AgTech ForgeX Challenges

See all ForgeX Challenges in this category here.
If you want to submit a ForgeX Challenge contact Team Idea Forge.

Localized Well Head Water Treatment for Chlorides There are existing products in place for larger scale water production but none of them are cost effective or small enough in scale. Most are using reverse osmosis which is currently not cost effective from an ongoing maintenance perspective. A system that removes Chlorides to below 80 parts per million from well water or to a reasonable level where it could be blended with other clean water. This system coud be directly placed on top of a pump or set directly aside as a filter station.

Leaf/Tree Handheld Analyzer for the Field Any system that is out today only performs one function i.e. it reads one aspect of health of the tree. So you would need many devices to find out everything that was needed. A handheld device where you could put a piece of leaf or tree trunk sliver into that would give us all the aspects of health for a lemon/orange/avocado tree.

Mechanical Lemon Harvester Currently there is no system that works to harvest “fresh” lemons in an efficient and non-damaging manner. All citrus is picked by hand at this point. The problem to date with a mechanical harvester is the “hand” that does the picking causes damage to the outside of fruit. With the labor shortage issue becoming our number one problem, something to pick fresh fruit cleanly with less people would be a big deal. A system that moves down the rows of an orchard that could harvest lemons and cut the stem of the lemon at the same time without causing external damage and also at a rate = or faster than humans.

Truck QuikTarp System It has now become law that transporting citrus and other items in CA a truck must be tarped. There is no efficient way to do this today we are aware of. A tarping system where the driver can quickly and easily pull a cover over the field bins that will be transported to packing or washing facilities.

Ag Reservoir Cover System As food safety becomes ever more critical in the world of fresh produce, farmers small irrigation reservoirs need a cheap easy way to cover there water from birds and contamination etc. Cover out there today are very expensive and high maintenance. Whether it’s a system of cheap plastic balls or a really thin inexpensive retractable cover, farmers need something to protect their water from contamination and evaporation

Low Labor Precision Ag Equipment Today the labor shortage of farm workers is at a critical level. We use labor extensively in our fields everyday so to come up with driverless vehicles that could do daily tasks like spraying, mulching, pruning, and tree washing. Create a tractor that is driverless that goes down the rows by GPS and completes various tasks from spraying, mulching, pruning, and tree washing.

Precision Drone Sprayer Currently there are drones that do spraying buy they are more broad based row crop applicators. For citrus in particular, a spray only from the top doesn’t provide full coverage for the tree which is why folair sprays are done by tractor down a row. A drone that could fly low and slow over and orchard which an arm that would extend down both sides of a tree and cover the top. Also it would need to have enough tank capacity to be efficient in the amount of times it needed to refill. This drone could also be used as a wind effect potentially for increasing airflow in orchards during freeze events.

Tree Crop Estimator Currently the system is a guy drives into an orchard and looks at a few representative trees and the piece on it to estimate the entire orchard crop. There is no technology that we know that estimates based on pieces a machine visually sees. The difficulty is there are a lot of lemons/oranges inside each tree, so to create a system that sees thru a tree so to speak. Create a system whether on a vehicle that drives down each row or is in someone’s hand that can look at each tree in seconds and estimate how many pieces of fruit it has on it.

Vegetative Monitoring System There are existing systems in place for longer crop cycles, however these are not fully integrated in providing feedback and data for short cycle vegetable crops. A system that continuously monitors a field’s soil moisture, growth stages, crop maturity, micro-climate weather, and degree days. This data would be centralized and analyzed using algorithm’s to send reports/ recommendations to ranch managers and harvest departments. This information will be used as a tool to help management make better business decisions.

Rotation of Inventory Inside Storage Racks Current System: Specs: Racks have capacity to hold 12 pallets in lower level and 12 pallets in upper level. In order to pull product from upper level, product from lower level has to be pulled first. (Not efficient). Full pallet of product weight ranges from 1,000 lbs. to 2,100 lbs. Issue 1: In order to keep rotation, users have to rotate product. New product in back, Old product in the front. Users also consolidate racks. Issue 2: Order calls for product that is on upper level. User needs to pull product in lower level to get to upper level. Blocks passageway, takes longer to load. Desired System: Storage racks have the ability to auto rotate product from upper level to lower level and also from rack to rack. Organize sku’s and Harvest Dates. When Order getting pulled. Have entire order automatically pulled to 1 designated area (Rack) for loader to grab.

Reduce Time Between Harvest and Cooling of Produce Once harvested, produce travels from field to cooler and sometimes waits hours before cooled. During summer, temperatures of produce can reach 90°. A system where we can begin cooling process once produce is packed at the field. This will reduce time to ultimately cool to desired temperature and extend its shelf life.

Harvest Estimate Accuracy and Mobile App for Data Entry Communication and the easy access to harvest field data and changes due to field conditions drastically affect sales inventory. A cloud based data entry and retrieval app that allows real time updates for field yields and volumes. Also expandable for other form data entry.

Hydration Monitor Sensor During summer months the threat of dehydration and heat stress or stroke is a grave concern for farm labor. A low cost sensor, possibly wearable that can assess an individuals’ hydration level and alert them and/or a foreman to their condition.

Crop Scanner The selection of cauliflower for harvest involves the individual inspection of every head of cauliflower in the field. Cauliflower is surrounded by “wrapper leaves” that make inspection difficult and time consuming. A sensor and marking apparatus that can be attached to a tractor and taken through the field to scan and identify the size of the individual cauliflower heads without disturbing the leaves. The system would then mark the plant to quickly identify which heads were ready to harvest. The sensor would also provide a report of the different sizes in the field.

On-site Tissue Sampling Have the ability to take tissue samples for nutrients in plants mainly nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus A way to test for nutrient levels of plants momentarily to apply fertilizer accordingly.