Local schools join a competition to develop robotic and AI solutions for agricultural challenges.

In 2022, an educational robot was born: the “Amiga” – a modular, all-electric mini tractor developed by Farm-ng (now Bonsai Robotics). Looking to get the robot into the hands of researchers to explore its potential, the startup joined forces with the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Office of Innovation, which saw an opportunity for students to work with high-profile tech in more meaningful ways, beyond just experimenting with simulations.

The Farm Robotics Challenge emerged as an experiment of sorts, a competition where teams of students at colleges and universities across the country could test various ways to use this technology, working directly with farmers to solve real-world problems. Hartnell College, the only community college with an agricultural mechatronics degree in California, has been involved since the competition’s inception, adapting the Amiga to be used on artichoke fields.

“I always tell people, look at carbon robotics. They’re literally using AI and lasers to kill weeds,” says Richard Chapman, a professor of agricultural engineering at Hartnell who advises their school’s team. “That’s ag today, that’s not ag in like 20 years. You’ll see them everywhere in South County.”

This year, with funding from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Jobs First Council, and in partnership with the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, four schools from the Monterey Bay region will receive a grant to participate in the inaugural Farm Robotics Academy, an expansion of the Farm Robotics Challenge to include younger participants from high schools and middle schools.

MBEP is stepping in as the regional coordinator, identifying schools that have an interest in participating. Project proposals – including a problem statement, an agriculturalist partner and a planned solution – are due Oct. 30. Four schools from this pool will be selected to receive $20,000 in funding to support participation for two years.

Kelly Scott, director of the Farm Robotics Challenge, says a challenge for high schools and middle schools has been the lack of existing curriculum in contrast to higher education.

“How we start to integrate these lessons, and what we choose to teach – that’s a bigger conversation,” Scott says. “But maybe our little project can be a spark that gets people’s attention.”

The Farm Robotics Challenge, now in its fourth year, has grown from 12 university teams in its first year to over 40 in 2024. At Hartnell, the student team has zeroed in on artichokes, recognizing both a gap in data collection and the heavy physical labor involved in harvesting.

With the help of a state grant, they purchased their own Amiga robot and have since been working with Ocean Mist Farms in Castroville, focusing on autonomous artichoke data collection and harvesting.

“Two team members came in day one, totally fresh, no experience. They got on the team, got internships and are now full-time employees at local companies,” Chapman says. “Ag today doesn’t look like what it did five years ago.”