The rise in insect farming means questions about insect sentience and slaughter are no longer just philosophical: The well-being of trillions of creatures is at stake.
Up next ►► Vertical farms could take over the world https://youtu.be/J4SaSfnHK3I Instead of shipping food all around the world, imagine your own food coming from your farm in a shipping container, just outside your backdoor. That’s the vision of FarmPod, a St. Croix-based startup looking to completely redefine our relationship with food with a fully automated vertical aquaponic system. This self-contained, solar powered farming method uses a fraction of the water and space of a traditional farm, and even uses zero pesticides. The closed loop system essentially mimics nature’s ecosystems, like a pond. Lettuce, strawberries, kale, collard greens and more can grow in the pod. And, since the produce doesn’t need to be picked early to be shipped to a grocery store, the owner can enjoy their harvest at its peak nutritional value and taste. Produce isn’t all — FarmPod can provide an aquaponic home for tilapia, catfish, crayfish, koi, and freshwater prawns. FarmPod uses automated software and hardware to make their pod’s aquaponics system as easy to run as possible. Mike Straight, the creator and CEO of FarmPod, wants to provide a healthy, hyper-localized source of food with a minimal carbon footprint. “We’re trying to feed the world one pod at a time by hyper-localizing farming, and taking the farm and putting it right in front of the place that needs to use it,” says Straight. Read the full story here ►► https://www.freethink.com/series/challengers/aquaponics ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠Read more of our stories on aquaponics and sustainable farming: Vertical farms could take over the world. ►► https://www.freethink.com/series/hard-reset?media_id=avWfzm8Q How vertical farming can save the planet and feed the world. ►► https://www.freethink.com/series/make-it-count?media_id=bEIXKavd. New startup takes vertical farming underground — literally. ►► https://www.freethink.com/environment/underground-farm ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠About Freethink. No politics, no gossip, no cynics. At Freethink, we believe the daily news should inspire people to build a better world. While most media is fueled by toxic politics and negativity, we focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡Watch our original series: ► Hard Reset: https://freeth.ink/youtube-hard-reset. ► Just Might Work: https://freeth.ink/youtube-just-might-work. ► Challengers: https://freeth.ink/youtube-challengers Enjoy Freethink on your favorite platforms: ► Daily editorial features: http://www.freethink.com ► Solutions-based stories, straight to your inbox: https://www.freethink.com/subscribe. ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freethinkmedia ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freethink ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/freethinkmedia ► Join the Freethink form: http://www.facebook.com/groups/freethinkforum
OrCam’s reading device, ElectReon’s ‘smart road’ tech, a sensor for farming and security drones all make the list.
1. OrCam Read, a smart reading support device developed by OrCam Technologies, the maker of artificial intelligence-based wearable devices to help the blind and visually impaired read texts via audio feedback. The company launched OrCam Read in 2,020 a handheld digital reader meant to help people with language processing challenges, including dyslexia. The device (priced at $1,990) captures and reads out full pages of text and digital screens, and follows voice commands.
In response to the so-called “labor shortage,” companies are looking to finally replace replace workers with machines — and robotics companies couldn’t be happier to oblige.
David Zapico, the CEO of robotics company Ametek Inc., told Bloomberg News that his company is “firing on all cylinders” because, as he put it, “people want to remove labor.”
He’s not alone in his musings. Executives at Hormel Foods Corp and Domino’s Pizza also confirmed to Bloomberg that they’re investing in automation in an effort to reduce labor costs and respond to a “tight labor supply,” as one Hormel vice president put it.
Finland-based Wolt was founded in 2014 by Miki Kuusi, who, upon the deal closing, will run DoorDash International and report to Xu. The company has over 4,000 employees across 23 countries and its technology enables users to easily discover and receive food via its platform by selecting a restaurant, placing the order and hitting send.
Wolt represents DoorDash’s sixth acquisition according to Crunchbase data and its second in 2,021 which includes an acquisition of Chowbotics earlier this year. The latest transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022.
Solid Hydrogen Explained. Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/undecided and enter promo code UNDECIDED for 83% off and 4 extra months for free! Green hydrogen is touted to be one of the essential ingredients for the sustainable energy mix of the future. Yet, there’s an…invisible…yet big problem. Storage, transport, and operation is complicated and expensive, but what if we could create and store solid hydrogen for cheap? A start-up may have a solid technology that could speed up the energy transition. Spoiler: It’s so good it was banned!
Covid vaccines alerted to the world to RNA’s potential. Now the technology is being used as an alternative to pesticides.
Our addiction to chemical pesticides comes with a bunch of downsides. New sprays made from RNA might offer a smarter, cleaner way to wage war on pests.
A new machine-learning system helps robots understand and perform certain social interactions.
Robots can deliver food on a college campus and hit a hole-in-one on the golf course, but even the most sophisticated robot can’t perform basic social interactions that are critical to everyday human life.
Last week, TechCrunch ran my TC-1 about Bowery Farming. What began as a piece about a heartily financed New York startup ballooned into an exploration about an emerging field with a rich and fascinating history. I sought to answer some big questions about the efficacy, profitability and sustainability of vertical farming. I would be lying if I told you that I emerged from the other side with satisfactory answers — no doubt all of the above will be clear over time.
I did, however, get the opportunity to talk to several fascinating folks with myriad views on all of the above. One of the folks I kept coming back to was Dickson Despommier — widely regarded as the godfather of vertical farming. It was in his Columbia University courses that many of the fundamental concepts around vertical farming were developed over a number of years.
