Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA
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0:08 - 0:11Hi everyone, my name is Rory,
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0:11 - 0:13mechanical engineer, social entrepreneur.
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0:14 - 0:19Agriculture, it's the world's
most important industry. -
0:19 - 0:23And agriculture is going
through some growing pains -
0:23 - 0:26as our global society changes faster
than it ever has before. -
0:26 - 0:28The population is rising,
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0:28 - 0:31the developing world is eating more meat.
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0:31 - 0:34We're physically running out
of resources and space. -
0:34 - 0:37In a 2012 report by World Wildlife Fund,
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0:37 - 0:42they state that humanity must now produce
more food in the next 4 decades -
0:42 - 0:45than in the last 8,000 years
of agriculture combined. -
0:45 - 0:47And we must do so sustainably.
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0:47 - 0:50That's a monumental
challenge that we face. -
0:50 - 0:52And what I found
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0:52 - 0:55is that in our race to adapt,
in our race to feed the world, -
0:55 - 0:58two major farming paradigms
have come to dominate the landscape. -
0:58 - 1:02And today I want to tell you
about an idea for a third. -
1:02 - 1:04But first let's start with the status quo.
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1:04 - 1:06On the one hand we have the polycrop,
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1:06 - 1:09a system where multiple types
of plants are in the same area, -
1:09 - 1:12mutually benefiting each other
as well as the soil. -
1:12 - 1:17It's a great system, here's an example:
my backyard garden. -
1:17 - 1:23We have fruit trees, sunflowers, broccoli,
kale, spinach, all working together; -
1:23 - 1:27it's an ecosystem at work,
it's very biologically efficient, -
1:27 - 1:30and because of that we don't have to
add fertilizer or pesticides -
1:30 - 1:32to make this function.
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1:32 - 1:36However, the polycrop
is very labor intensive. -
1:36 - 1:40It takes a lot of time
to make this garden work. -
1:40 - 1:41And on a commercial scale,
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1:41 - 1:45less and less people want to do
manual labor as a profession. -
1:46 - 1:48Now, on the other end of the spectrum,
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1:48 - 1:51stemming from the Industrial,
and Green Revolutions, is the monocrop. -
1:51 - 1:54Here's a shot from
the Central Valley of California. -
1:54 - 1:59It's a paradigm that has reduced
the ecosystem down to a single plant type, -
1:59 - 2:01such that a machine, a tractor,
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2:01 - 2:05can tend to all of these plants
in the same fashion. -
2:05 - 2:09From a mechanical efficiency standpoint,
an automation standpoint, this is great: -
2:09 - 2:13Very few people growing
tremendous amounts of food. -
2:13 - 2:16However, this system,
because it's only a single plant, -
2:16 - 2:23requires fertilizers and pesticides
just to sustain itself. -
2:23 - 2:27And these pesticides and fertilizers
are very damaging to the environment, -
2:27 - 2:29and also the food itself.
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2:29 - 2:30So let me tell you a little story.
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2:30 - 2:33About three years ago,
I took an agriculture class. -
2:33 - 2:35I was hungry to learn more
about this whole situation. -
2:35 - 2:37One day, an industrial farmer came in,
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2:37 - 2:40and he was so excited
to tell us about his newest tractor, -
2:40 - 2:43one that used a camera
and a computer vision system -
2:43 - 2:45to detect and destroy the weeds.
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2:45 - 2:47He went to the chalkboard
and he drew us this simple diagram -
2:47 - 2:49to demonstrate how it functioned.
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2:49 - 2:52Those green dots
are his lettuce plants in a row, -
2:52 - 2:54and the red X's are the weeds.
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2:54 - 2:55Now, to get rid of the weeds,
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2:55 - 2:58the tractor would drive
slowly down the row with a big hook tool, -
2:58 - 3:00it's pathway shown here in white,
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3:00 - 3:03and this hook would physically disrupt
the root systems of the weeds -
3:03 - 3:06and bury the infant plants under the soil.
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3:06 - 3:07Now, here's where it gets cool:
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3:07 - 3:10When the camera
and the computer vision system -
3:10 - 3:11detected a lettuce plant,
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3:11 - 3:13it would signal to the hook tool
to skip a beat -
3:13 - 3:15passing completely around
the lettuce plant -
3:15 - 3:17and keeping it intact.
