4th edition of Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge is now underway

Added on 23 September 2024

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4th edition of Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge is now underway

The final phase of the 4th Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge will start on September 2. Five international teams will try to grow dwarf tomatoes as well and sustainably as possible using artificial intelligence and machine learning. “The Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge is a great and exciting competition,” says Monique Bijlaard of Wageningen University & Research, BU Greenhouse Horticulture. “And this time the challenge is extra challenging, because dwarf tomatoes are a relatively unknown crop.”

In modern greenhouses, the level of automation for crop production is already high. Climate control and irrigation are generally automated. However, decisions such as the required temperature in the greenhouse, planting distances and harvest moments are still made by the growers themselves. Based on their knowledge and experience, the growers strive for an optimal yield with an efficient use of resources. This process is subjective and labor-intensive, and requires considerable experience.