It has been fun lately to track how sensor data is being folded into agricultural harvesting and production. An anthocyanin camera is coming on line that is anticipated to cost about $80 and other sensors of moisture and color saturation and hue are going down to less than $5. Wi-Fi Chipsets are also heading down to less than $8. What this means practically is that the small farmer producing organics is going to be able to use high tech solutions to determine when to harvest, when to water, what organic nutrients need to be supplemented, and even embed sensors and algorithms for communication protocols into his harvesting equipment so he harvests his produce at its peak of flavor and nutritive value.
I got into this because the owners of Cedar Grove Blueberry Farm told me about a contest for a blueberry harvester that would reduce damage to blueberries.
Got me thinking and I think a simple and elegant answer is to harvest berries or other produce identified by calibrated sensors at exactly the right degree of ripeness using only necessary and sufficient vacuum suction to overcome the tensile strength of the connection to a growth media. Equip nozzles that come into contact with growth media with sensors, communicate with the sensors in real time through Wi-Fi and mobile phone technology, see the harvesting process as it occurs through a camera on the nozzle and route the collected produce through appropriately sized and cushioned collection hoses directly into containers of field lugs on an autonomous robotic mobile unit. Mine may not be the best solution, but it is doable today with today's technology at reasonable cost. The patent for it is already filed. The patent illustrator is Rae LeGrone. We all had fun doing this. Win or lose.
From data monetization to good food. Who would have thunk?
