The “Plant Phenotyping x Engineering Ideathon” meeting was held at JIRCAS on Aug 26-27, 2019 in collaboration with the Japan Plant Phenotyping Network (JPPN) and supported by Agri-Air Co., Ltd.

During the ideathon, Prof. Masato Ninomiya from the University of Tokyo gave an overview of the recent developments in phenotyping and biometrics in agriculture and plant research. Then six lecturers gave presentations on next-generation phenotyping strategies, which incorporate new technologies such as soil sensors, feature extraction through 3D analysis, and machine learning. After the presentations, working groups were formed to identify the challenges, expectations, and deliverables from the agricultural research side and engineering side towards the development of the next generation phenotyping system.

The ideathon attracted more than 40 participants from universities, private companies, public research institutes, and government organizations, freely exchanging ideas regardless of their affiliations and positions. The two-day overnight camp-style cross-disciplinary exchange ideathon also provided an opportunity for the participants to build a new research network focusing on each other’s strength and specializations towards the common goal of developing an efficient phenotyping system.