The Click Times: Our Innovation Analysts recently investigated innovative technology and up-and-coming firms developing agricultural solutions. We decided to share our insights with you because there are so many entrepreneurs working on so many different solutions. This time, we’ll take a look at five smart farming ideas that have a lot of potential.
Heat Map: Top 5 Smart Farming Solutions
We employed a data-driven startup scouting approach to determine the most relevant solutions globally for our 5 top candidates. Out of 420 related solutions, the Global Startup Heat Map below shows 5 intriguing examples. Your top choices could look very different depending on your individual requirements.
1. AgriBot – Autonomous Tractor
Tractors are important pieces of agricultural equipment that are used for everything from seed planting to harvesting crops. It can be used to transport huge objects or even as a personal vehicle. To get work done, farmers spend a lot of time driving tractors. Agriculture has benefited from automation in driving technologies, with autonomous tractors allowing farmers to focus on other elements of their business. Agribot, a Polish business, is developing its eponymous autonomous tractor, the Agribot, which offers various advantages to farmers. Their tractors are equipped with a variety of sensors that dramatically limit human interaction with chemicals and pesticides during weeding, in addition to saving time.
It provides for enhanced capacity, operating at all hours of the day and night, and the ability to perform two agronomic jobs at once.
2. One Water – Smart Irrigation
Seasonal changes have a significant impact on agricultural activities. Crop yields are affected all around the world by prolonged drought during the summer months and destructive floods during the rainy season. Some parts of the world are experiencing years of drought with little rainfall. It’s no wonder that irrigation technology is getting a lot of attention. Smart irrigation ensures effective water distribution to crops while minimising or eliminating water waste in agriculture. One Water, an Indian business backed by Nascent Info Technologies, creates smart irrigation solutions for agriculture using the Internet of Things (IoT). Excess water can also destroy crops and encourage the growth of weeds. One drop of water can make a big difference.One Water can detect soil moisture, humidity, and temperature and use that information to automate drip watering on the farm, saving time and money.
3. Saga Robotics – Autonomous Harvesting
Crop harvesting is the most labor-intensive operation of the season for farms with little mechanisation. Harvesting takes place not only in fields, but also in orchards, vineyards, and plantations. Harvesting methods for agriculture that automate the process reduce labour stress and increase efficiency. It also protects the workers from mishaps or snake bites. Saga Robotics, a Norwegian business, is developing Thorvald, an autonomous farm robot capable of doing a variety of activities, including harvesting fruits and vegetables. Depending on their demands, farmers can pick from four distinct types of robots. ROS, an open-source meta-operating system for robotics, is used by all of their robots.
4. Desamis – Livestock Surveillance
Cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and chicken all provide major contributions to human food and clothing. Animal husbandry is a branch of agriculture that deals with the care, breeding, raising, and monitoring of animals on a day-to-day basis. Cattle, in particular, are being fitted with sensors that track their movement and activity, measure the temperature in their stomachs, examine their breath for infections, and so on. Desamis, a Japanese startup, is developing U-monitor, a smart dairy platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor, identify, and analyse cattle behaviour so that farmers may make informed decisions. It keeps track of when cattle are eating, drinking, moving, standing, lying, and ruminating by recording and monitoring their movements. It uses sensors in cattle’s stomachs to look for dystasia-related disorders.Furthermore, the data is provided in real-time, allowing for quick analysis and decision-making.
5. Plastomics – Genetic Editing
It is estimated that by 2050, the world’s population will be over 9 billion people. Almost all of the world’s arable land is now used for agriculture. This encourages agricultural innovation in order to boost farm productivity or yields per acre/hectare. Genetic manipulation of crop seeds is one of the most potent, but divisive, inventions. C4 photosynthesis, CRISPR/Cas9, and genomic selection are valuable techniques because they can develop crops more resistant in difficult growth environments. They are divisive since there is little control over the outcome of modifying a crop’s gene, let alone the huge costs of such technologies that will eventually feed billions.Plastomics, a startup based in the United States, is working on a new technique to improve crops by modifying the plant’s genetic features via the chloroplast rather than the nucleus. They feel that chloroplast engineering is superior since a cell has multiple chloroplasts, allowing for exact introduction of characteristics. The chloroplast’s biological properties result in crop products that are better for the environment and more profitable for seed corporations and farmers.
What about the remaining 415 solutions?
While we feel that data is essential for developing insights, it is easy to become overwhelmed by it. Our goal is to give you with a comprehensive perspective and actionable innovation intelligence for your Proof of Concept (PoC), partnership, or investment objectives. Out of the 420 startups we looked at for this article, the 5 highlighted above are promising examples. Get in contact if you’d want help identifying the most suitable options based on your specific criteria and collaboration approach.
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Tags: #smart farming #smart farming technology #smart agriculture
