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The hybrid electric vehicle is currently changing the automotive market at an impressive rate. While not as highly publicized, the transit bus market is being transformed at an equal rate. As these markets move forward, the school bus market remains largely unchanged. As an unchanged market, there is still the opportunity to optimize a hybrid vehicle platform for school buses. This study begins the modeling process of an existing class C school bus and investigates the potential that both series and parallel hybrids hold to reduce fuel consumption and emissions for a school bus. The primary focus of this study is to investigate the potential benefits of adding an electricity grid interconnection to hybrid electric school buses, allowing them to add to the hybrid potential with a pre-charged battery pack from the electric utility grid. These vehicles are known as plug-in hybrids.

Precision farming involves doing the right things in the right place at the right time. Combine yield mapping systems are documenting considerable yield variation within typical fields and should encourage improved crop management for higher profits and less impact on the environment. Variety choice, pest control, drainage, soil type, soil fertility, tillage practices, crop rotation, plant stands, and topography are a few of the factors causing yield variation. Managing these causes will require a much more detailed, yet holistic approach to crop production. Precision farming tools make on-farm research easier, which should help producers make more informed management decisions.