NTT DATA Business Solutions
We’ve developed a way to bring intensive farming into our cities - and help feed the world.
By 2050, an estimated 10 billion people will live on earth, many of them in global megacities. In order to feed everyone, we will need to incorporate solutions beyond traditional farming, like growing food in the cities themselves.
What if, instead of turning wilderness into arable land, we turned cities into farms?
Mark Albrecht, our Global Head of Innovation, explains how a network of integrated, automated urban gardens could help solve the world’s food problems.
The FarmBot Network is an example of how we use our experience and existing SAP technology to build practical, innovative tools that add value in a variety of ways. We want to motivate our customers to be part of our journey to change the world.
FarmBot is a robotic gardening system that automates small-scale food production. But for an individual FarmBot owner, connecting to the local market, or to the neighbor who needs some tomatoes, can be a logistical headache.
The idea: use internet of things technology, SAP’s cloud resources and machine learning, and the power of the blockchain to network individual gardens. Working together, these networks become intensive farms responsive to the demands of their urban populace.
FarmBots are raised bed gardens. Though small in size, with precise weeding, watering, and lighting, they’re an intensive, efficient way to grow food. Our system uses SAP Leonardo and SAP cloud services to bring FarmBot’s potential to scale. The tool can process the information about location, supply, demand, and inventory management needed for individual gardeners to cooperate with one another – and buy and sell their goods. Blockchain contracts add a level of end-to-end trust. Innovative? Sure. Practical? Absolutely.
In 2017, our FarmBot network won a competition put on by NTT DATA. The Hackathon challenged participants to use IT to “create something that changed lives.” What we came up with was a system that allows people to manage supply chains from a cell phone and monitor – even plant – crops remotely. On a secure, cloud-based platform, gardeners can buy seeds and supplies, and sell their produce. And that’s just the beginning.
The FarmBot Network is an example of how we can innovate for a sustainable future, now.
The FarmBot Network is only one example of how we transfer our experiences with machine learning and IoT technology into new endeavors. We’re constantly on the lookout for projects where our experience might make the difference between good idea and great product.
Every innovation project is a story of its own. Co-innovate with NTT DATA Business Solutions and write yours now! Get in touch with us today, and let’s discuss where your pain points lie, what you want to achieve, and how we can help you do that. To the point.
Just contact us – we will be glad to help you.
