Method and arrangement for rearing insects

Abstract

Method and system 100 for proactively controlling condition in a rearing container 102 of insects comprising a measuring circuitry such as sensors 104 configured to measure at least a first parameter

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a field of industrial rearing of insects, in particular black soldier flies and its larvae form. 5 TECHNICAL BACKGROUND Black soldier fly larvae are used to compost bio waste and convert the bio waste into animal feed. The larvae are among the most efficient animals at converting biomass into feed. The black soldier fly larvae can be used as an alternative source of protein for aquaculture, animal feed, pet food and human 10 nutrition, especially replacing soy and fish meal. Such alternative sources of protein and their industrial-scale production is one of key factors in combatting climate change and allowing animal growers a more local method to produce animal feed. There are many drawbacks in the known rearing facilities of the insects, especially from an energy consumption point of view. 15 The invention is aimed to alleviate these drawbacks. BRIEF DESCRIPTION The invention is defined by the independent claims. Various embodiments are provided in the dependent claims. The embodiments and features, if any, described in this specification 20 that do not fall under the scope of the independent claim are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various embodiments of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following the invention will be described in greater detail by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in 25 which Figure 1 illustrates a rearing system according to an embodiment; Figure 2A illustrates a method for proactively controlling condition in a rearing container of insects according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2B illustrates a method for proactively controlling condition in 30 the rearing container of insects according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 illustrates a method for proactively controlling condition in the rearing container of insects according to a third embodiment of the invention; Figures 4 and 5 illustrate measuring of at least one parameter according 08 05 25 to embodiments of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following embodiments are exemplifying. Although the specification may refer to “an”, "one”, or "some” embodiment(s) in several locations 5 of the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is made to the same embodiment(s), or that a particular feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of insect rearing system 100 to 10 which industrial processes for rearing according to the embodiments described below can be implemented. The rearing may be carried out in a freight container 102 that may be a standard-sized (ISO, International Standardization Organization) container. An advantage of using such a freight container is easy transportation to various locations on the Earth. The insect rearing system 15 comprising any or all the structures and components described herein may be inserted into the container for the transportation and transported to the site where the larvae rearing is to be performed. The insect rearing system is aimed mainly for rearing larvae, like black soldier fly larvae, for example. Therefore, the rearing system may also be called as 20 a larvae rearing system in this application. The rearing system may comprise, in the container, a measuring circuitry 104 having one or more sensors 104A - C to measure various environmental conditions in the container, such as air temperature, air humidity, and one or more gas sensors for measuring an amount of oxygen and / or carbon dioxide in the air inside the container, for example. The 25 container may further comprise a condition management system 106 configured to control the conditions inside the container. The condition management system may comprise (or be coupled with) a ventilation system to allow inlet of fresh air into the container from outside and outlet of air from the container to maintain, for example, a certain oxygen and / or carbon dioxide level in the container for the 30 larvae or to increase the level(s). The ventilation system may comprise one or more fans. The condition management system may further comprise (or be coupled with) an air conditioning system (AC) to control conditions inside the container like a temperature and humidity, for example. Filter(s) such as active carbon filter(s) may be provided in the air outlet / inletto filter the air exiting the container, 35 thus reducing the smells around the container. The condition management system 08 05 25 may operate under the control of a processing circuitry 108 (processing system). The processing circuitry 108 may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program instructions of a computer program product that, when read and executed by the at least one processor, cause the processor to 5 carry out a computer process comprising control actions described in the embodiments below. The processing circuitry may be a local computer in the container 102 or a remote computer external to the container but in communication with sensors and the condition managements system in the container. The communication may be realized via wired and / or wireless 10 communication protocol(s). In an embodiment, the processing circuitry comprises a server computer that employs cloud computing. The processing circuitry may acquire and obtain measurement data from the measuring circuitry (sensors) and to control the condition management system like the air conditioning and / or ventilation on the basis of the measurement data and a control