The Friday Report: October 26th, 2018

Launch of America‘s First Autonomous Robot Farm

It finally happened.  Robots have taken over the farm.  Harvesting produce will never be quite the same again.

The first autonomous robot farm in the United States launched recently amid fanfares of anticipation.  With projected results of nearly 30 times the produce production of traditional farms, the robot farm relies on artificial intelligence, hydroponic processes and plant rotation to ensure space utilization.

Iron Ox, the California-based company is set to mow down competition and wrangle new investment.  Using only a 2,000 square foot space, leafy greens and herbs are planted in individual pots positioned in 4 foot by 8 foot grow modules.

Autonomous machines are used to replace the manpower typically needed for heavy lifting, farming and sensing.  Plants are harvested by a robotic arm that grips the pots rather than grabbing the plants. This action reduces potential damage.  A “brain”, cloud-based artificial intelligence software provides direction to the robotic arms.  A team of plant scientists oversees the Brain, utilizing sensors that capture data from the facility and robots.

The development of the robotic farming solution began to address three primary issues:  labor shortages, variable weather and long travel distances for produce.  To learn more about the application of robots and artificial intelligence in farming, click here.

Connecting Tech Provides Competitive Advantage in Shipping

We live and operate in an era of increased data.  What is the future of supply chain management?  Companies across the supply chain are moving to a dependence on data.  To facilitate better, faster supply chain operations, companies are adopting IoT to capture and transmit data.  Networked sensors share data and send it to servers so that it can be analyzed.  From RFID scanners in warehouses and brick and mortar retail stores to warehouse management systems, IoT devices and warehouse software helps streamline processes to speed goods to consumers.

“Edge” ecosystems are on the rise.  To learn more, click here.

DHL Supply Chain Research Reveals Businesses Willing to Pay More

According to recent research by DHL, entitled “The Logistics Transport Evolution:  the Road Ahead”, 83% of businesses are willing to pay higher rates for “better and value-added services if they provide a measurable return on investment”.

Additional areas of interest uncovered by the survey include:

• 71% of respondents indicated that ground transportation is a strategic component of their business
• 75% of respondents replied that there is a direct correlation between business performance and ground transportation

For more information, click here.