CNN's 'Tech for Good' explores how young innovators are making agriculture smarter, greener and more resilient

HONG KONG, Dec. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In the latest episode of 'Tech for Good', CNN anchor and correspondent ^[1]Kristie Lu Stout^[2] meets the young innovators developing cutting-edge technology that could one day revolutionize agriculture, food production, and reforestation. From robot harvesters to self-burying seeds, 'Tech for Good' dives into the future of farming and environmental restoration – designed, coded, and cultivated by the next generation.

Kristie first visits a farm on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia, to meet SwagBot, an AI-powered agriculture robot. What began as a cattle-herding robot has evolved to autonomously collect data about animal grazing patterns, weather, and nutrition, helping farmers optimize livestock care and increase productivity. Kristie meets post-doctorate researcher Fiorella Sibona who is testing how SwagBot, and a host of other robots developed at the University of Sydney, can be used to make farming more sustainable. 

Next, 'Tech for Good' heads to Switzerland to visit École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne's CREATE Lab, where students are developing new forms of intelligent robots for agriculture. We first meet a dexterous robot that can plant, monitor, and harvest vegetables autonomously; its robotic arms were made from scratch and have been trained by students using bespoke haptic gloves and AI. Then we meet the GOAT (Good On All Terrains) robot, a shapeshifting, multi-modal robot capable of rolling, crawling, and flying, that could one day be used for environmental monitoring and mapping on difficult terrains like steep vineyards.

'Tech for Good' also revisits Flash Forest, a Canadian startup featured in 2021, which uses drones and advanced technology to plant seed pods in areas affected by wildfires. Kristie speaks to co-founder Cameron Jones to find out how the company is now leveraging AI, lidar sensors and more advanced drones to expand their reach, as they aim to plant one billion trees by the early 2030s.

Finally, in America, a team at the University of California, Berkeley is developing 'E-seeds', which are biodegradable, self-planting seed carriers that can automatically corkscrew into the soil when moistened. We meet PhD student Semina Yi, who is testing how her new seed carrier prototype can be deployed using drones, in a bid to help with land reforestation.

Tech for Good trailers: http://bit.ly/43ZBlmc Tech for Good images: https://bit.ly/443bKbW Tech for Good microsite: https://cnn.it/3PB5DSq^[3][4][5]

Airtimes for 30-minute special: Saturday, 6^th December at 2:30pm and 7:30pm HKTSunday, 7^th December at 10:30am HKTMonday, 8^th December at 2am and 12pm HKT

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References

1. ^{^}   (edition.cnn.com)
2. ^{^} Kristie Lu Stout (edition.cnn.com)
3. ^{^} http://bit.ly/43ZBlmc (bit.ly)
4. ^{^} https://bit.ly/443bKbW (bit.ly)
5. ^{^} https://cnn.it/3PB5DSq (cnn.it)