Accepting the challenge to innovate: Cucumber Hackathon 2024
At Cucumber, innovation drives everything we do.
For our team to find complex solutions for our clients, it’s critical to have an ethos of creativity, collaboration and problem-solving embedded throughout our organization.
One exciting—and fun—part of providing this environment was the Cucumber Hackathon 2024.
Building knowledge through collaborative experiences
The focus of the three-day Cucumber Hackathon 2024 was the experience of ‘learning by doing’ and ‘jumping into our clients’ shoes to tackle some of the toughest dilemmas in the primary sector.
To do this, there was a focus on three key areas.
1. Collaboration
No single entity or person has all the answers. Collaboration overcomes complexity, so we pool knowledge, share risks, and unlock potential for full-spectrum thinking.
2. Knowledge
The saying ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ is so true, and encourages us to remain curious to fill the gaps in our learning and understanding. Knowledge is a valuable asset, yet it is always at risk due to employee turnover, a lack of documentation, and siloed information structures.
3. Rapid problem solving
We use holistic problem-solving techniques to drive innovation and provide sustainable results. This leads to rapidly testing and refining ideas, identifying issues earlier rather than later, and using learnings to inform future decisions.
AI as an assistant to innovative thinking
During the Hackathon, we used our in-house AI knowledge management tool Nina with a world-class machine-learning engine to help generate ideas, analyse data, and suggest solutions. Innovation is critical in solving today’s challenges—and AI now plays an essential tool in delivering success across all sectors and industries. Leveraging the power of machine learning (ML) and AI assists in identifying new value streams, making data-driven decisions, automating processes, and uncovering new possibilities.
An augmented inventive problem-solving tool, inspired by the TRIZ framework, was employed to assist with solving specific problems, mapping, analyzing, decomposing and structuring complex problem situations, and generating new and solving existing business concepts.
A focus on advancing the primary sector
The Hackathon presented some complex issues for the Cucumber team to solve using machine learning and AI as a tool. Some of the standout results were:
Wine/Avocado Quality and Climate Relations
We applied machine learning to analyse how changing climates affect crop quality, providing growers with actionable insights to adapt their practices for better outcomes in both vineyards and avocado orchards.
Sustainable Farming Advisory
Using ML (Machine Learning) models, we developed predictive tools that offer tailored advice for farmers aiming to implement more sustainable practices, optimising resource use while maintaining productivity.
Efficient Honey Formulations
By combining ML and historical data, we explored ways to optimise honey production, improving both yield and efficiency in a sector facing environmental stress.
Optimising Canola Phenotypes and Field Trials
Our team used ML to refine field trial processes and identify the best-performing canola phenotypes, driving more efficient and informed breeding strategies.
Operational Efficiency and Predictive Maintenance
We applied machine learning to improve operational workflows, leveraging predictive maintenance models that help organisations reduce downtime and maintain peak efficiency.
Predictive Analytics on Software Systems
Using ML for scenario modelling, we aimed to improve software development by providing predictive analytics that can flag potential risks and optimise system performance over time.
Understanding the Complex Interplay of Climatic Factors on Crop Resilience and Yield: This visual represents a decision-support framework incorporating key variables such as climate, market forces, and supply chain factors. The decision constellation highlights visible and hidden network drivers that affect crop performance. The scatter plots on the right illustrate the impact of climatic elements, such as windy days and sunshine hours, on crop yield and market prices, providing insights into how environmental conditions shape agricultural outcomes.
Creativity and collaboration boost dynamic problem-solving
For the Cucumber team, participating in the Hackathon provided the space to explore and generate new ideas in an encouraging and educative environment. Key insights included:
Learning more about machine learning and AI, and their application in solving real-world challenges.
Evaluating the TRIZ framework as a problem-solving tool and assessing how it works together with Cucumber’s AI tool, Nina.
Leveraging analytics to expose non-obvious insights to provide potential solutions for clients.
Finding more opportunities for bespoke solutions through customer engagement.
“I was surprised at how effectively data could be extracted from a super messy graph or a pile of data. I learned that I still have a huge mountain to climb when it comes to understanding AI and Machine Learning.”
Innovation and AI create strategic value
Innovation isn’t just about staying ahead. It’s about creating value where none existed before.
Aaron Middleton, Cucumber’s CTO, says the Hackathon certainly stretched the creative faculties of the team. “Data always contains surprises, and sometimes it felt like looking into the mist and trying to spot a snowflake. Sharing in these frustrations helps us relate with those facing these challenges on a daily basis.”
The sentiment of ‘responsible AI is explainable AI’ rings true, says Aaron. “Whether it’s using explainability tools to prove models or using toolsets within Nina to provide the domain-specific knowledge to augment interpretation and context, such approaches empower our ability to make more informed insights and data-driven decisions.”
The Hackathon was a great example of the Cucumber approach— understanding the ‘why’, correctly defining the problem and identifying the knowledge gaps. The new skills and insights gained by the Cucumber team will further empower them to address the needs of clients and create innovative solutions.