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3:18 - 3:19Pretty amazing technology.
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3:19 - 3:22Now, at the time, three years ago,
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3:22 - 3:24this innovation cost
half-a-million dollars. -
3:24 - 3:25A huge sum of money.
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3:25 - 3:27However, for this farmer,
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3:27 - 3:31this was more economical, faster
and more thorough at removing the weeds -
3:31 - 3:35than hiring a dozen laborers
to do this by hand season after season. -
3:35 - 3:37So looking at this
from a backyard gardener's standpoint, -
3:37 - 3:39I thought, "Wow, that's really cool,
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3:39 - 3:42but where is the low-cost,
small-scale version -
3:42 - 3:45of any sort of agriculture technology
that I could use in my backyard -
3:45 - 3:49to help me grow more food
more successfully?" -
3:49 - 3:52And from an engineer's
standpoint, I thought, -
3:52 - 3:54"Wait a minute. Let's step back.
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3:54 - 3:56That's actually kind of
a duct taped on solution, -
3:56 - 3:59an incremental change
to a very old technology. -
3:59 - 4:02The tractor hasn't really changed
that much in the last 100 years. -
4:02 - 4:04Sure, they've become larger,
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4:04 - 4:08but just now are we retrofitting
these tractors to be more precise?" -
4:08 - 4:12We're sort of duct taping in
a precision computer system -
4:12 - 4:17into a historically imprecise,
free-driving, human-operated tractor. -
4:17 - 4:19Why don't we think about that and say,
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4:19 - 4:22"Well, what if we built something new
from the ground up?" -
4:22 - 4:24At that moment,
I had an idea to do just that. -
4:24 - 4:28There are plenty of machines out there
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4:28 - 4:32that perform precision operations
in, let's say, an XYZ space. -
4:32 - 4:36This CNC router, for example,
cuts out wood shapes very precisely. -
4:36 - 4:40So what if we took this concept
and adapted it for growing plants? -
4:40 - 4:43It might look something like this.
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4:43 - 4:47Meet FarmBot, this is an automated,
precision farming machine. -
4:47 - 4:50FarmBot plants seeds
at very specific locations. -
4:50 - 4:52Each plant has coordinates,
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4:52 - 4:55and then FarmBot positions
other tools very precisely -
4:55 - 4:56in relationship to those plants
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4:56 - 5:00in order to destroy the weeds,
water the plants, -
5:00 - 5:02and even sample the soil.
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5:02 - 5:05Before we had my backyard polycrop,
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5:05 - 5:09biologically efficient
but very labor intensive. -
5:09 - 5:12We also had the monocrop
of the Central Valley, -
5:12 - 5:14automated but industrially harmful.
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5:14 - 5:16With FarmBot, everything is automated,
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5:16 - 5:18it's all computer-controlled
from the start. -
5:18 - 5:22And because we can plant
multiple types of plants in the same area, -
5:22 - 5:24it's a polycrop that is automated,
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5:24 - 5:26a third paradigm of farming,
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5:26 - 5:30a hybrid of the other two
combining the best of both. -
5:30 - 5:32In fact, by setting the tractor aside
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5:32 - 5:36and reinventing, reimagining
the backbone machine of food production, -
5:36 - 5:38we open up doors to improve efficiency,
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5:38 - 5:41and change the game
of what is possible in agriculture. -
5:42 - 5:46With FarmBot, plants don't
have to be in a row; -
5:46 - 5:49we could plant them in denser,
more space-efficient arrangements. -
5:49 - 5:51Soil compaction is nonexistent
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5:51 - 5:55as the weight of the machine
is placed completely on the tracks. -
5:55 - 5:58Farming is done smarter
with data from the weather report -
5:58 - 6:00and sensors driving
most of the operations. -
6:01 - 6:04By using low-cost electronics,
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6:04 - 6:07and fabrication techniques
made popular by the maker movement, -
6:07 - 6:10FarmBot could be produced
in a maker space, -
6:10 - 6:12a FabLab, or even in your garage,
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6:12 - 6:15such that it makes sense for you or I
to have it in our backyards. -
6:17 - 6:21By programming FarmBot with a graphical
web-based interface like a video game, -
6:21 - 6:22anybody could be a farmer,
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6:22 - 6:27no matter how little time, experience
or even physical ability they have. -
6:27 - 6:29Think Farmville, but in real life.