profile designed for 15 the larvae rearing. Furthermore, the processing circuitry may be configured to obtain data fed by an operator of the rearing system, for example. The control profile is a predetermined plan how the condition inside the container shall be converted during the rearing process to obtain the optimum environment for the larvae growth. It may comprise a plurality of parameters referred in this 20 application like oxygen (02), humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2) and / or temperature, for example. In an embodiment the temperature is maintained mainly between 28 and 33 degrees centigrade during the rearing phase, but this is changed based on the need to accommodate maximum larvae growth. The relative humidity (RH) of 25 the air may be maintained between 55 and 80 per cent, for example. At these ranges, optionally together with other parameters during the rearing enable suitable conditions for the larvae to feed and grow fast, and to remain in the trays. Optimal growth and rearing results in greater size of the larvae, lower energy consumed, less escaping, and less larvae morphing into pupas during the rearing. 30 Additionally, the carbon dioxide (CO2) level may be controlled such that the control settings change based on the larvae growth. An optimal value may depend on the larvae growth stage and be between 400 parts per million (ppm) to 8000 ppm. Also CO2 levels are changed in some cases to slow down larvae growth when beneficial. The rearing system may operate such that the measuring circuitry 35 provides measurement data, which is compared, by the processing circuitry, with one or more threshold defined by the control profile. If the comparison indicates 08 05 25 that the threshold is exceeded, indicating that adjustment(s) of the condition is needed, one or more parameters are adjusted by the condition management system under the control of the processing circuitry. The container 102 may comprise shelves or other support structures 5 for a plurality of trays 110 for rearing the larvae. The trays comprise substantially the same composition of preprocessed (e.g. crushed) and a homogenous biomass of larvae food, black soldier fly (hermetia illucens) larvae, and possibly a desiccant to absorb moisture extracting from the biomass during the rearing, if required. The principles described below are applicable to other insect larvae as well. The 10 desiccant may be readily in the biomass during the crushing in the crusher, or it may be added to the biomass after the crushing. The desiccant may be biomass as well, such as grain or fodder. With some forms of the crushed biomass, no desiccant is needed but with potatoes, for example, the desiccant helps the biomass to stay sufficiently moist by absorbing liquid extracting from the crushed potatoes, and 15 combining it with a ventilation system and a dryer will allow to control air and bio waste humidity. The biomass may be biowaste. By using the freight container, the larvae rearing system can be brought next to the source of the biowaste instead of transporting the biowaste. 20 With respect to the 'recipe' of each tray for the larvae, designed for the biomass being crushed potatoes, a mass of the black soldier fly larvae (at an age of five to seven days or six to seven days) is about 0.00003 to 0.00004 weight percent of the biomass. For example, if the tray contains seven kilograms crushed potatoes, the amount of desiccant may be about 300 to 400 grams of desiccant fodder, and 25 0.25 grams of black soldier fly larvae egg weight, that is pre-grown to 5-7 days old larvae. The size of each tray maybe, for example, 600x400x145 millimetres (length, width, height). This is an example of a recipe found suitable for rearing large larvae and having a short rearing duration. The number of such identical trays in the container may be in the order 30 of dozens or even hundreds, depending on the size of the trays and the size of the container. The large mass of the larvae placed on the trays in the container causes challenges for controlling conditions inside the container. The amount of the eggs / larvae may be significantly high in relation to a (inner) volume of the container. It may be about 70%. This causes challenges since at some stage of the 35 rearing process the mass of the larvae tends to manipulate the conditions inside. This means that the larvae mass first consumes heat and later produces heat which 08 05 25 shall be taken into account when controlling the inner condition of the container. In addition to the larvae, the biomass may also heat the container. The condition shall be kept inside a predetermined range for optimal growth of the larvae. There may be the control profile for the rearing process indicating the optimal conditions 5 inside the container, for example. As described above, the conditions in the container may be monitored by a plurality of sensors inside and / or outside of the container. The measured data is used for indicating changes in the condition. When the change is detected, the condition inside the container must be converted by the condition management system to ensure the desired conditions. This means that 10 the sensors are capable of detecting the change, and the processing circuitry, coupled with the sensors, can instruct the condition management system, coupled with the processing circuitry, to covert the conditions. A real time reacting may not be optimal especially from an energy consumption point of view. It requires a lot of power (capacity) from the condition 15 management system to react the change fast enough causing a significant peak in the energy consumption. Also it requires much bigger capacity equipment to be selected, which consumer more power, but also cost more. On the other hand, if