Sorghum is one of the best alternatives to corn when it comes to biofuel production. It might even be better, since it can survive drought and other less-than-ideal conditions. Problem is, scientists still don't know which variety (because there are numerous) yields the most biofuel feedstock. The Department of Energy earmarked $30 million last year to fund several teams that can help it develop and find the best variety using robots. This particular team says drones will enable them to gather intel on their crops' conditions much faster than humans can. If other scientists around the globe adopt their methods, they can also speed up the data-gathering process for their research studies.