Thinning and pruning peach trees is a time- and labor-intensive process. Engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute have built a robot designed to intelligently remove branches and small, undergrown peaches to promote a healthy and fruitful orchard, which could result in significant cost savings for Georgia peach farms.

The robot uses a 3D camera to determine peaches that need to be removed and a claw-like device to grab each peach.

Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures Inc. (GATV), an affiliate organization of Georgia Tech, is moving forward with the selection of a qualified development team to advance the creation of a major hub for film and TV productions within the Savannah region. This project aims to bolster economic and workforce development in the local area as well as the state of Georgia.  

September marked the one-year milestone for the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, a public-private organization charged with implementing a plan to advance innovation, opportunity, and shared economic success across Georgia, positioning it as the tech capital of the East Coast.

The initiative's pillars of community research, student engagement, and economic opportunity have made visible impacts in communities throughout Georgia during 2020-2021. 

Four new, federally funded awards totaling $5.5 million will allow Georgia Tech researchers to extend their positive impact in Georgia's underserved communities. The grants, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy, will bring Georgia Tech researchers to various parts of the state. Transit and transportation access will be the focus in metro Atlanta. Those studying fire emissions and their impact on health will visit K-12 schools in southwestern and western Georgia. Faculty members will also work with Savannah middle schoolers to create maps in an effort to increase youth advocacy that addresses the effects of climate change. 

This year marks two decades since the groundbreaking for Technology Square, now home to the highest density of startups, corporate innovators, and research centers in the Southeast. Learn how Georgia Tech influenced the development of midtown Atlanta's premier innovation district.

Six teens from Clarkston, Georgia spent four weeks of their summer in the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) institute, a Georgia Tech program created to help young people learn how to conduct research and develop solutions for their community. Assistant Professor Allen Hyde in the School of History and Sociology spent three weeks training the Clarkston students in research methods. With support from Serve-Learn-Sustain initiative director Jennifer Hirsch, summer intern Hudson McGaughey, and Associate Professor AJ Kim at San Diego State University, the students collected and analyzed data to discover how to make it easier and safer for young people to get to after-school sports, activities, and jobs in Clarkston.