JUNE 2021 -JUNE 2022
Autonomous Greenhouses International Challenge 3rd
Through AI and sensors, build greenhouses of the future
Our Invitation To You
We would like to invite computer scientists and horticultural experts to form multidisciplinary teams to both challenge themselves as well as the state of the art in human operated greenhouse production in order to make a large step towards the Autonomous Greenhouse.
If the capabilities of an AI driven greenhouse can be demonstrated, it will imply a significant opportunity to drive horticultural productivity while reducing resource use and management complexity. AI might help us live healthier lives and make it possible to produce more vitamin rich food in greenhouses for growing human populations.
Important Dates
Our Jury
An international jury of experts in the field of horticulture and artificial intelligence will select the winning teams.
Spyros Fountas
Editor in Chief Computer and Electronics in Agriculture,Experienced Associate Professor at Agricultural University of Athens, Greece, with a demonstrated history of working in research and application of precision agriculture.
Gert Kootstra
Assistant professor at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Expertise in machine vision, machine learning and robotics with various applications in agriculture and food production.
Dijun Luo
Principal researcher at Tencent AI Lab. Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Texas. Best paper reward of ICDM 2010 and ECML 2011.
Chieri Kubota
Professor at Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and Director of Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Centre at the Ohio State University, U.S. Expertise in Plant production under controlled environments,Value added crop production,Transplant production technologies,Vegetable grafting,Hydroponic/soilless production.
Kathy Steppe
Full professor at Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Belgium, steering committee member of UGent Agrotopia. Expertise in plant ecophysiology, plant-water relations and carbon metabolism, plant sensors for monitoring and stress detection, plant microCT- and PET-scans, process-based and functional-structural plant modelling, and development of advanced plant-based control strategies.
Mark & Roy Delissen
Innovative lettuce growers, owners of family business Deliscious, The Netherlands. Year-round production of three types of root ball lettuce in a unique cultivation system with LED chambers and greenhouses, from seeds to packaging. Highly automated system. Quality and sustainability are always top priority. Supply to many supermarkets in different countries since more than 50 years.
Jan Willem van Beukel
Councilor municipality Lansingerland, important area for greenhouse horticulture in The Netherlands. Responsible for Greenhouse Horticulture and Greenport, programCouncilor Sustainability, Nature, landscape and biodiversity.
1st Challenge
Final winner of the first worldwide Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge has been announced on 12 December during AgriFoodTech in The Netherlands. Team Sonoma with researchers from Microsoft Research, Wageningen University and University of Copenhagen won the competition. During the final event consumers could taste the first AI grown cucumbers.
2nd Challenge
In 2019-2020, we held a cherry tomatoes production challenge. The team Automatos won the championship, and all five AIs entering the final round outperformed a group of experts with more than 20 years of experience in agriculture and crop cultivation. The result fully demonstrated the value of smart agricultural decision-making and automated greenhouse control technologies, showing their potential to alleviate farmers' burden in the future.
Sponsors
Combining Wageningen University & Research’s knowledge in horticulture and cutting-edge autonomous greenhouse facilities, Tencent AI Lab’s deep expertise in computer system design as well as Artificial Intelligence, we proudly present the 2nd edition of the Autonomous Greenhouses International Challenge
David Wallerstein
David is the Chief eXploration Officer (CXO) of Tencent where he drives the Company's active participation in new and emerging technologies.
