Teacher guide AI
Teacher guide AI agriculture The latest developments in machine learning for farming include: autonomous robots for harvesting crops; the use of drones, software based tech, and algorithms to capture and process data about crop and soil health; and, machine learning models to track and predict environmental impacts on crop yield such as weather changes. In this project students will be challenged to think of innovative ways that image, sound and movement recognition could be used for farming and agriculture, and to then design and make their own simple AI powered tool using the teachable machine app. Prompts • What routine jobs are there on a farm? How does the farmer know when they need doing? • How does a farmer use sight and sound in their job? Think about whether a tool that uses image, sound or movement recognition could help them to do that task. • How will you test whether your tool works? 8
Student brief AI agriculture Factors such as climate change, population growth and food security concerns have propelled the agriculture industry into seeking more innovative approaches to protecting and improving crop yield. The latest developments in machine learning for farming include: autonomous robots for harvesting crops; the use of drones, software based tech, and algorithms to capture and process data about crop and soil health; and, machine learning models to track and predict environmental impacts on crop yield. Imagine you are a farmer. You have heard about some new technologies that other farmers are using. One farm has started using moisture sensors, which connect to an app to tell you when your crops need watering, to help reduce water usage. Another has agricultural drones, with near infrared view, to spot blight in a few plants before it spreads. You want to come up with a new way that farming tech could help make your farm more efficient. Design a machine learning powered tool to help improve farming and agriculture. Getting started In this project you will design an innovative way that machine learning could be useful for farming and agriculture. Try out the teachable machine app (see Useful Resources) to help get to grips with how machine learning systems work. Start by reading up on the latest high-tech farming equipment using the ‘Useful resources’ links. Brainstorm ideas for different jobs that farmers need to do regularly, resources that farms use a lot of, and common problems for farms. Maybe you can interview a local farmer. Is there a way that data from images, sound or movement could be used to help do a job a human normally does, reduce the use of expensive resources, or solve a problem? Use your research to come up with a concept that uses machine learning. Things to think about • What kinds of tasks need doing regularly on a farm? How regularly are they done? How do farmers know when to do them? • Farmers have to deal with lots of things that are out of their control - floods, droughts, pests. What measures could they take to protect their crops and animals if they could better predict these events? • What types of things do farmers need to predict? How could data help inform these predictions? • Do your ideas use machine learning? Do they learn from examples, data, and experience? Useful resources • Teachable machine tool https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/ • Watch this video about high tech farming https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p07dgym k/the-high-tech-farming-revolution • Follow the food https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/follo w-the-food/ • How high tech is transforming farming https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/busi ness/farming-technology-agriculture.html Health and safety To avoid any accidents, make sure you stick to the following health and safety guidelines before getting started: • Find out if any of the materials, equipment or methods are hazardous using http://science.cleapss.org.uk/Resources/Stu dent-Safety-Sheets/ to assess the risks (think about what could go wrong and how serious it might be). • Decide what you need to do to reduce any risks (such as wearing personal protective equipment, knowing how to deal with emergencies and so on). • Make sure there is plenty of space to work. • Clear up slip or trip hazards promptly. • Make sure your teacher agrees with your plan and risk assessment. 9
