The next RF-DASH Community of Practice meeting is on May 8, 2026 from 11am to 12pm Central Time.
In this CoP, we will learn about some of the autonomous machines being used in agriculture today, review some emergency response scenarios, and have an open discussion about what should be considered when responding to a farm emergency involving an autonomous machine. We will be joined by Dr. Roger Aby, National Farm Medicine Center Staff Scientist and expert in the emerging field of safety for autonomous machines in agriculture. Autonomous machinery is becoming increasingly common in agriculture. Things like self-driving tractors, milking robots, and many other examples are either in use or soon to be in rural communities across the United States. These autonomous machines often use a variety of sensors to navigate and perform their tasks. Importantly for rural first responders, autonomous machines in agriculture create new risks that come with novel emergency response challenges. While not in agriculture, one recent example is a driverless taxi blocking a fire truck in San Francisco (see article).
To register for this upcoming Community of Practice, please use the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9zJvJqrjTdCIOAAKu2JLhw
