Deep inside a cutting-edge Planet Farms manufacturing facility surroundings, nestled not on sprawling fields however towering upwards in layers, produce is being farmed in tightly managed circumstances. That is the place conventional agriculture is being revolutionized, inside a extremely automated, data-driven, vertical farming mannequin.
“If we need to set new requirements in vertical farming, we should begin with a radical change of perspective,” says Massimo Mistretta, CISO, Planet Farms. “We need to change the way in which the world thinks about agriculture.”
The change is to shift from supply-led farming to demand-led. The Planet Farms mannequin shouldn’t be restricted by seasonal rising cycles, geography, or entry to water. For Planet Farms, the work isn’t executed by tractors, however by robots shifting on the plant and automatic guided autos (AGVs). That is crucial to sustaining the extremely environment friendly processes Planet Farms has developed to develop contemporary, nutritious, flavorful meals. Robots transport all the pieces from seedlings to harvested produce, making certain minimal human contact and most velocity. No soil, no pesticides, and minimal water.
“The client is the primary to open the bag and contact the product,” Mistretta factors out. “All the things else is totally automated, from seeding to major and secondary packaging. The product doesn’t must be washed; it arrives able to eat.”
Nonetheless, conserving all the pieces seamlessly related posed a problem. For crucial, latency-sensitive communications required by AGVs, a dropped connection or perhaps a pause throughout handoff may disrupt operations, doubtlessly resulting in delays or errors.
Enter Cisco Extremely-Dependable Wi-fi Backhaul (URWB). Planet Farms found that URWB was designed exactly for connecting shifting property, offering a degree of efficiency that customary Wi-Fi couldn’t assure for its crucial operations. URWB provides ultra-reliable, low-latency wi-fi connectivity with seamless handoffs and 0 packet loss, important for uninterrupted motion of their robots and AGVs.
“Cisco URWB permits our AGVs and 3D cameras to gather knowledge in actual time with out interruption. This knowledge is significant for superior agentic AI fashions to make knowledgeable choices.” – Massimo Mistretta, CISO, Planet Farms
In contrast to Wi-Fi, URWB employs a “make earlier than break” roaming mechanism, establishing the connection to the subsequent entry level earlier than dropping the connection to the present one. Its Multipath Operations (MPO) know-how permits site visitors, particularly crucial knowledge, to be despatched to a number of entry factors concurrently. Which means that even with obstacles and interference frequent in complicated industrial environments, equivalent to a multi-level vertical farm, if one connection is interrupted, the site visitors nonetheless will get via through one other path.
Deploying URWB felt surprisingly acquainted to Planet Farms’ current IT crew. The answer is constructed on 802.11 requirements and deploys similar to Wi-Fi, making it fast for groups to get related. Planet Farms now has a wi-fi community that may lastly preserve tempo with its formidable automation. The community is then centrally monitored and maintained utilizing instruments equivalent to Cisco Industrial Wi-fi Monitor, offering real-time knowledge and alerts.
“We need to present that vertical farming shouldn’t be solely possible however could be worthwhile.” – Massimo Mistretta, CISO, Planet Farms
For Planet Farms, Cisco URWB permits the excessive degree of automation essential to run its vertical farms effectively, decreasing downtime, complexity, and handbook intervention. It helps the exact, sub-millisecond latency wanted for AGVs to navigate tightly managed paths. This technological leap isn’t nearly connectivity; it permits Planet Farms’ mission of manufacturing scrumptious, wholesome, and sustainable greens with out pesticides, minimizing its environmental impression.
By going vertical and embracing applied sciences like Cisco URWB, Planet Farms is really shaping the way forward for agriculture.