEST, AND STORE VEGETABLES. ALSO, CAAS COULD BE PACKAGED FOR AVAILABILITY TO CUSTOMERS AT NURSERIES AND LANDSCAPING FIRMS.