♻️ Sustainable Food System thanks to Artificial Intelligence.

Before the covid-19 pandemic, I looked at ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE with some suspicions.
I think if a technology is applied to replace human labor in terms of saving hours of work for the exclusive benefit of society, then it is not the right solution.
The advantage must be for everyone.

Teknoring

The situation we are experiencing today due to the PANDEMIC has made me understand how much technology can help us in our time of need.
ROBOTICS can become the means for new solutions to support medical and nursing staff, to deal with health emergencies, such as the first screening and diagnosis, by curbing the onset of the virus and its contagion.

In short, new technologies can be used to improve and protect our lives in any economic and social sector.

Given that, according to demographers ( U.N. data), the world population will increase in the coming years and consequently the quantity of food to be produced will have to increase, I asked myself if ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE could help in this case too.

U.N.

Well yes, I found the answers I was looking for.

In the coming years we will have a GREAT CHALLENGE TO FACE: being able to increase food production taking into account climatic and environmental problems but also the future new viruses that will arise.

Will ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE and ROBOTICS be the driving force behind new productions that will allow us to produce all the food necessary for humanity while avoiding making our Planet an uninhabitable place?

Because the challenge is precisely to find an alternative to the current food production system which is no longer sustainable.

Agrifarming

This is where HYDROPONIC and AEROPONIC systems come into play, managed by a network of computers and mechanical systems that harmonize each operation.
Traditional agricultural systems can be replaced by HYDROPONIC ones, i.e. cultivations above ground in artificial soil or AEROPONIC, i.e. crops that do not use land.
The so-called Vertical Farming develops vertically, requires fewer resources and less pesticides, guaranteeing an improvement in plant health, an increase in growth and a significant saving of space and water.

Of course traditional agriculture has already started using innovative software to prevent pest attacks by automating the entire production cycle: from the analysis of soil microelements, to the correct planning of irrigation and fertilization. (i.e. Daiki IT system of Smartisland).

Smartisland

But we need to go further thinking about occupying less land but more VERTICAL SPACE at least as regards agriculture.

A project already developed by many startups, such as HEXAGRO URBAN FARMING whose goal is to decentralize food production to allow access to healthy food for anyone through aeroponic agriculture.

Inhabitat

I like the idea of this startup that wants to make aeroponic technology within everyone's reach while today it is used almost exclusively in industrial contexts.
In short, a network of urban farmers scattered around the cities, they currently have requests inside offices, hotels, banks and closed public places because they improve air quality by reducing pollution in the workplace, and they also decrease employee stress who can collectively enjoy freshly picked vegetables and fruit.
I love the idea to be accessible to private citizens who do not have outdoor spaces but would like to self-produce their vegetables.
It would be a great satisfaction and also an economic one.

I don't want to go too far but I absolutely have to talk about IRON OX, a Californian project of about 750 square meters of hydroponic greenhouse cultivation managed almost exclusively by ROBOTS controlled by a centralized ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Startupology

The plants are constantly monitored through environmental sensors that allow to determine in real time the state of health and development of the plants.

Fastcompany

I understand that the idea of gigantic greenhouses can be a little frightening and yet they could drastically reduce the environmental impact, because these vertical indoor farming can be placed anywhere, even in abandoned industrial areas.
These new systems would make large cities independent of existing production chains, reducing costs and CO2 emissions due to the zero kilometer origin of the products.
In addition, the technology of the systems used allow us to recreate ideal climatic conditions for the growth of plants as we have to get used to living with the climatic changes that each year create significant damage to crops.

If you think I am working too much with my imagination it is not so because ROBOTICS and ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE are already a concrete reality also used in traditional agricolture and can help us converting our obsolete production systems into eco-sustainable agricultural systems 4.0.

Thanks for stopping by here.

REFERENCES:

• U.N. World Population Prospects 2019.

• Inhabitat Info about Hexagro Farming.

• Iron Ox Info about Iron Ox.

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