Giant unmanned vertical farm uses AI to optimize light and plant-life-cycle combinations

A 20-story high vertical farm in Southwest China is in operation in Southwest China. The Plant Factory with Artificial Light (PFAL) is manned by robots, and powered by AI to determine the best wavelengths of light to deliver to plants at different stages of development.
Researchers have discovered 1,300 combinations for 72 types of crops, can produce harvests of lettuce 10 times per year, and have cut the breeding time of wheat, cotton, and soybeans by more than half.
Resources and links:
China unveils world's first AI-powered vertical farm
interestingengineering.com/in...
China builds world's first robotic vertical farm
news.cgtn.com/news/2023-12-03...
Academic abstract, Oxford Academic Press
academic.oup.com/hr/article/d... Published in Oxford Academic Press
Bankruptcies throughout the indoor vertical farming sectors:
fortune.com/2023/09/18/indoor...
www.fastcompany.com/90824702/...
www.verticalfarmdaily.com/art...

[@DylanTran99]

I noticed anything coming out of US, they hype so much yet barely delivered. But when it comes out of China, usually they actually have the products ready before starting to promote it. Interesting times we live in, indeed!

[@hz240]

Valid point. Ask the big wig of Tesla and SpaceX, the engine behind the red planet colonization movement and promoting Mission Mars 2024 seeking volunteers back in 2015 (subsequently set back to 2036) and have yet to hear any updates since. It is a one-way ticket to hell if they ever get the spacecraft built and launched. U$ are marketing and propoganda experts.

[@andrewwong2605]

Exactly. Can't believe any new break through from the west.

[@foodparadise5792]

Vietnam needs to corporate with China to change their people's lives.

[@monipenny408]

China has a robust development and growth strategy! U$ has a robust PR strategy!

[@mijmijrm]

China has Engineers. USA has Lawyers.

[@M.M.Alam.Liberty]

1. This channel often provides brilliant information and analysis that is not available from mass media. Kudos 2. Appreciate the honest and logical analysis 👍 Keep up the great work 👍 👏

[@michaeltse6961]

🎯💯👏👏👏🙏

[@Longcloud]

Totally agree👍👏

[@mayabergsdottir9622]

A gem given judeo-american standards.

[@justme6275]

innovation is good - bravo!

[@dsc0273]

Thanks Kevin.

[@TomSimba]

I'm sure China weighs all the pros and cons. Even at a higher cost, in the event of a major catastrophe, like a military conflict, it is still a valuable option to fall back on.

[@cool-eye3674]

This channel is a breath of fresh air. I just wonder how Kevin manage to spare so much time to reading articles in all topics. Incredible.

[@truthaboveall7988]

I’m loving this channel - happy ur making content educating the people

[@rontsang4308]

I find myself getting excited to watch new video from you, although your very serious looking face gives me pause...we love you Kevin :)

[@danysl2008]

Very soon, US will accuse China over capacity on vertical farming. Lol

[@Zerpentsa6598]

China has plenty of electricity from renewable sources, such as hydro, solar and wind. By using AI, they have been to utilise the electricity more efficiently. Singapore has also successful vertical farms because it has abundant sunlight.

[@waichui2988]

The first application in space is probably on the moon base.

[@stevenliew2507]

Thank you for your new video. Certainly the knowledge gained will be used for future space colonies.

[@aqualou2]

I look forward each day to your new videos. I feel “educated” after watching your videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and perspectives.

[@Samoasoa]

Wow, this is the third video that I am watching from here. Thank you for sharing these impressive video.

[@arohyadav33]

Great content. Keep it up.

[@azharidris7092]

Just watch a video on a 25 story pig farm in central china.. completely computerised.. amazing

[@georgelim5006]

👍👍👍

[@user-xq8qx6bg2j]

❤❤

[@7zness]

Another long term goal of vertical farming is the development of specialty crops. Most of the plants grown in VF's are leafy green vegetables, but if you really want the technology to scale then you need to develop special varieties of fruits and more importantly cereal grains, that have qualities such as dwarf, high nutrient uptake, short maturation, etc. With China's advancement in Bio-sciences that's going to be a breeze for them. The US again lagging behind with expensive artisan boondoggles that exist solely to generate shareholder profits.

[@Userkzb20253]

It only makes sense to augment the sunlight with artificial light. ½ day sunlight and ½ day AL. How to pipe light to a vertical multistorey building effectively is a research topic per se.

[@angryranger4552]

Your blogs are eye-opening for people who are not in China. While we are busy building up our military strength, China has been busy exploring technologies that will benefit all of us in the future. Shouldn't we be doing the same? We were shocked when China all of a sudden have a space station. Ours is nearing its end of life. Musk is smart enough to be friends with China, so does Apple's CEO.

[@qake2021]

👏👏👏👍👍👍

[@cliffordnelson8454]

With global warming this will become critical.

[@michaellorton8099]

It has long been known that plants are harmed more than helped by excess photons and photons of less optimal wavelengths. It is also well-known that metabolic and energy needs change with the varying stages of plant growth. We have been experimenting with this since 2018. AI fine-tunes and adds a real-time dimension to optimize plant growth inputs. We have air-gapped our research.

