Unprecedented honor: IDEAS Team wins 2024 Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge

Zhejiang University's IDEAS team showcased exceptional expertise in AI-driven agriculture at the prestigious 4th Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge held in the Netherlands. Competing against the world's top universities and industry leaders, they claimed the championship, marking a historic achievement as the first Chinese team to win this honor.

The competition brought together 23 teams from 24 countries, aiming to advance smart greenhouse management through artificial intelligence, while minimizing resource consumption and labor inputs. Participants tackled four major tasks including 1) machine vision task to exact critical growth parameters; 2) environmental control strategies to improve tomato quality and yield while effectively managing costs; 3) deep learning model task to identify pest on a small trap, and 4) AI strategy for system optimization. Through innovative modeling, interdisciplinary collaboration, and seamless remote teamwork, Zhejiang University's team successfully navigated these complex tasks and emerged victorious.

All members of the IDEAS team hail from the Intelligence Driven and Enabled Agricultural Systems (IDEAS) laboratory at the College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science of ZJU. Under the mentorship of Professor LIN Tao, who specializes in agricultural artificial intelligence, team members XIA Fulin, LIU Wei, FU Rongmei, MA Xunyi, and WU Yanxu applied their combined expertise in agricultural engineering, computer vision, AI, and horticulture. This collaborative synergy played a pivotal role in their victory.

Team leader XIA Fulin reflected on their achievement, "Winning this championship is both an honor and a powerful motivator for us. It strengthens our resolve to continue exploring the agricultural field. We believe that with ongoing technological innovation and its application, we can truly realize fully automated greenhouse management."

Following the competition, team advisor LIN Tao commented, "the success of the 'IDEAS' team can be attributed to the integration of interdisciplinary education and scientific research, as well as our focus on real-world applications and international cooperation. These elements provided a comprehensive platform for student development and growth."

This victory underscores Zhejiang University's leadership in fields of agricultural engineering and artificial intelligence. The team's success reflects the university's robust interdisciplinary support, empowering students to tackle complex challenges at the intersection of multiple fields.

"Unmanned agricultural systems and intelligent equipment are key development areas for agricultural engineering discipline at Zhejiang University. We will continue to leverage the university's strength in interdisciplinary collaboration to lead and support the development and transformation of modern agricultural industries," said Professor LIU Ying, Dean of the College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science at Zhejiang University.

Looking ahead, the team plans to collaborate with the industry to further advance smart agriculture, expand the application of autonomous greenhouses, and revolutionize traditional agricultural production methods. At the same time, the team aims to drive the transformation of agricultural production from traditional methods to high-tech solutions, achieving efficiency, intelligence, and sustainable development in the agricultural industry.

Adapted and translated from the article written by FU Hangying, MING Xuan

Translator: WU Jingying ('27, Communication)

Photo: the interviewees

Editor: HAN Xiao ('25 PhD, Education), CHENG Meng, TIAN Minjie

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