How robots can help grow crops in a greenhouse

Added on 25 April 2022

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How robots can help grow crops in a greenhouse

Agriculture may feed the world, but it is also contributing to global warming. Agriculture production uses about 70% of the Earth's fresh water and makes up about a third of greenhouse gas emissions. But it doesn't have to. Farming is moving inside, and farmers aren't exactly what they used to be. New forms of farming, new technology and new companies are greening the greenery.

Take for example Grover and Phil. They are autonomous robots or farmers of the future, working at Iron Ox, a 6-year-old, Silicon Valley-based farm tech start-up. It grows produce in natural light greenhouses, with the goal of decentralizing farming in order to grow crops closer to consumers in a more sustainable way.

"We have different robots that are tending to the plants, they're checking on it, they're scanning for issues, and they're adjusting the amount of nutrients it gets, the amount of water it gets," explained Brandon Alexander, CEO of Iron Ox.

Iron Ox's method is in direct contrast to what Alexander, who grew up on a Texas farm, calls the "spray and pray" approach to agriculture, where more chemicals create more quantity at the expense of quality. Growing indoors allows farmers to grow any crop at any time, regardless of climate and of climate change. It also uses hydroponics, growing crops without soil so water goes directly to the roots.

"A lot of the water in field farming gets just washed out and never actually reaches the plant. And when 70% of your fresh water is going into that farming, and only 10% of that actually reaches the plants. It's just generating a lot of waste," he said.