Drones for Foraging

Concrete Jungle is a non-profit based in Atlanta that provides fresh food to those in need. These fruits and vegetables are foraged, gleaned, and farmed, and then given to food pantries, shelters, and other social service providers in Atlanta and Athens. Finding fruit trees and keeping track of ripe fruit is time-consuming, especially when those trees are spread across the city, growing in parks and roadway medians.

In 2013, members of Concrete Jungle reached out and asked, “Can we borrow a drone?” and so began our longstanding collaboration. From 2013-2015 we explored the use of hobby drones for fruit spotting and monitoring. Through this project, we developed use cases, prototyped software and user interfaces, explored open technologies for image capture and analysis, and created instructional materials to assist foragers in using open technologies for remote sensing and imaging. Although the regulations on using drones inside cities ultimately thwarted these explorations, this work initiated an ongoing inquiry into the appropriation of precision agriculture technologies for the imprecise practices of foraging.

2013-2015

Concept and Research: Craig Durkin and Carl DiSalvo

Interaction Design and Design Research: Tasmia Alam, Caroline Foster

Software: Karl Kim

Related Publications
DiSalvo, Carl. 2016. “The Irony of Drones for Foraging: Exploring the Work of Speculative Interventions”. In Design Anthropological Futures, eds, Kjærsgaard, M. G., Halse, J., Smith, R. C., Vangkilde, K. T., Binder, T., & Otto, T. Bloomsbury Academic Press.