VR Farming: An Immersive Approach to Engaging the Next Generation in Agri-food Careers
Disciplines
Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces
Abstract (300 words maximum)
As the global population reaches 9.7 billion by 2050, global food demand will increase by up to 56% [1]. However, the percentage of US farms undergoing significant labor shortages increased from 14% in 2014 to 41% in 2018 and 53% in 2022 [2], implying the urgent need to attract younger generations to the agrifood industry and encourage them to choose relevant careers in the future. To tackle this challenge, in this project, we propose VR Farming—an educational virtual reality environment (VR) for providing the younger audience—typically feeling comfortable in using new digital tools—with an immersive, engaging, and interactive learning experience, performing simplified yet realistic agricultural processes. Specifically, the simulated environment presents a virtual farm with multiple rows of tomatoes at various growth levels, allowing the user to freely navigate around in and observe them from different viewpoints. In addition, the user can interact with the crops and trigger a game with the mission to correctly identify ripe and unripe tomatoes, harvest and place only those that are ready for sale in crates for packaging. Future development will expand the environment further to include all different stages of food production, such as farming, postharvesting, retail, and cooking. Our ultimate goal in this project is to develop an innovative VR environment that enables the younger generation to learn and enjoy food production processes through immersive, hands-on experiences and help them become interested in and explore career opportunities in the agrifood industry. [1] Michiel van Dijk, Tom Morley, Marie Luise Rau, and Yashar Saghai, A meta-analysis of projected global food demand and population at risk of hunger for the period 2010–2050, Nature Food, 2022. [2] Zachariah Rutledge, Farm Labor Shortages, Their Implications, and Policy Options to Help Promote the Domestic Fresh Produce Industry, 2024
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CCSE - Information Technology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Taeyeong Choi
VR Farming: An Immersive Approach to Engaging the Next Generation in Agri-food Careers
As the global population reaches 9.7 billion by 2050, global food demand will increase by up to 56% [1]. However, the percentage of US farms undergoing significant labor shortages increased from 14% in 2014 to 41% in 2018 and 53% in 2022 [2], implying the urgent need to attract younger generations to the agrifood industry and encourage them to choose relevant careers in the future. To tackle this challenge, in this project, we propose VR Farming—an educational virtual reality environment (VR) for providing the younger audience—typically feeling comfortable in using new digital tools—with an immersive, engaging, and interactive learning experience, performing simplified yet realistic agricultural processes. Specifically, the simulated environment presents a virtual farm with multiple rows of tomatoes at various growth levels, allowing the user to freely navigate around in and observe them from different viewpoints. In addition, the user can interact with the crops and trigger a game with the mission to correctly identify ripe and unripe tomatoes, harvest and place only those that are ready for sale in crates for packaging. Future development will expand the environment further to include all different stages of food production, such as farming, postharvesting, retail, and cooking. Our ultimate goal in this project is to develop an innovative VR environment that enables the younger generation to learn and enjoy food production processes through immersive, hands-on experiences and help them become interested in and explore career opportunities in the agrifood industry. [1] Michiel van Dijk, Tom Morley, Marie Luise Rau, and Yashar Saghai, A meta-analysis of projected global food demand and population at risk of hunger for the period 2010–2050, Nature Food, 2022. [2] Zachariah Rutledge, Farm Labor Shortages, Their Implications, and Policy Options to Help Promote the Domestic Fresh Produce Industry, 2024