Building Autonomous Greenhouses with AI and Robotics

11/12/24 • 37 min

Infinite Curiosity Pod with Prateek Joshi

Gilwoo Lee is the founder and CEO of Zordi, a company that builds and operates autonomous greenhouses with mobile robots and AI. They raised $20M in their most recent funding round led by Khosla Ventures. She has degrees from MIT, CMU, and University of Washington.
Gilwoo's favorite book: Masayoshi Son's 300-Year Plan (Author: Takashi Sugimoto)
(00:01) Introduction
(00:08) What is a Greenhouse?
(01:08) Greenhouse Usage in Different Regions
(02:45) Advantages and Challenges of Greenhouses
(06:15) Crops Suitable for Greenhouses
(08:23) Introduction to Autonomous Greenhouses
(10:40) Technology Stack of Autonomous Greenhouses
(12:17) Factors Affecting Crop Growth and Automation
(14:00) Data Requirements for AI Models in Greenhouses
(15:14) Upgrading Traditional Greenhouses to Autonomous
(17:26) Tasks Managed by Robots in Greenhouses
(18:45) Engineering Challenges in Robotics for Greenhouses
(20:16) Future of Robotics in Greenhouses
(21:39) Robotics Supply Chain and Standardization
(23:23) Verticalized vs. General-Purpose Robots
(27:16) Robotics Foundation Models
(29:52) Economics of Autonomous Greenhouses
(33:16) Future of Autonomous Farming
(34:01) Rapid Fire Round
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Where to find Prateek Joshi:

Newsletter: https://prateekjoshi.substack.com
Website: https://prateekj.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-joshi-91047b19
Twitter: https://twitter.com/prateekvjoshi

Previous Episode

Developing Battery Materials with AI

Vivas Kumar is the cofounder and CEO of Mitra Chem, the first lithium-ion battery materials product company focused on shortening the lab-to-production timeline by over 90%. They recently raised more than $80M in funding from Social Capital, General Motors, Alpha Wave Ventures, and others.
Vivas's favorite book: Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (Author: Nelson Mandela)
(00:01) Introduction
(02:25) How Lithium-Ion Batteries Work
(04:56) Evolution of Battery Materials
(06:46) Development of Lithium-Ion Battery Technology
(08:10) Optimizing Battery Properties: Cost, Energy Density, and Cycle Life
(10:52) Supply Chain of Battery Materials
(13:16) From Lab to Production: Key Bottlenecks
(15:26) Using AI to Accelerate Synthesis Design
(18:18) Battery Cell Qualification: Process and Importance
(20:13) Managing Risk in AI-Driven Battery Experiments
(21:20) Data Generation for AI-Driven Battery Development
(22:52) Challenges in Manufacturing Large-Scale Batteries
(25:02) Current Limitations in Battery Materials Development
(26:39) Next-Generation Battery Materials in the Pipeline
(27:50) Advancements in Battery Technology Beyond Materials
(29:52) Advice for New Founders in the Battery Industry
(31:42) Rapid Fire Round
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Where to find Prateek Joshi:
Newsletter: https://prateekjoshi.substack.com
Website: https://prateekj.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-joshi-91047b19
Twitter: https://twitter.com/prateekvjoshi

Next Episode

Decoding Metadata in AI

Cody Coleman is the cofounder and CEO of Coactive AI, a multimodal AI platform to accelerate metadata generation. They recently raised their $30M Series B co-led by Cherryrock Capital and Emerson Collective along with participation from Greycroft, Andreessen Horowitz, and Bessemer Venture Partners. He has a masters degree from MIT and a PhD from Stanford.
Cody's favorite books:
- The Inner Game of Tennis (Author: W. Timonthy Gallwey)
- Gettine More (Author: Stuart Diamond)
(00:01) Introduction: Setting the Stage for Metadata
(00:21) What is Metadata? Structure in Unstructured Data
(01:37) Metadata in Real-World Visual Data Analysis
(03:01) Automating Metadata Generation: Challenges and Approaches
(06:57) Introduction to Multimodal AI: What and Why
(11:25) Managing Trade-Offs in Multimodal AI Systems
(13:31) Labeling Challenges in Multimodal Datasets
(16:23) Characteristics of an Ideal Metadata Language
(18:22) Linking Metadata Quality to Model Effectiveness
(20:56) Measuring Efficiency of Metadata Extraction Engines
(22:55) Role of Synthetic Data in Metadata and AI
(25:30) Evolution of Data Labeling and Future of Metadata
(27:27) Exciting Technological Advancements in AI
(29:29) Rapid Fire Round
--------
Where to find Prateek Joshi:
Newsletter: https://prateekjoshi.substack.com
Website: https://prateekj.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-joshi-91047b19
Twitter: https://twitter.com/prateekvjoshi

Infinite Curiosity Pod with Prateek Joshi - Building Autonomous Greenhouses with AI and Robotics

Transcript

Prateek Joshi (00:01.602)
Gilbu, thank you so much for joining me today.
Gilwoo Lee (00:05.173)
Thank you for having me, nice to meet you.
Prateek Joshi (00:08.276)
Let's start with the basics. What is a greenhouse?
Gilwoo Lee (00:15.047)
Yeah, great question. So Greenhouse is essentially...
a structure, physical structure that has either polyfilum or glass or some sort of a material that lets the sunlight go through while protecting the inside from rain or any extreme