Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is an indoor technology-based production system where crops are grown under a modified and highly conditioned environment. The greenhouse sector and its derivatives such as vertical farming are the most common forms of CEA.
CEA production is labor intensive, requiring workers for a range of critical production tasks including propagation, planting, movement and management of plants, cleaning, harvesting, pest management, pruning, sorting and packaging. The lecture will address launching a challenge to enhance solutions for these challenges by increasing the automation in the production and operations of CEA facilities.