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Amazon Starts Selling Lettuce Grown With the Help of Robot Farmers

Getting your greens off Amazon is weird enough, but to think that they were grown and harvested by gentle-moving robot farmers is downright bonkers. Yes, there are quite a few robots and drones giving a helping hand to farmers in the world, but this is different.
This robot farmer helps grow greens in the Hippo Harvest greenhouse 6 photos
Photo: Instagram/Hippo Harvest
Robot FarmerHippo Harvest GreenhouseHippo Harvest GreenhouseRobot FarmerRobot Farmer
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when hearing about sustainable farming that uses essential oils and beneficial insects instead of chemical pesticides? I bet some of you might be picturing a small, self-sufficient farm, somewhere in a remote rural area. But what we’re actually talking about is a futuristic, high-tech greenhouse located in Pescadero, California, just 45 miles away from San Francisco.

This is where a startup called Hippo Harvest is growing greens using stuff like machine learning and robot farmers. This is how sustainable farming blends with high-tech. The main innovation is a closed-loop, direct-to-root fertilizer system that claims to use less than half of the typical amount of fertilizers. Also, the entire growing process requires up to 92% less water.

Machine learning has a lot to do with that, because it’s used for the precise calculation, to determine the best amounts of light, water and fertilizer. Then, some interesting-looking robots are tasked with delivering these precise quantities of water and food to the plants. But that’s not all they do. The robots also get to harvest the greens, once they’re grown, in a very delicate way. And that’s not being fancy, but preventing damage that ultimately results in food waste.

I never thought I’d say this, but watching a robot take care of its delicate crops inside a greenhouse is highly satisfying. Unfortunately, Hippo Harvest hasn’t shared too many details about its graceful robot helpers, that remain mysterious. All we know is that they are off the shelf, and equipped with customized but apparently inexpensive attachments for farming.

The good news is that this isn’t some conceptual project that only sounds good on paper. Recently, Amazon has officially started selling the lettuces coming from this intriguing farming process, that’s sustainable and high-tech at the same time.

According to Amazon, the lucky ones to get a taste of these mixed greens will be the Amazon Fresh online customers in select San Francisco markets.

Amazon had invested in this Californian climate-tech startup almost two years ago, through its Climate Pledge Fund.

Another cool thing about the Hippo Harvest futuristic greenhouse is that it also acts as a testing platform for this new farming methodology. In the future, similar ones could be set up even in areas with low water levels. Since there’s no actual farmland required, they can be set up close to urban consumers, which also means no more of the transportation-related hassle.

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About the author: Otilia Drăgan
Otilia Drăgan profile photo

Otilia believes that if it’s eco, green, or groundbreaking, people should know about it (especially if it's got wheels or wings). Working in online media for over five years, she's gained a deeper perspective on how people everywhere can inspire each other.
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