Event
Join the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge live event in Bleiswijk
Who will be crowned the winner of the fourth edition of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge? Find out on 16 January 2025 during our festive live event at the Greenhouse Horticulture Business Unit of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in Bleiswijk. Alongside the announcement of the winner, leading international scientists will share their insights into the latest developments in greenhouse horticulture, including artificial intelligence, sensor technology, and sustainable cultivation methods.
What to expect
During the live event, we will reflect on a successful edition of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge, where teams from around the globe competed to grow dwarf tomatoes fully autonomously and as sustainably as possible. The participating teams utilised sensors, smart algorithms, and artificial intelligence to achieve this.
Since the Challenge began in 2018, Wageningen University & Research has hosted several successful editions. In previous years, participating teams grew crops such as cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and lettuce autonomously. Results have shown that computer algorithms can not only improve crop yields but also save energy and increase net profits. The Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge demonstrates that autonomous cultivation could play a pivotal role in the future of greenhouse horticulture.
Programme
| 12:00 | Registration with small lunch |
International perspective of Autonomous Greenhouses
| 13:00 | Welcome and short intro 4 years of Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge by dr. Silke Hemming, WUR Opening Event by Mr. Leon Hoek, Alderman municipality Lansingerland |
| 13:10 | Developments of greenhouse horticulture and IoT in Korea by Prof. In-Bok Lee, Seoul National University, South-Korea |
| 13:40 | Future sensors for sustainable crop production by Prof. Kathy Steppe, University of Ghent, Belgium |
| 14:00 | Towards autonomous greenhouses and the role of models by Prof. Leo Marcelis, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands |
| 14:20 | Q&A |
| 14:30 | Coffee break |
Learnings of 4th Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge
| 15:00 | Teams intro (video) by Pinglin Zhang, WUR |
| 15:10 | Approach, strategy and experience per team: Growers observation (Monique Bijlaard, WUR): IDEAS, Tomatonuts Trigger, Agrifusion MuGrow |
| 16:10 | Overview detailed analysis results by dr. Stef Maree, WUR |
| 16:40 | Announcement winning team by jury |
| 17:00-18:00 | Drinks & Bites |
Join us in Bleiswijk
Participants, stakeholders, and interested parties are warmly invited to attend the live event on 16 January. Due to limited seating, pre-registration is required. In case of too much interest, we will give priority to participating team members. Therefore, register in time using the button next to here to reserve your spot.
Photos and videos will be taken for the purpose of reviewing or promoting this meeting. If you have any objection to this, please let us know in advance at jose.frederiks@wur.nl
Tip: Want to know more about this challenge? Check out the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge website.