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CES 2022: 5 best agri-foodtech innovations and gadgets

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4 min read
AUTHOR: Fiona Holland
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A large number of tech and food companies exhibited their latest products during last week’s CES 2022.

The world’s biggest annual trade show took place from 5 to 8 January 2022 in Las Vegas, and showcased companies who are creating or supplying new cutting edge products and technologies for the tech industry.

Forty different categories were covered, with many products paving the way for progress and innovation in the future of food and drink.

From food waste monitors to autonomous tractors, we take a look at the most impressive inventions on show.

Beyond Honeycomb

This South Korean start-up is using artificial intelligence to create fine dining dishes for restaurants. Their AI chef produced gourmet-style meals at this year’s CES, which were originally prepared by highly regarded chefs in Seoul.

The technology works by using sensors to gather molecular data from each meal as it is prepared by the chef. The AI device then learns the skills needed to recreate the dish within 48 hours and reproduces the dish, featuring the same taste and texture as the original meal.

Beyond Honeycomb is made up of a team of researchers who used to work for the Samsung Research group, as well as entrepreneurs and master chefs.

With labour shortages becoming a significant issue for the hospitality industry since the pandemic first began, developing AI technology for this sector is proving to be popular. Beyond Honeycomb’s AI technology hopes to save 40% on labour costs, produce 10 times more menu options and triple productivity in restaurants.

Orbisk

In a bid to help reduce food waste in the hospitality industry, this Dutch company has created an automated food waste monitoring system that can be attached to food bins.

The technology works by placing the food in front of an LED light where a picture is captured, and the waste is registered in the system. Orbisk allows restaurants and cafés to have their own personal dashboard, where they can see how much produce they’re throwing out.  

Orbisk claims that their technology will allow the hospitality industry to increase their profit margins by 5% by giving them better control of their food waste.

BakeryScan

This artificial intelligence scanner was developed in Japan to recognise and price over 50 different types of pastry and bread and make life easier for cashiers. The technology also meant that bakeries could sell a larger range of produce, without having to worry about memorising the name and price of each item.

In 2017, a doctor from the Louis Pasteur Center for Medical Research in Kyoto got in touch with the company, after learning how certain cancer cells looked similar to some baked items. Today, the Cyto-AiSCAN can be used to recognise cancerous urinary cells and it has also allowed diagnosis of cancer to take place much faster than ever before.

John Deere

To prevent world hunger and produce enough food for the expanding population, there needs to be approximately 60 to 70% more agricultural productivity, according to John Deere. To solve this issue, the American company has developed their autonomous 8R Tractor Technology, which they revealed for the first time at CES 2022.  

The tractor has stored more than 50 million images from in-field testing that has taken place between 2019 and now. Each tractor has six stereo cameras which give it a 360-degree view and allow it to determine distance. When confronted with an obstacle, these images taken by the cameras pass into an artificial neural network and are then classified to help the machine decide if it moves or stops.

On its own, every model can prepare 325 acres of soil within just 24 hours. The autonomous tractor will double the productivity levels of farmers, according to John Deere, as the technology allows farmers to continue focusing on other important work.

The company also notes that their technology allows farmers to use 400,000kg less CO2 emissions than conventional farming practices.

Mission: Space Food

Food for astronauts in space has never been hugely enticing. Typically freeze-dried and heavily processed, fresh goods are usually off the menu. Mission Space Food however aims to change this by bringing sustainable, fresh ingredients to the International Space Station (ISS).

The company is a combination of a technology platform from Israeli cultured meats start-up Aleph Farms, and American food innovation group Astreas, a company aiming to improve functional food with the help of space science.

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