the reaction is not fast enough, the condition inside the container may deviate from the control profile which may cause issues to growth of the larvae, or even kill them. 20 This is serious problem especially with the rearing systems implemented in the transportable freight container since the capacity of such system may be limited. It is possible that the rearing system is fully or at least partly powered by a solar panel system. The invention is aimed to alleviate this issue. According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method 25 for proactively controlling condition in a rearing container of insects, wherein a measuring circuitry is configured to measure at least a first parameter from the container, a processing circuitry is configured to analyse at least the measured first parameter to anticipate an upcoming change in the condition inside the container and in response to detect the upcoming change the processing circuitry is further 30 configured to provide a control signal to a condition management system to convert the condition inside the container before the upcoming change. The term “anticipation” means that the change in condition is detected, based on the measured data and experience from previous situations, before its actually exists. The experience may refer to (measured) data received from the 35 previous situations. The anticipation may also be called as an estimation. Based on the measured data, a time when the change is coming can be estimated. The term 08 05 25 “upcoming change” refers to the change in the condition which is detected before its actual existence. Many benefits may be achieved by anticipating the upcoming change in the condition inside the container. The anticipation of the upcoming change provides time to react the change. This means that the change is seen 5 beforehand, and the condition management system can start to convert the condition in advance. Then converting the condition may not stress the systems so much as the real time reaction, and further power consumption may be lower as well as the capacity of the equipment. Let's now look at Figure 2A which illustrates the method in detail. At 10 step 200, the measuring circuitry measures the at least one first parameter from the container having larvae. As described above, the measuring circuitry may comprise a plurality of sensors arranged in the rearing system configured to measure various environmental conditions in the container. The sensors may be placed inside and / or outside of the container. Despite the location of the sensors 15 in the system, the measurement may be performed such that the condition inside the container can be monitored. In an embodiment, the first parameter may be measured from air by using at least one or more gas and / or temperature sensors. In another embodiment, the first parameter may be measured from the 20 biomass by using at least one or more the temperature sensor. The larvae mass in the container is a biological organism that may affect conditions inside the container. The first parameter measured from the container is used for analysing the larvae mass and estimate how it may act and affect the conditions inside the container. This information can be used when estimating the 25 upcoming changes in the conditions. At step 202 and 204 the processing circuitiy obtains the measurement data from the measuring circuitry. The obtained measurement data is then analysed, and based on the analysis, the processing circuitry is configured to determine the possible upcoming change in the condition inside the container in 30 advance. The analysis may be performed by comparing the measured parameter(s) with one or more threshold. Furthermore, the previous data from similar situations may be used in the analysis. The one or more thresholds may be based on data gathered from a plurality of previous measurement data from the rearing processes and / or other analysis of the rearing process and / or behaviour of the 35 larvae mass. The threshold(s) provides information about a state of the larvae mass in the different situation. In other words, it may help to understand how the larvae 08 05 25 mass behave in the container currently and also in the future, and further how does it affect the conditions inside the container. This information may be used also for manipulating behaviour of the larvae mass. For example, the first parameter may be the CO2 level that is measured from the container three times on day 6 of the rearing process. These three measured CO2 - levels show how the situation in the container is changed during the day 6, and when compared with the threshold(s), an estimation how the situation may evolve in the coming days, or during the rest of the rearing process can be provided. Therefore, the threshold can provide a reliable anticipation what is going to be happened in the rearing process in the coming days, for example. The analysis may reveal, based on the measured data, that condition inside the container changes in 12 hours such that condition is not optimal anymore for the growth of the larvae, for example. On the other hand, the analysis may show that condition inside the container is not changing in the coming days, and there is no need to change the conditions inside the container at this time. Then the measurement may be performed later again. The analysis may further anticipate what kind of change is coming in the condition. In other words, based on the analysis, the processing circuitry may determine how the condition inside the container shall be changed to enable optimal growth of the larvae. So, the processing circuitry, together with the measuring circuitry, can anticipate the upcoming change, and further how the condition shall be converted due to the