14th DS Rotterdam Meetup **Applied Data Science in Horticulture**

Hello AI and DS enthusiasts!

We would like to invite you to our 14th DS Rotterdam Meetup! This month's focus is Applied Data Science in Horticulture.

Please RSVP below

Where: Microlab Rotterdam

Note that we have a limited number of spots available. So, if you can no longer make it, please let us know as soon as possible – that way we can assign your seat to someone on the waiting list.

PROGRAM

17:45 – 18:00: Doors Open

18:00 – 18:10: Intro by your host - PEAX

18:10 – 18:40: Talk 1

18:40 – 19:00: Talk 2

19:00 – 21:00: Networking with pizza and drinks

TALKS

Talk 1: PEAX | Guus van Heijningen | Forecasting energy demand for greenhouses across the country

Energy for heating the greenhouse is one of the main cost drivers. Natural gas prices can fluctuate substantially, possessing the risk for energy costs getting out of control. In order to mitigate this risk, a greenhouse grower can use his energy assets in a smart way and purchase energy hedge contracts. To do so, he needs to have an idea of the amount of gas that he is going to consume on a certain day. Therefore PEAX has developed a forecasting model to predict the energy demand 7 days ahead.

Talk 2: Rijk Zwaan | Frank Smitskamp | X-ray seed sorting

Rijk Zwaan employs X-ray machines for seed sorting, harnessing the power of in-house trained Deep Learning models. The sorting process is aimed at meticulously identifying and eliminating non-germinating seeds.

Rijk Zwaan is a vegetable breeding company. They develop new vegetable varieties and sell the seeds produced from them all over the world. New technologies used in the development, production and sale of seeds are revolutionary. Through the use of various technologies, such as AI, Robotics and Machine Vision, we contribute to innovative solutions in our business processes. This way, we are able to make fresh and healthy vegetables available to our consumers worldwide in sustainable ways.

Frank Smitskamp

My name is Frank Smitskamp (29), and I have been working for Rijk Zwaan as a Data Scientist for a little over a year now. Worked for 3 years at a start-up in Rotterdam as a Data Scientist with a focus on NLP. Now at Rijk Zwaan the focus is more on Computer Vision and some more classic Machine Learning projects. In addition to my work as a Data Scientist, I have been a lecturer in Artificial Intelligence at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences for the past two years.

Sponsored by: PEAX

The goal of PEAX is to bring data & AI technologies to the Food & Flower industry. We believe that an efficient Food & Flower industry will result in less environmental and economic waste. Data & AI technologies play a major role in this development, as the added value in terms of intelligence and automation has proven itself to result in exactly that what is needed. That's why we want to help the industry by making the opportunities of data & AI accessible to all organisations and let them experience its potential.