Robotics team develops app concept for agriculture

Each year, part of the competition is to participate in a team project that benefits the community. This year’s theme is “transportation,” which led the team to look at agriculture, since it is one of Candler County’s major products transported out of the county. 

The team met up with Grant Anderson of Better Fresh Farms, one of the only hydroponic farms in the state. Anderson talked about his plight with getting his produce into the hands of citizens within the county without a storefront and that much of his time goes to delivering his goods to restaurants up to 150 miles away. He stated his need for a better way to deliver locally and efficiently.

“The kids began working on a possible solution to this problem. They wanted to design a system that would allow farmers to sell their products easily to residents in the county where their produce is being grown,” said MES Robotics Head Coach Miranda Thigpen. “They created an idea for the ‘From Our Farm, to Your Table’ app. In this app, customers can purchase their vegetables and pay digitally. 

“They then created the Veggiebot for delivery and the Green Machine trailer for pickup,” said Thigpen. 

The Veggiebot would focus on deliveries within city limits. The farmer would prepare the order, type in the customer’s address, and the Veggiebot would travel via sidewalk to the customer’s home. The customer would then scan a QR code received via app to get their order. 

All transactions would be monitored by security footage, and the bots would be solar-powered to be more energy efficient. 

The Green Machine focuses on the pickup option. It is a refrigerated transport trailer, which the team theorized could have compartments added. The compartment number and QR code to open the trailer would be sent via the app to the customer to pick up their order under video surveillance. 

Though the collaboration project is only a concept currently, the team has learned a lot from Grant Anderson with Better Fresh Farms and Ross Greene at the UGA Agriculture Extension Agency about what it means to work for the community and how the agriculture business affects Candler County. 

“Community projects allow our students to explore and learn more about our community and the amazing men and women that work each day to make Candler County an awesome place to work, go to school, and live,” said Head Coach Thigpen. 

“These projects allow students to develop real world skills while identifying problems and working collaboratively to develop realistic solutions. These opportunities also allow students to create relationships with each other, their communities, and to see the impact they can have as citizens of Candler County,” she said.

Thigpen went on to say, “It is amazing to see how creative 9 and 10 year olds can be. Many of these students do not start the program as friends, but I love watching their friendships grow as they learn together. I want to encourage these students to see the difference they can make in our community and in our world. Projects like this help them build confidence in themselves that they will apply as future leaders in our community.”