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6:29 - 6:30(Laughter)
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6:30 - 6:33About eight months ago
I wrote a paper -
6:33 - 6:35describing this technology,
the vision, potential risks - -
6:35 - 6:38everything I'd ever thought about,
I wanted to share it. -
6:38 - 6:41And to do so, I published
this paper freely on the Internet. -
6:41 - 6:43I open-sourced the idea.
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6:43 - 6:46What's mine is now yours too. It's ours.
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6:46 - 6:49Let's collaborate,
let's build FarmBot together, -
6:49 - 6:52because a challenge as large
as reinventing food production -
6:52 - 6:55needs a global team to pitch in
and make it happen. -
6:55 - 6:58And within days of publishing this paper,
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6:58 - 7:01engineers, software developers, farmers,
gardeners, garage tinkerers -
7:01 - 7:07began contacting me, sharing their ideas
on the Wiki, the forum, in email. -
7:07 - 7:10It was recognized that not only
is FarmBot a cool and interesting idea, -
7:10 - 7:14but that the larger technical
and societal changes it could bring about -
7:14 - 7:16are powerful and transformative.
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7:16 - 7:18At home, automated food production
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7:18 - 7:21with complete control of the operation
vested in the machine's owner: -
7:21 - 7:25Set it and forget it, FarmBot will email
you when the tomatoes are ripe. -
7:25 - 7:26And you can rest assured
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7:26 - 7:29that those tomatoes are grown
to your exact specifications: -
7:29 - 7:30You know what went into them,
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7:30 - 7:33you have control over the process.
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7:33 - 7:35Scalable, modular, low-cost hardware
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7:35 - 7:38that is hackable
for different applications. -
7:38 - 7:42An open-source hardware,
software and data ecosystem, -
7:42 - 7:44based on sharing and collaboration,
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7:44 - 7:48thereby encouraging innovation
and the production of this technology. -
7:48 - 7:50Perfectly optimized resource usage,
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7:50 - 7:53spacing and timing
for every single plant grown, -
7:53 - 7:57and, of course, an automated polycrop,
the third paradigm of farming. -
7:59 - 8:01Today, the FarmBot project team
is over 25 people strong. -
8:01 - 8:03We have six prototypes around the world.
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8:03 - 8:06Here's some electronics in Poland.
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8:06 - 8:10This is a very small-scale
FarmBot in Belgium, -
8:10 - 8:12the first one to ever be watering.
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8:12 - 8:15Here's the electronics
that drive that machine. -
8:17 - 8:20These guys are some mechanical
engineering students in California. -
8:20 - 8:23They're working to develop
a universal tool mount system -
8:23 - 8:25so that FarmBot
can change tools automatically. -
8:27 - 8:30Here's a seed injector
that we prototyped from a vacuum pump, -
8:30 - 8:32and some 3D-printed parts.
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8:33 - 8:35Here's version-2 of the gantry system.
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8:35 - 8:39A very small-scale version
that I'm working on in my maker space. -
8:41 - 8:44What we're building
is an open and accessible technology -
8:44 - 8:48to aid everyone to grow food,
and to grow food for everyone. -
8:48 - 8:51We're exploring how a global team
can come together around an open idea -
8:51 - 8:54to help solve a big challenge.
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8:54 - 8:57We're using the open-source
model as a mechanism -
8:57 - 9:00for rapid prototyping
and the quick dissemination -
9:00 - 9:03of new ideas and
improvements to everyone. -
9:03 - 9:06If the technology and the model
prove viable, and we think it already is, -
9:06 - 9:09then we may be uncovering
a part of the solution -
9:09 - 9:12to one of humanity's
most pressing contemporary challenges. -
9:12 - 9:15Thank you.
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9:15 - 9:18(Applause)
- Title:
- Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Rory Aronson talks about an innovative idea that can change the entire farming industry. A mechanical engineer and social entrepreneur working to help solve big social and environmental challenges, he's currently focused on FarmBot, humanity's open-source automated precision farming machine, and OpenFarm, a free and open database for farming and gardening knowledge.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 09:22
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA | ||
Robert Tucker approved English subtitles for Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Open-Source Automated Precision Farming | Rory Aronson | TEDxUCLA |