5G Field Lab Launched to Allow Farming to Dig into An Innovative Ecosystem

Author photo: Chantal Polsonetti
ByChantal Polsonetti
Category:
Company and Product News

The 5G Open Innovation Lab (5G OI Lab), a global applied innovation ecosystem of developers, corporate enterprises, academia and government institutions, launched its first application development field lab for the 5G Field Labagricultural industry with dedicated access to a 5G-capable, CBRS LTE-based network and edge computing platform fueled by technology provided by the lab’s partners.

Known as the Food Resiliency Project, the economic development initiative is funded by a grant through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), and establishes a virtual and physical space for Snohomish County to bring together food growers and distributors with technology companies.

The goal is to collaboratively develop new capabilities that will improve the resiliency of the county’s agriculture sector and minimize future food service disruptions for consumers and regional agribusiness.

As part of the initiative, an application development field lab has been built in Snohomish County in the state of Washington.  Within it are contained the following:

  • Swans Trail Farms, a retail farm and event venue featuring apple orchards, strawberry fields, and a pumpkin patch
  • Andrew's Hay, Inc., a commercial grower and supplier of premium feed for horses, cattle, livestock and seed crops.

Each site will connect to an edge computing environment allowing developers to tap into cloud computing capabilities essential for latency-sensitive and compute-intensive applications.

IoT applications include soil sensors measuring temperature, volumetric water content, oxygen levels and photosynthetic radiation, as well as supply chain and logistics tracking of food from farm-to-table to ensure safety and security.

Engage with ARC Advisory Group

Representative End User Clients
Representative Automation Clients
Representative Software Clients