Agrobotfarms | Devpost

Agrobotfarms
IoT Architecture
TiDB's Realtime functionality
IoT Prototype 1 - Raw Internal View

Inspiration

The inspiration behind the Agrobotfarms project is to empower farmers in sub-Saharan Africa by addressing the unique challenges they face in agriculture. The platform aims to provide farmers with essential resources, regenerative farming practices, extension services, AI-driven crop disease detection, and data-driven crop predictions. The project is fueled by our passion for technology, sustainability, and social impact, with a vision to revolutionize farming and contribute to the success and resilience of farming communities in the sub-Saharan African region.

What it does

Agrobotfarms is a comprehensive web application that offers a wide range of functionalities to empower farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Here's an overview of what the project does:

Crop Disease Detection using AI: We built and deployed a crop disease detection system as an API which the platform employs. Farmers can detect crop pests and diseases, and the system provides them with valuable information about the detected diseases and the latest curing methods. This empowers farmers to take timely actions to protect their crops and increase yields.

AI-based Crop Prediction: Agrobotfarms utilizes AI algorithms to analyze soil and weather data. Based on this analysis, the platform suggests suitable crops for planting, considering the specific conditions of the farm. This data-driven approach enables farmers to make informed decisions, leading to more successful harvests.

IoT Weather and Soil Data Analytics: The project involves the development of an IoT device that collects real-time weather and soil data from the farm. The collected data is securely stored using TiDB Serverless, and visualizations are provided to farmers. This empowers farmers with valuable insights into their farm's conditions, helping them optimize farming practices.

Regenerative Farming Wiki: The platform provides a centralized knowledge base where farmers can access information about regenerative farming practices. It aims to educate farmers on sustainable and environmentally friendly farming techniques, promoting the preservation of natural resources and long-term agricultural viability.

Extensions Marketplace: Agrobotfarms features an extensions marketplace that connects farmers with essential services. Farmers can access machinery, finance options, and research programs through this marketplace, helping them enhance productivity and profitability.

Agricultural Marketplace: Farmers have a tailored dashboard where they get to upload their farm produce for sale (either instant buys or pre-orders), and buyers get to make purchases from our marketplace with their tailored dashboard as well.

How we built it

Agrobotfarms, designed to empower sub-Saharan African farmers, was crafted it with a focus on advanced technology and seamless integration. Here's a concise overview of our development process:

Tech Stack and IoT Integration: We utilized Nodemcu and the Arduino IDE to build an IoT device for real-time weather and soil data collection. The collected data is securely stored and processed during fetch calls via TiDB Serverless, ensuring valuable insights for farmers.

Functionalities: Our platform features a regenerative farming wiki, an extensions marketplace, an agricultural marketplace, and AI-driven crop disease detection. Additionally, AI algorithms analyze soil and weather data to provide data-driven crop predictions.

Website Development: We opted for a straightforward approach, utilizing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create an intuitive and user-friendly website for farmers. We have also made it a Progressive Web Application (PWA) for added offline capabilities and easy installation from the browser as a mobile application.

Deployment and Accessibility: Agrobotfarms was deployed on Vercel, ensuring easy access for testing and demonstrations.

By leveraging advanced technologies and a pragmatic approach, Agrobotfarms empowers farmers with valuable resources and insights, revolutionizing agriculture in the region.

Challenges we ran into

The major challenge we encountered during Agrobotfarms development was integrating with TiDB Serverless. Key aspects of the challenge included authentication and data flow. Despite the complexity, we tackled the issue by leveraging the tutorials and docs. This successful integration was a significant achievement for our project.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Seamless TiDB Serverless Integration: Overcoming the challenge of integrating with TiDB Serverless, ensuring secure and efficient data flow between IoT device and web application.

Comprehensive Functionality: Agrobotfarms offers a regenerative farming wiki, extensions marketplace, AI-driven crop disease detection, and data-driven crop predictions, providing valuable resources to farmers.

Innovative AI Implementation: Successful deployment and usage of AI models for crop disease detection and crop predictions, offering accurate insights to protect crops effectively.

IoT Data Collection and Visualization: Building the IoT device for real-time data collection and visualization enhances farmers' decision-making.

User-Friendly Website: Intuitive and visually appealing website design using HTML and CSS and JS for easy access to information.

Positive Social Impact: Agrobotfarms' potential to revolutionize agriculture and improve the lives of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa reflects our commitment to social impact and sustainability.

What we learned

Database Integration Challenges: Working with TiDB Serverless provided insights into cloud-based database management and the complexities of data synchronization. With TiDB our data stack is so much simpler.

Time Management and Scope: Managing this hackathon project within time constraints and yet incorporating a lot of features taught us the importance of prioritizing tasks and balancing the scope of features.

Open-Source Tools and APIs: Leveraging open-source tools and APIs enabled us to integrate powerful functionalities into our project efficiently.

Social Impact of Technology: Understanding the potential impact of technology in addressing real-world challenges reinforced our commitment to creating solutions with positive social implications.

These learnings not only contributed to the success of Agrobotfarms but also enriched our skill set as developers. The knowledge gained from this experience will undoubtedly benefit us in future projects, fostering continuous growth and innovation in our endeavors.

What's next for Agrobotfarms

The journey for Agrobotfarms does not end with the hackathon; we have exciting plans for its future development and expansion. Here's what's next for Agrobotfarms:

User Feedback and Improvements: We value user feedback and will actively gather insights from farmers and users to enhance the platform's usability and address their specific needs. Continuous improvement will be a priority.

Scaling and Deployment: As Agrobotfarms gains traction, we will focus on optimizing scalability to accommodate a larger user base. Efficient deployment strategies will ensure the platform's stability and performance.

Data Analytics and Insights: Developing advanced data analytics features will provide farmers with deeper insights into their farming practices, enabling data-driven decision-making.

As we move forward, our vision for Agrobotfarms remains steadfast: to empower farmers, revolutionize agriculture, and make a positive social impact in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. With passion, dedication, and support, we believe Agrobotfarms has the potential to transform the lives of farmers and contribute to sustainable agricultural practices on a larger scale.