The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) AgResearch, in partnership with the Enterprise Sensor Systems LLC (EnSenSys) of Alamo, Tennessee, has been awarded a grant through the AI TechX Seed Fund to collaborate on “Rapid Identification of Cattle with Infectious Diseases Using AI and Hyperspectral Imaging.” The award, announced on June 11, 2025, will run from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

Low-Res_Support Team at Springhill Research and Education Center

Source: Photo courtesy Enterprise Sensor Systems LLC

Members of the Enterprise Sensor Systems research team record data from cattle breath image captures at the UT AgResearch and Education Center at Spring Hill, Tennessee. Shown left to right are Chance Weldon, Chief Sensor Operator; Dereck Seaton, Senior Vice President, Logistics; and Wanda Castellaw, Manager, Administrative Operations Support. Photo couresty Enterprise Sensor Systems LLC.

AI TechX is an initiative of AI Tennessee, which aims to accelerate the development and real-world application of artificial intelligence through academic-industry collaboration. The AI TechX Seed Fund specifically supports efforts to build high-impact, interdisciplinary research teams that tackle industrial challenges through innovative AI-driven solutions.

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The funded project will expand EnSenSys’s ESS Protect patented technology—originally developed to detect viral signatures in human breath—to detect viral signatures in animals. ESS Protect – Animal, will offer rapid, non-invasive, and contactless screening for bovine respiratory disease (BRD) using hyperspectral imaging and advanced machine learning.

AI TechX consortium

The award also marks EnSenSys’s entry to the AI TechX consortium, expanding access to research and collaborative opportunities. “This project strengthens our commitment to delivering breakthrough biosensing tools that protect animal health and food security,” said LtGen John ‘Glad’ Castellaw, USMC (Ret.), CEO of EnSenSys. “It also underscores the importance of university-industry collaboration in transforming AI research into scalable, deployable solutions.”

The research team includes UT faculty members and EnSenSys leadership and subject matter experts. Leveraging hyperspectral data from a 2024 field study at the UTIA Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and from other collaborations with UT and private industry, they will train AI models capable of detecting disease-specific spectral signatures in bovine breath.

Low-Res_Sensor#2.ESS

Source: Photo courtesy Enterprise Sensor Systems LLC

The EnSenSys Sensor Prototype 2 in operation at a commercial veterinarian location gathering virus signatures from cattle breath. Ted Moore, Chief Technology Manager, left, works with Jerry Dunlap, Senior Vice President for Business Management, to gather the data.

Key outcomes include preliminary design of a field-deployable hyperspectral sensing unit, machine learning models for cattle health status, and a strategy to scale the technology for other livestock and farming environments. Long-term partnership aims to support the establishment of an AgriAI Center of Excellence at UTIA, an innovation hub for integrating AI and data-driven tools into modern farming. The center would equip producers with predictive analytics, automation, and precision technologies to improve productivity, sustainability, and economic resilience across Tennessee agriculture.

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