07 May 2013

IIASA researcher leads NASA SpaceApps challenge

From 20-21 April, IIASA researchers co-led a challenge at the NASA SpaceApps hackathon to produce a simple, inexpensive soil testing kit to help farmers and researchers around the world.

SpaceApps Soil Testing Kit Challenge

A hackathon is an event where hackers (e.g. programmers, designers, researchers and hardware experts) come together and work intensely to solve a problem or develop a new tool. In just two days, the group of hackers built a prototype of a soil moisture and temperature sensor that could be produced for roughly $5. The team also built a smartphone application for collecting and displaying the data directly from the sensor. The project was selected as one of the top solutions in the NASA SpaceApps event, and made it through to the NASA global judging. To vote for the Soil Testing Kit challenge, vote for the project on Twitter before 17 May, 2013.

IIASA researcher Linda See co-led the challenge along with Growers Nation and the USAID PineApple project, two organizations aimed at improving sustainable agriculture through soil testing. IIASA researcher Ratislav Skalsky also participated in the challenge, contributing expertise on soil science from Laxenburg, Austria.

For more information, visit the SpaceApps Challenge Web page for People of the Soil. The team is posting regular updates on their blog: The Soil Collective, and on Twitter.