PATHOGEN DETECTIVE — An autonomous robot that takes swabs and analyzes them for pathogens in a poultry processing facility was developed by the Arkansas team of the Center for Scalable and Intelligent Automation in Poultry Processing, a project supported by USDA-NIFA. Subbiah and his fellow researchers have shown promising results in adapting the technologies to poultry processing. Arkansas’ research team includes food science professors Kristen Gibson and Philip Crandall, and poultry science professors Casey Owens and Tomi Obe. TOP PHOTO: CAST Animal Group Tour – Casey Owens, professor of poultry science, leads a tour of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s poultry processing pilot plant. The Center for Scalable and Intelligent Automation in Poultry Processing, established by a $5 million USDA-NIFA grant, aims to adapt robotic automation to the poultry processing industry.