The HortiHeroes Hackathon returned to World Horti Center in Naaldwijk on 21 November, with this edition focusing on Robotics & AI in the Food & Flower industry. Over 140 talented students and professionals from different fields of study and companies gathered to work together on solutions for a 100% autonomous aubergine greenhouse. Team Eggplant Evolution emerged as the big winner and went home with €1,000. With their 'Flying tables', they bet on a concept where, as in pot plant cultivation, tables move through the greenhouse and come to the processing area.
Guided by experts from Lencon, Robocrops, jem-id, Festo, SMC Netherlands, and Tomatoworld, among others, multidisciplinary teams worked all day on directly applicable solutions for the greenhouse of the future, using Robotics and AI. Using idea-generation tools, a tour of Vertify's greenhouse, and pitch training, participants not only hacked the horticultural sector but also worked on their innovation and presentation skills at the same time. The result was 22 concrete, applicable ideas, which the teams presented during a 1.5-minute pitch to an expert jury.
And that produced not only a lot of new knowledge and inspiration but also curiosity about the sector. "This hackathon has piqued my curiosity about the sector. I had never been inside a greenhouse until today. But have now gone from no green fingers to fingers itching to get started in the horticultural sector," said Niels Beukers, Technical Business Administration student at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.
Flying Tables in the aubergine greenhouse
Team Eggplant Evolution, consisting of students from MBO Westland and Inholland University of Applied Sciences, won with a pitch on their concept of 'the Flying tables'. A concept where, as in pot plant cultivation, the tables move through the greenhouse and come to the processing area. This brings several advantages: no labor in the greenhouse, time savings, optimal space utilization, labor savings, and less risk of contamination.
Future-oriented learning and networking
The HortiHeroes Hackathon underlines the importance of cooperation between education and business to develop sustainable and innovative solutions, and to enthuse young people for a career in the Food & Flower industry.
Niels van der Heide, Technical Administration student at TU Delft agrees: "I thought it was cool to work with students from different layers, including students who work in the horticultural sector themselves. As a result, I learned a lot about the sector and the stumbling blocks that remain to be overcome."
The HortiHeroes Hackathon is an initiative of HortiHeroes, realised in collaboration with World Horti Center, RoboCrops, NXTGEN, Katapult, jem-id, Festo, Lencon, Source.ag, Pats, SMC Netherlands, and fieldlab TomatoWorld.
For more information:
HortiHeroes
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https://hortiheroes.com/