Robot Broccoli Harvester Could Cut Cost of Eating Your Greens
A three-dimensional camera technology from the University of Lincoln in the UK is helping in the development of a fully automated robotic system that can harvest broccoli. The project will test whether 3D camera technology can be used to identify and select when broccoli is ready for harvesting. This will be a key step towards the development of a fully automatic robotic harvesting system for broccoli, which will significantly reduce production costs.
Inside an MIT Researcher’s Grand Plan to Create the Personal Food Computer
Caleb Harper, founder of the CityFarm research group at the MIT Media Lab, wants to bring the open source spirit to the nascent field of vertical farming. Harper has made the first prototype for his “personal food computer,” which is essentially a climate-controlled box which includes sensors to monitor conditions. There’s no soil: plants get their nutrients through a mist which has crucial minerals added in.
Meet Moringa, the (Latest) World's Most Amazing Superfood
Moringa is an amazingly nutritious plant. It’s a tree that grows like a weed throughout the tropics, all around the world. The leaves are packed with vitamins, potassium, calcium, and iron. There is some evidence that it may have some anti–bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. Kuli Kuli is a startup that has moringa products in some 300 stores across the country and buys from a group of 500 farmers, a mostly female cooperative in northern Ghana.
This Engine Uses Nothing but Water and Bacteria to Power Small Devices
This new engine – which costs just $5 to build – could represent the first step toward devices powered by nothing but bacterial spores and evaporating water. In a new study, researchers present several devices powered by the shrinking and swelling of bacterial spores in response to changes in humidity and they are convinced that they've only just begun to tap the energy potential of the technology.
The Technology That Could Revolutionize the War on Hunger
Analyst Michael Hollister understood the properties and power of big data. The synthesis of data sets has already upended the political and advertising world. Hollister wants to do the same thing for hunger and have combined data sets from a myriad sources to discover which regional pockets are most in need of food. Turns out, many of them aren’t where most people might expect.
FAO Launches Digital Platform on Family Farming
Recognizing the contributions of family farmers to food security and poverty eradication worldwide, FAO launched a new digital platform that aims to become a "one-stop shop" for information, data and legislation on the sector that produces some 80 percent of the world's food. By gathering digitized information on family farming from all over the world, the new platform will allow world governments to build stronger policies in support of family farmers.
Full Speed Ahead: 5 Ways to Optimize Women's Economic Potential
Given the lost economic potential of not sufficiently involving women in economies, how can global development actors involve women in economies and ensure women’s potential is harnessed effectively? Opportunities include removing legal barriers for minimum input, maximum output, fomenting high-value alliances for more traction and ensuring private sector buy-in.
To Tackle Food Waste, Big Grocery Chain Will Sell Produce Rejects
If food waste is really a $2.6 trillion issue, as the UN estimates, then who's in charge of fixing it? A French supermarket chain launched a campaign last year to sell what they dubbed "the grotesque apple, and the ridiculous potato." In the US, entrepreneurs behind a venture called Imperfect Produce are betting they can turn Americans on to less-than-perfect produce, too.
New Study Finds that Orange Sweet Potato Reduces Diarrhea in Children
A new study has found that orange sweet potato (OSP) reduced both the prevalence and duration of diarrhea in young children in Mozambique. The OSP was conventionally bred to provide more vitamin A in the diet. In Africa, more than 40 percent of children aged under five are estimated to be at risk of vitamin A deficiency.