K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
Flying drones and robots.
That may be how fresh food gets delivered to food-insecure parts of Washtenaw County in the not-so-distant future.
“I’m really excited to see this from beginning to end, where we take farm-to-table produce and move it to those areas that don’t have grocery stores, etc., and use robots and drones to make that happen,” County Administrator Greg Dill said.
“Perhaps we’re on the cusp of making food insecurity a thing of the past in Washtenaw County.”
Dill presented the concept to the county board last week, saying it’s something county leaders have been working on with community partners through the Civic Innovation Project.
“It’s kind of complicated,” he said, explaining the project. “It is optimization of mixed-mobility solutions towards improving fresh-food access in Washtenaw County’s underserved regions. And that’s a fancy definition for leveraging drones and robots to connect food and our robust food network in Washtenaw County with food-insecure zones in our community.”
There are seven project partners, including the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions, American Center for Mobility, Aerotropolis, software company Airspace Link, delivery-robot company Kiwibot, nonprofit Food Gatherers and the county.
County Commissioner Justin Hodge, D-Ypsilanti Township, is the county’s lead on the project. It would be a great way to get food into areas of the county that need it most, he said.
“Drones are certainly not my specialty, but to figure out how we can go about tackling food insecurity while making use of aerial drones and then robots, the potential for us to be able to do that’s really exciting, so I’ve been very happy to be able to be part of this and to help bring in additional partners,” he said.
They’re now seeking an initial $50,000 planning grant through the National Science Foundation’s Civic Innovation Challenge, Hodge said, telling his colleagues to stay tuned.
Continue reading: https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2022/05/flying-drones-and-robots-may-help-washtenaw-county-end-food-insecurity.html
That may be how fresh food gets delivered to food-insecure parts of Washtenaw County in the not-so-distant future.
“I’m really excited to see this from beginning to end, where we take farm-to-table produce and move it to those areas that don’t have grocery stores, etc., and use robots and drones to make that happen,” County Administrator Greg Dill said.
“Perhaps we’re on the cusp of making food insecurity a thing of the past in Washtenaw County.”
Dill presented the concept to the county board last week, saying it’s something county leaders have been working on with community partners through the Civic Innovation Project.
“It’s kind of complicated,” he said, explaining the project. “It is optimization of mixed-mobility solutions towards improving fresh-food access in Washtenaw County’s underserved regions. And that’s a fancy definition for leveraging drones and robots to connect food and our robust food network in Washtenaw County with food-insecure zones in our community.”
There are seven project partners, including the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions, American Center for Mobility, Aerotropolis, software company Airspace Link, delivery-robot company Kiwibot, nonprofit Food Gatherers and the county.
County Commissioner Justin Hodge, D-Ypsilanti Township, is the county’s lead on the project. It would be a great way to get food into areas of the county that need it most, he said.
“Drones are certainly not my specialty, but to figure out how we can go about tackling food insecurity while making use of aerial drones and then robots, the potential for us to be able to do that’s really exciting, so I’ve been very happy to be able to be part of this and to help bring in additional partners,” he said.
They’re now seeking an initial $50,000 planning grant through the National Science Foundation’s Civic Innovation Challenge, Hodge said, telling his colleagues to stay tuned.
Continue reading: https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2022/05/flying-drones-and-robots-may-help-washtenaw-county-end-food-insecurity.html
