The Aeropod automates soil aeration without robotics — see it at TechCrunch Disrupt
The Aeropod automates soil aeration without robotics — see it at TechCrunch Disrupt
Aeropod：无需机器人即可实现土壤自动通气——敬请关注 TechCrunch Disrupt
Farmers around the world face a pressing problem: The equipment they use to till, plant, and harvest their fields is killing their margins. Studies have estimated that soil compaction can reduce yields by 20% to 60%. Plowing can help, but it’s a laborious and expensive task that harms soil health in different ways. 全球各地的农民都面临着一个紧迫的问题：他们用于耕作、播种和收割田地的设备正在严重压缩他们的利润空间。研究估计，土壤压实会导致产量下降 20% 到 60%。耕地虽然有所帮助，但这是一项费力且昂贵的任务，而且会以多种方式损害土壤健康。
Muju Earth has developed an alternative, the Aeropod, that automatically aerates the soil without machinery or robotics. The startup says it can promote better soil health while cutting farmers’ tilling costs by half or more. Muju Earth 开发了一种替代方案——Aeropod，它无需机械或机器人即可自动为土壤通气。这家初创公司表示，它不仅能促进土壤健康，还能将农民的耕作成本降低一半甚至更多。
The device is “built like a seed, it sows like a seed, and it ships like a seed,” Ifeoluwa Afolayan, the company’s co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch. The device is about the size of a fingernail, and farmers drop it in the soil alongside their seeds using the same equipment. There’s no need to till the soil in advance. “It just really seems like a no-brainer,” Afolayan said. “它的构造像种子，播种方式像种子，运输方式也像种子，”该公司联合创始人兼首席执行官 Ifeoluwa Afolayan 在接受 TechCrunch 采访时表示。该装置大约指甲盖大小，农民可以使用与播种相同的设备将其与种子一起撒入土壤中。无需提前耕地。“这看起来确实是一个显而易见的选择，”Afolayan 说道。
After the Aeropod is exposed to a combination of temperature, pressure, and moisture, it bursts open, loosening the soil and creating small channels that let air, water, and roots move through it more easily. 当 Aeropod 在温度、压力和湿度的共同作用下，它会裂开，从而疏松土壤并形成微小通道，使空气、水和根系更容易穿过土壤。
Muju Earth — one of the 200 startups in this year’s Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in October — has tested its devices in lab settings and is embarking on paid field trials this fall in the U.K. Nine farmers are participating, and the startup has more than 30 on a waitlist. Its initial target market is onion growers in the U.K. since onions are particularly sensitive to soil compaction, Afolayan said. Muju Earth 是今年 10 月在旧金山举行的 TechCrunch Disrupt 大会“创业战场”（Startup Battlefield）200 家初创公司之一。该公司已在实验室环境中测试了其设备，并于今年秋季在英国启动了付费实地试验。目前有 9 位农民参与，另有 30 多人在等待名单上。Afolayan 表示，其最初的目标市场是英国的洋葱种植者，因为洋葱对土壤压实特别敏感。
Tilling a field once might cost around £250 to £400 per hectare when factoring in labor costs, diesel, and wear and tear on equipment, Afolayan said. The Aeropod should produce similar results at just £100 per hectare, Afolayan said. Afolayan 指出，如果算上人工成本、柴油消耗以及设备磨损，耕种一公顷土地的成本大约在 250 到 400 英镑之间。而使用 Aeropod 则只需每公顷 100 英镑即可达到类似的效果。
The Aeropod was born during Afolayan’s and co-founder Wangyang Hu’s time at Imperial College London, where they sought to design a product that would improve farmers’ bottom lines while also aiding soil health. The Aeropod’s development was driven by a single question: “How do you make this as simple as sowing a seed?” Afolayan said. “That’s the most equitable practice across every farmer on the planet.” Aeropod 的构想诞生于 Afolayan 和联合创始人胡望洋（音译，Wangyang Hu）在伦敦帝国理工学院求学期间，当时他们致力于设计一种既能提高农民利润又能改善土壤健康的产品。Afolayan 说，Aeropod 的开发源于一个核心问题：“如何让它像播种一样简单？这是全球每一位农民都能公平享用的做法。”
In addition to farmers, the startup has also heard from companies developing biologic amendments — products added to soil, often containing living microbes, that boost or replace chemical fertilizers. Because those companies’ products work best in aerated soils, they’re interested in pairing with the Aeropod. But Afolayan said that farmers have been leading adoption. Most of the marketing to date has been inbound. “The best thing about Aeropod is the farmers intuitively understand the proposition,” she said. 除了农民，这家初创公司还收到了开发生物改良剂（添加到土壤中、通常含有活微生物以促进或替代化肥的产品）的公司的咨询。由于这些公司的产品在通气良好的土壤中效果最佳，他们对与 Aeropod 合作很感兴趣。但 Afolayan 表示，目前主要是农民在主动采用该技术。迄今为止，大部分营销都是客户主动找上门的。“Aeropod 最棒的地方在于，农民们能直观地理解它的价值主张，”她说。
Muju Earth is one of 200 startups in this year’s Startup Battlefield, a pitch competition in which 20 finalists will present on the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt, taking place October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Muju Earth 是今年“创业战场”的 200 家初创公司之一。这是一场路演竞赛，20 家决赛入围者将于 10 月 13 日至 15 日在旧金山 Moscone West 举行的 TechCrunch Disrupt 大会主舞台上进行展示。