Production at the point of consumption: a distributed network of intelligent growing systems for foodservice operators and consumers

该项目的发起者是室内种植系统领域的领导者，并已成功地将技术和相关服务商业化，用于食品服务运营商现场种植高价值农产品（特色沙拉叶，草药和微型蔬菜）。主导业务为客户提供完整的集成系统，包括硬件、耗材、远程监控和支持服务，使他们能够以最小的努力种植自己的高质量作物，而不需要园艺专业知识。该系统在技术上是创新的，因为它结合了灵活的多区域硬件和复杂的基于云的软件平台，结合了图像处理、机器学习和人工智能，能够监控每一种作物和自动编程的橱柜。这种分布式网络方法具有变革性，因为它将生产资料转移到消费点。绿叶沙拉作物本身就容易腐烂，而且被大量浪费。这种解决方案消除了这种浪费以及传统供应链对环境的负面影响。现有的Evogro系统适应性强，可以生产各种各样的作物，但除了最忠实的消费者之外，这些系统的购买和运营成本仍然太高，只有种植特种农产品才经济。该项目将通过研究和开发下一代价值工程和自主种植系统来解决这些问题，这将大大降低拥有成本。这将极大地扩大可寻址市场，使新的消费群体能够负担得起，并使生产主流作物变得经济。该项目还将把下一代系统应用于这些主流作物的种植，优化种植模式，使其营养密度最大化。该联盟将在餐饮服务运营商（包括教育和养老院等可能提供额外社会福利的部门）和家庭消费者的志愿者团体中进行下一代种植系统的试点试验。该项目具有变革性的潜力，因为它从根本上颠覆了传统的供应链，为消费者提供了更好的营养和可持续性效益。随着分布式植物种植系统的广泛采用，英国每年可以节省数万吨的食物浪费。这是一个新兴市场，但世界各地的活动正在加速。该公司已经开始出口，并看到了海外市场的巨大潜力。该项目将使英国技术处于这一新兴全球产业的前沿。

The originators of this project are leaders in the indoor growing system field and have successfully commercialised the technologies and associated services for on-site growing of high value produce (specialty salad leaves, herbs and microgreens) by foodservice operators. The lead business provides clients with a complete integrated system including hardware, consumables, remote monitoring and support services, which enables them to grow-their-own high quality crops with minimal effort and without needing horticultural expertise. The system is technologically innovative because it combines flexible, multi-zonal hardware with a sophisticated cloud-based software platform that combines image processing, machine learning and artificial intelligence to enable monitoring of every crop and automatic programming of the cabinets. This distributed network approach is transformative because it moves the means of production to the point of consumption. Leafy salad crops are inherently perishable and are wasted in huge quantities. This solution eliminates this wastage and the associated negative environmental impacts of the conventional supply chain. The existing Evogro system is highly adaptable and can produce a wide range of crops, but the purchase and operating costs of these systems is still too high for all but the most committed consumer and it is only economic to grow specialty produce. This project will address these issues by researching and developing the next generation of value engineered and autonomous growing system that will dramatically reduce the cost of ownership.This will greatly expand the addressable market by making it affordable for new consumer segments and make it economic to produce mainstream crops. The project will also apply the next generation system to the growing of these mainstream crops, optimising the growing models to maximise their nutrient density. The consortium will run pilot trials of the next generation growing system in volunteer groups of foodservice operators (including some sectors like education and care homes with potential to deliver additional social benefits) and household consumers. This project has the potential to be transformative because it radically disrupts the conventional supply chain and delivers improved nutrition and sustainability benefits to consumers. With widespread adoption, distributed plant growing systems could save tens of thousands of tonnes of food waste annually in the UK. This is a nascent market but activity is accelerating around the world. The company has already begun exporting and sees strong potential in overseas markets. This project will position UK technology at the forefront of this new global industry.