Let us introduce you to Virgo. Think of it as a farmer’s assistant—one that can tell when tomatoes are ripe and nimbly pluck them. Created by Somerville-founded start-up Root AI, the robot uses artificial intelligence to navigate the complex tasks of indoor, greenhouse, and outdoor farming. And picking tomatoes is just the beginning, according to […]
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Only about 12 percent of Americans are literate in ecological issues, according to Claire O’Neill, founder of Somerville-based Earthwise Aware. The environmental advocacy organization’s goal is not to throw money at big beautification projects or to find a miracle solution for climate change and habitat loss, but to make gradual change through learning. “There is […]
What’s the key to gathering more information about epidemics? Looking at sewage, Biobot Analytics Co-founder and CEO Mariana Matus suggests. Matus first became attuned to the vast data available in sewage while getting her Ph.D. in computational biology at MIT. She and fellow co-founder Newsha Ghaeli made a list of all the things they could […]
The sap was flowing on Tufts University’s campus in late January, where more than a hundred people gathered for Groundwork Somerville’s first tree tapping of the year. Children took turns slowly drilling into the trees, hammering small spiles into the bark, and tasting droplets of sap, while program leaders explained how to identify and tap […]