Importance of Being ‘NICE’ While Developing IoT-Based Smart Farming Solutions: A Case Study About ‘NICE’ Labs

Abstract

In this paper, we wish to highlight the emerging application of ‘smart technologies’ based on Internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, virtual reality and robotics while developing smart and sustainable farming solutions. We wish to understand the challenges faced by agri-biotech researchers who wish to leverage these next-generation technologies without compromising the traditional and conventional approaches. We draw attention towards the merits and demerits of the increasing usage and dependence on next-generation IoT-based agricultural technologies. We are curious to find out whether the dominance of such sophisticated technologies can compromise the ‘sustainability’ aspect which was so inherent in the traditional approaches to agriculture since centuries? In this context, we discuss the case of NICE (naturalist-inspired chemical ecology) lab at National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore which is trying to maintain a ‘fine-balance’ between the traditional and modern approaches to chemical ecology. The lab engages in answering fundamental questions in basic sciences like neuroscience, chemistry and animal behaviour, especially in their natural habitat with the next-generation technologies like virtual reality, robotic 3D printing and radar technologies. Academicians as well as practitioners might find the ‘NICE’ approach interesting, in their effort to develop smart and sustainable farming solutions without losing a touch of ‘Naturalism’.