NC State and USDA-ARS are hosting an agricultural technology Hackathon October 9-10, 2021 to accelerate agricultural sustainability using computer vision, machine learning, and robotics. The event will center around the uses of the new BenchBot, a low-cost robot intended as a generalizable platform for sensing growing plants on greenhouse benches. The robot also serves as a testbed for new sensors intended for field applications.

Three of these robots will be housed in the new Plant Sciences Building, a new $160 million project at NC State that will foster interdisciplinary research on agriculture’s largest challenges.

Hacker teams may build off of the innovative solutions developed for the recent OpenCV competition. The competition will be held on campus and online. Cash prizes will be available for teams in multiple categories. You must be a student enrolled at the undergraduate or graduate level to participate. The event is free to join but requires advance registration. For those participating in person, refreshments and lunch will be provided on both days.

Event Name: NCSU-USDA Hackathon