Alumnus Chase Schapansky's unexpected match up of cultivation and innovation captivated spectators at the 2018 World Ag Expo.

His fully autonomous orchard sprayer— referred to as the Global Unmanned Spray System (GUSS) — merges the lines between agriculture and engineering. GUSS was awarded a place in the Ag Expo’s Top Ten New Product list.

A mechanical engineer for Crinklaw Farm Services (CFS), Schapansky has taken the lead on the GUSS since his days as a Fresno State student.

Knowing that Schapansky had experience as a spraying fabricator, Dave Crinklaw, longtime family friend and owner of CFS, presented the idea of GUSS to Schapansky during his college years. After graduation, Schapansky was brought aboard to complete the project using the knowledge he collected in the classroom.

“I use a lot of my education pretty much every day at the shop,” Schapansky said. "I do a lot of 3-D modeling on it so that way the fab[rication] guys know what to build. Even while I was building it in college, I was able to use what I was learning. A lot of the steering geometry— I figured all that out while I was in school.”

As anyone on the Crinklaw team will tell you, GUSS is incredibly smart. The sleek and shiny vehicle, monitored by an independent van operator, is designed to glide through orchard rows while applying product at specific rates, saving the company both time and labor costs.

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