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Agriculture, the world’s oldest industry, must adopt several new, digital technologies in order to remain profitable in today’s age. In order to overcome increased demand and several disruptive forces, the industry must adapt and embrace a digital data-intensive transformation.

With the rise of modern agricultural techniques and their widespread adoption, the agriculture industry has completely changed compared to its technological state nearly 50 years ago. However, in order to cope with the increasing demand of a rising global population, the agricultural industry must adopt new technologies. Artificial intelligence, sensors for irrigation, humidity, and more, as well as other analytics devices, maybe the key to reducing costs and improving the yield of the agriculture industry worldwide.

According to McKinsey and Company, if the agriculture industry were to adopt a fully connected system, the industry would be able to increase its worldwide gross domestic product contribution by $500 billion by 2030. With the constraints on the supply side of agriculture only increasing due to overfarming, overfishing, and gross misuse of natural resources, utilizing data-driven solutions will also improve the natural status of our planet, reducing wastage and overall emissions as a result of farming and animal husbandry. Although the supply side faces these constraints and limits, the demand for agricultural products is growing; with the global population projected to surpass 9.5 billion by 2050, there will be no shortage of the demand for food.

Currently, very few farms adopt connected systems. Even in the US, only one in every four farms utilizes IoT tools and equipment. Since technology and equipment are very expensive and difficult to implement effectively, more complex tools must be developed with the rise of 5G and similar connectivity technologies.

 

 

These connectivity technologies will allow agricultural producers, small and large, to take advantage of the benefits that come with a more connected ecosystem, allowing them to thrive and meet the current demand and existing demand of future generations. These many technologies could apply in a variety of use cases. For example, these advanced monitoring tools could allow for drone farming to become a possibility, where farmers would use drones to maintain their crops when they need watering. A sensor would go off that detects if the crops need to be watered and the drones would go over to the correct GPS sensor and water the plants, spray them with fertilizer, and pesticides Moreover, special sensors may alert farmers when disease or parasites come into contact with the crops, allowing them to monitor specific aspects of the crops without menial effort. This monitoring may also extend to flowers and fruits, where AI can detect a fruit’s ripeness by its size and color, allowing farmers to maximize the yield and revenue of their crops.

These many advancements will change the landscape of the agriculture industry and farmers must adopt them in order to tackle the issue of increasing demand and shrinking supply, whilst also maximizing their crop revenues.

 

Sources

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/agriculture/our-insights/agricultures-connected-future-how-technology-can-yield-new-growth#

https://www-un-org.eur.idm.oclc.org/en/development/desa/publications/world-population-prospects-2015-revision.html

Click to access WRR_Food_Full_Report_0.pdf

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With the increasing threat of COVID-19, many sporting and music events have been either postponed or canceled due to the importance placed on social distancing. However, in the wake of the cessation of live events, technological advancements have paved the way for consumers to enjoy these functions from the comfort of their own couch. Facebook has recently signed a multiyear deal with the National Basketball Association, making Oculus the official partner of the NBA, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the NBA G League.  Oculus Venues, an initiative set up by Facebook, brings live music events, comedy shows, and sporting events right to your door, allowing you to sit in front row seats at your favorite events.

Although this feature has been around for several years already, the impact of COVID-19 has created forced fans to enjoy their favorite live events from their homes by either streaming the event or joining in using virtual or augmented reality. Seeing this need for a change in the way live events are consumed these days, Oculus Venues has improved its already present system by allowing fans to change their camera angles, as well as interact with fans also using the platform. This is a level of interaction that had not been widely-implemented until recently, with the effects of COVID-19, such as social distancing and self-isolation becoming a more stark reality.

This technology is setting a precedent. Many other sports, such as football, tennis, and American football are all exploring the possibilities of introducing virtual reality as an alternative means to consume this form of media. As both software and hardware reduce in price and become more accessible to the public, this technology will only improve and make its way to more events. Imagine going to a virtual cinema with your friends: you rent a film online, all put on your VR headsets, and are transported to a virtual movie theater where you’re not limited by the seating arrangements, snack selection, or the coronavirus restrictions.

The topic of virtual reality brings up an interesting aspect: the level of engagement. Despite technologies improving drastically, will the level of engagement change between fans and sports teams and artists? Will basketball and football players be less excited to score without a crowd cheering them on? Although the fans are a big part of the game, when it comes to sports teams, the level of engagement is quite low, to begin with, especially in large sporting arenas. However, many musical artists tend to engage quite often and quite intensely with their fans. And although their fans will be watching up close and personal using a VR headset, the artists may not be able to reciprocate the feeling. Although we have seen the power of Travis Scott during the Fortnite Astronomical Event, one cannot help but wonder: will this impact the performance of musical artists and athletes? What do you think? Leave a comment down below!

References

Gupta, V., 2020. Op-Ed: The ‘Experience Economy’ Is Dead Driving A Boom In Virtual Reality. [online] CNBC. Available at: <https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/27/op-ed-death-of-the-experience-economy-gives-rise-to-virtual-reality.html> [Accessed 6 October 2020].

Lee, D., 2020. A Peek Into The VR Art Live Community | MOR. [online] Museumor.com. Available at: <https://www.museumor.com/blog/peek-into-vr-art-live-community> [Accessed 6 October 2020].

Rogers, S., 2020. Will 2020 Be The Year The Music Industry Fully Adopts Immersive Tech?. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/solrogers/2020/01/24/will-2020-be-the-year-the-music-industry-fully-adopts-immersive-tech/#16228d193658> [Accessed 6 October 2020].