The exhibit drew notable attention from high-profile visitors, including discussions about scaling the technology to broader food production challenges, led by the Mayor of London.

The broader takeaway is that multi-disciplinary STEM collaboration can help tackle the global food crisis by accelerating the development of heat-tolerant and drought-resistant crops to strengthen food security amid climate change.

Professor Simon Pearson and LIAT emphasize national leadership in agri-tech research aimed at developing drought-, heat-, and disease-tolerant crops with lower resource use.

PhenAIx combines robotics, AI and imaging to assess plant growth, structure, health and stress indicators beyond human detection.

LIAT Director Professor Elizabeth Sklar stresses interdisciplinary collaboration across STEM as essential to addressing food security through innovation.

At the Chelsea Flower Show, a RoboCrops exhibit from the University of Lincoln’s LIAT demonstrates how robotics, AI, and plant science can address horticulture and food production challenges, drawing strong engagement from visitors, especially students.

The exhibit aims to spark interest in STEM and horticulture among school groups and rural communities, highlighting career paths in robotics, AI and data science.

RoboCrops is highlighted in the GreenSTEM zone as a show centerpiece, with the RHS noting it as a show highlight ahead of its closing on May 23, 2026.

The centerpiece PhenAIx is a robotic system that performs plant health scans using imaging and AI, effectively acting like an MRI for crops to detect stress, disease risk, and performance issues.

Mayor Sadiq Khan met with researchers to explore how the technology could be scaled for wider food production challenges.

PhenAIx enables faster identification of stronger, healthier, and more resilient plants, potentially yielding varieties better suited to heat, drought, and disease with reduced resource needs.

The University of Lincoln won a Silver Gilt medal at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 for RoboCrops: Plant Selection, Beyond the Visible, showcased in the GreenSTEM zone.