[@jackchiu7560]

The U.S. trained AI to talk and to write essays to replace bank clerks, office workers, information desk attendants, and in the near future also medical professionals and lawyers. Meanwhile, AI in China not only helps with farm production and cattle raising but also runs the operations of coal mines deep inside the earth, not to mention the full automation of terminals and ports -- with 18 fully automated container terminals in use since 2017 and an additional 27 others under construction, not to mention nearly 100 ports and terminals in foreign countries around the globe. Combined with 5G, 5.5G and soon 6G, Chinese AI projects will soon encompass space exploration as well. Too bad, the U.S. is determined to destroy Chinese technological advancements that can be beneficial to humankind.

[@CattleFarmer667]

Soon some Chinese will sell cabinet that grows lettuce in-door. Good as a hobby.

[@MrStevemur]

One of the worries about climate change is that shifting rainfall patterns could cause serious drought in areas where we've set up farms. This could be a lifesaver someday.

[@theRedstoneinn_Dubuque]

❤👍👍👍👍👍👏🙏🔥😍❤️

[@htlow3598]

I understand factory indoor vertical farming is already commercially viable in Singapore.

[@syncmaster915n]

Interesting stuff indeed! Your mentioning of vertical farming in space colonization reminds me the movie Outlanders, a sci-fi movie starring Sean Connery. It features a large vertical farm as backdrop.

[@pugster73]

Also might be useful when fallout happens....

[@philipwong895]

China has demonstrated its capability in shipbuilding, infrastructure construction, high-speed rail, cement, steel, aluminum, rare earth, electric cars, solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries. China should concentrate on increasing its capability in nuclear power generation to reduce its dependency on coal, and imported oil, and gas. Unlimited energy and vertical farming will end China's food dilemma.

[@Jeff-sm8of]

Cant use passive reflectors to direct sunlight indoors?

[@Dare2Blink]

wow... just wow... this is trully awesome. Not only in space but image using this in countries with no arable land, or even in high density cities. If it becomes cheaper to produce locally than to produce somewhere else far away, with all the cost of keeping the produce fresh and transporting it quickly to the marketplaces, it will be revolucionary. I can also imagine skycrapers with a few floors dedicated to producing food like this.

[@user-vz8xe2jc2g]

How are they doing all this

[@michaelgoh9768]

There's nothing that the Chinese can't do.

[@benjones1717]

I always thought vertical farming would make sense underground, or fish farming underground, so the above ground could still be used.

[@The0ldg0at]

Solyent Green. A series of sea water tanks 2 inches high with artificial light above to cultivate phytoplactons. Add the carbon dioxide, the mineral and organic fertilizers they need and you can start a farm that can produce, in a powder form, all the food you need to feed everyone until they become as fat as whales. Added bonus, it's a good carbon capture and oxygen generator device. I know sea water aquariums are harder to manage real time 24/7/365 than regular aquariums, but that's why we need AI, don't we?

[@rjv2395]

I run a hydroponics company in Taiwan. you are missing the point. as energy becomes cheaper (nuclear) CEA costs will decrease. indoor hydroponic produce is cleaner, chemical free, and more nutritious. also, as DC power tech evolves, LED tech improves and temperature control tech becomes more efficient, costs decrease. there are no crop losses from environmental conditions, no pest problems and increased crop cycles. CEA (controlled environment ag) is only just starting. it took off with LED lighting improvements so only a few years since it has been really economical except for cannabis. the moon shot is years away. but growing under controlled conditions in a world of climate change is now. and 35 days is not a big feat for lettuce.

[@parttimethinker7611]

Congratulations on your successes. Perhaps you could share your successes far and wide so humanity could benefit from your finding. Thanks for sharing your good news with us.

[@leefster1]

Then how come they're nowhere to be found in grocery stores?

[@albertorodas6479]

Energy was cheap during the coal era and the oil era. Nuclear is not cheap, rather expensive.

[@jaydee6268]

@@leefster1probably because you don’t shop at Food Lion or Publix.

[@ramondrongonui1024]

Then why is organic produce so fk'n Expensive ?

[@fionnbarrboggs7682]

Led light

[@sfukuda512]

If you can combine this system with aquaculture, you get fish, algae, and water recycling. Also, I was surprised that vertical farms in the US never merged with the cannabis industry. You need a high demand cash crop to jump start your project. In the US, there are very few options.

[@rjv2395]

strawberries, saffron, there are many

[@taterrhead]

it wasn't a lack of technology that popped that bubble in the US but rather DEMAND ... in the end you're selling leafy green food which there is an ever increasing supply of Earth currently

[@rjv2395]

there are many plant factories in the US that do very well. Plenty seems to be doing ok. most of the time the failure comes because the company is run like a tech company and not an ag company. bright agrotech did well. growing lettuce for profit is challenging. but there are many high value crops that also grow under lights

[@ramondrongonui1024]

Great technology for Armageddon...

[@SteveXNYC]

This why they don't want to help independent farmers.

[@martinwilby8942]

ok to grow weed in the uk

[@jeremyheung6582]

US will do the same

[@arthurlincoln9093]

Glad to see this guy still has dry feet in China. The view has not improved though.

[@allantay9020]

Whenever there’s no technology in China, US would say that China steals theirs😂😂😂😂

[@nanyanguo1]

you mean whenever there is technology ... and not there is no technology,,,..

[@blackknight4996]

Vertical pig farms have been in operation in China for a decade...that's an interesting story too.

[@johno.9185]

I'm really impressed by how knowledgeable you are.👍👍👍🫢🫢🫢