AI

Predicting pot production

Agtech, agritech, farmers with self-driving tractors—however you typically refer to it, the agricultural tech industry is expanding quickly. Worth an estimated $17.4 billion in 2019 by a Research and Markets report, it’s projected to more than double by 2027, surpassing $41 billion. 

Artificial intelligence is a key ingredient in the agtech boom, and cannabis cultivators are increasingly using AI to replicate desired results in the grow room—and weed out (forgive us) the bad crop. 

To learn more, we chatted with Himansu Karunadasa, cofounder and chief technology officer at FolioGrow, an AI-fueled software application that predicts output for cannabis farmers. 

Predictions and projections

Farmers’ top priority, according to Karunadasa, is yield prediction. “That’s usually the no. 1 question we get...how much flower I’m going to get in three months, how much…[from] this particular batch, etc.,” he told us. 

But, but, but: A number of variables can impact a plant’s yield: the month and season (even if it’s growing indoors), plant location, and the “recipe” for the batch—e.g., which fertilizer was chosen, which chemicals were applied, number of days in propagation, air temperature, humidity level, harvest date, THC percentage, and the batch’s flower weight compared to waste weight. 

• “It changes from building to building, from room to room, and even down to table to table,” Karunadasa said. “A plant that’s growing in the northwest corner may be growing really well or really badly, as opposed to the other ones on that table.” 

So how’s all this data collected? FolioGrow connects to a sensor manufacturer’s API—companies like Ridder, Growlink, and Braingrid—and then collects data points, like air temperature in five-minute intervals, or analytics for one corner of a room to another. 

Anything it can’t collect via sensor is input manually by growers—the strain selection, for instance, or if the plant is moved during its growth process. The company provides mobile and desktop apps to facilitate this. 

The final step? Inputting all of this data into the predictive analytic model. 

“When you’re trying to plant a new plant batch, it can say that if you’re going to use this Blue Kush strain in this particular building in this room, and if they can tell us the future rooms, locations, and so on, it can predict how much of a THC percentage or how much...weight,” Karunadasa said. 

Bottom line: Like any other AI system, this isn’t a flip-of-the-switch solution. It takes time, standardized processes, and the cleanest possible data to build a viable model for a single cannabis cultivator. 

Click here to read the full story.—HF

BATTERY

Can I get a whoop whoop (for more efficient batteries)?

Batteries are getting a silicon makeover that could reshape the way we approach electricity and energy consumption. 

On Wednesday, California startup Sila Nanotechnologies, which has raised over $880 million since its founding in 2011, unveiled a battery it claims is more powerful than existing batteries, without compromising on life cycle and safety. 

So what? Batteries power much of the technology we use today. And as battery-based fuel and energy sources like solar panels, electric vehicles, and wind turbines become even more prevalent, more efficient and powerful batteries will be essential. 

How it works: Sila makes its batteries from next-gen “silicon anode material,” which replaces the graphite in the lithium-ion batteries used in most technology today. That allows more lithium atoms to get packed into the battery, increasing efficiency. 

Sila’s battery will make its real-world debut in Boston startup Whoop’s 4.0 fitness tracker, a Fitbit competitor that has a host of activity-tracking features, from sleep patterns to heart rates and skin-temperature sensors. Whoop has raised ~$405 million since it was founded in 2012.

• The tiny battery will deliver 20% more power density compared with Whoop’s previous models, meaning it can be up to 33% smaller while achieving the same five-day battery life. 

Big picture: Sila’s partnership with Whoop is an effort to start out small before transitioning into bigger applications like smartphones, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. Sila expects its batteries to make their way into cars by 2025, which it hopes can lower the price of electric vehicles and extend their range.—JM

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AI

All the president’s AI advisors

It’s the year 2021, and every organization wants to be—or appear to be—competent in matters concerning AI. The US government is no exception. 

On Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the formation of the National AI Advisory Committee. The committee of at least nine members comes out of the 2020 National AI Initiative Act, and will advise the president on the intersection of AI and geopolitics, competition, R&D, and other issues. 

• The Commerce Department and NIST will also create an AI and Law Enforcement subcommittee.

Why it matters: AI issues will make it to the president’s desk whether the president is prepared or not. The tech is both an economic engine—five of the US’s 10 most valuable companies are AI pioneers—and increasingly, albeit controversially, held up as a pillar of 21st-century defense. 

• Plus, as the tech mediates more aspects of life, from hiring to healthcare to policing, its applications have become high-stakes social issues in need of governance. 

Secretary Raimondo will select the chair and vice chair of the committee, and NIST will review nominees to ensure they’re qualified. Each committee member will serve three-year, uncompensated terms, with new folks added on a rolling basis as vacancies arise. 

Looking ahead…The Commerce Department notes that it aims to create a diverse committee and subcommittee membership. To achieve this, Sean Manning, a spokesperson for the Commerce Department, told Emerging Tech Brew that the agency is working with partners from several different departments—the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the DOD, the DOJ, and so on. 

Manning also told us that “broad outreach is ongoing to Congress, industry, nonprofit and civil society organizations (including those focused on privacy, civil rights, and disability rights), labor, the scientific community...and the defense and law enforcement communities,” but has not yet responded to a request to share specific partners.—DM

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BITS & BYTES

Stat: The Department of Energy wants the US to generate 45% of its energy from the sun by 2050.

Quote: “Already the demand for carbon removal at Orca is so high that we have decided to scale up this plant and build a roughly 10 times larger plant in about three years.”—Jan Wurzbacher, cofounder of Climeworks, which helped build Orca, the world’s largest direct carbon capture plant

Read: Inside the surreal world of “made for advertising” websites. 

High fives for high yields: With TransparentBusiness, you can earn up to 20% a year with their High Yield Notes (aka: a higher rate than with most fixed-income instruments). Click for more info.*

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Facebook released its Snap Spectacle-esque smart glasses, made in partnership with Ray-Ban. In other FB news, it’s reportedly building its own machine learning chips. 
• Mastercard bought CipherTrace, a crypto-tracking firm.
• The LAPD directed its officers to collect social media information from every person they interview.
• Apple’s watch chief will become its car chief. 

GOING PHISHING

Three of the following news stories are true, and one...we made up. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. A Wyoming teacher suggested drones could help stave off sandcastle vandals.
2. Bose has created microscopic bluetooth headphones that can be implanted in your ears.
3. An electric vehicle startup plans to build a rideable robo-unicorn.
4. An Israeli company says it created an EV battery with a 10-minute recharge time.

PATENTS ARE A VIRTUE

Prison contracting company Global Tel Link patented a virtual reality system that would allow inmates to briefly imagine themselves outside of prison, Motherboard reports. 

• The system would likely be used for visitations, and would surveil these VR sessions, storing information in a “monitoring system.”

Cooper Quintin, senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Motherboard, “These technologies also erode any last vestiges of in-person connection between prisoners and their loved ones on the outside and provide prisons yet another avenue for surveillance.”

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions: 

• The US Open’s new toy: AI-powered power rankings
• The decentralized, bidirectional power of smart grids
• The infrastructure bill gives $7.5 billion to EV chargers—here’s how it could shake out

GOING PHISHING ANSWER

Bose has not created any such headphones, to our knowledge.