upcoming change to maintain the optimal condition inside the container. At step 206 the processing circuitry is configured to provide the control signal for the condition management system to convert the condition inside the container if the upcoming change is detected. The condition management system is configured, based on the control signal, to start to convert the condition inside the container before the upcoming change such that the optimal rearing conditions may be maintained inside the container. So, the condition management system can convert the condition inside the container proactively before the actual change in condition is taking place. The anticipation enables proactive preparing for the upcoming change which stresses the rearing system, arranged in the container, less than the real time reacting at the moment when the change is actually happening. Furthermore, the power consumption of the system is lower when the system starts to prepare the upcoming change in advance. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to anticipate the upcoming change at least 1 hour in advance. Then the condition management system has at least one hour time for converting condition inside the container 08 05 25 such that the condition stays in the optimal level. The time may also be shorter than one hour, but the benefit of the anticipation may be smaller. However, for example ventilation related changes can effect already in some minutes. In another embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to 5 anticipate the upcoming change at least 12 hours in advance. If the upcoming change is determined already 12 hours before the actual change, the condition management system has more time for preparing the upcoming change. According to an embodiment, the time between the detection and the actual change may not be the same as the time between the start of the convert and the actual change. The 10 processing circuitry may be configured to determine how much earlier the condition shall be started to convert. For example, if the change is detected 12 hours in advance, converting the condition inside the container may be started for example 1-6 hours in advance. Still in another embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to 15 anticipate the upcoming change at least 24 hours in advance. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to perform at least a second measurement after detecting the upcoming change. The first measurement may detect that the upcoming change take place in 12 hours (after 12 hours), and the second measurement may then be performed for example 6 20 hours before the anticipated upcoming change. The second measurement may make the anticipation more reliable. It may reveal that the change is coming earlier or later than anticipated based on the first measurement, for example. In an embodiment, the condition management system is configured, based on the control signal, to accelerate or decelerate the rearing process in the 25 container. For example, the processing circuitry may determine, based on the analysis, that the rearing process does not progress as planned, in other words, the progress of the rearing process is too slow, then the condition management system may accelerate the process by converting the condition inside the container. In another example, the processing circuitry may determine that the rearing process 30 is progressing to fast, then the condition management system may decelerate the rearing process. As described the condition management system may operate under the control of the processing circuitry. So, the processing circuitry may provide the control signal to the condition management system to accelerate or decelerate the rearing process depending on the result of analysis. The 35 deceleration and acceleration may be performed by converting one or more parameters inside the container. For example, the rearing process may be slowed 08 05 25 down by cooling, and accelerated by heating. In an embodiment, the first parameter measured from the container comprises carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2 - level may be monitored during the rearing in order to maintain the air quality suitable for rearing. Instead, or addition 5 to the CO2 - level, an oxygen level may also be monitored. As the larvae grows, they consume more oxygen. Increasing CO2- level may cause the larvae to stop feeding. Therefore, maintaining the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels within predefined ranges during the rearing further improves the rearing while minimizing unnecessary energy consumption. The oxygen and carbon dioxide levels may be 10 controlled by the processing circuitiy by controlling the ventilation on the basis of the measurement data received from the sensors. The CO2 - level may be measure by the one or more gas sensors. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to determine a point in which rising of the carbon dioxide level in the container is decelerating 15 when anticipating the upcoming change. The rearing process may last for example about 14 days. The CO2 - level varies during the rearing process. Referring now to Figure 4 which illustrates an example how the CO2 - level may vary over the time of the rearing process. A vertical axis illustrates the CO2 - level in the container and a horizontal axis illustrates time DO - D8 (days 0 - 8). At first the CO2 - level is low 20 about until the day 5, in other words metabolism is insignificant or does not exist at all. After the day 5, the CO2 - level starts rapidly to rise due to the metabolism. On the day 6 rising of the metabolism and CO2 - level is slowing down, in other words, the rising of the CO2 - level in the container is decelerating. Pl in Figure 4 illustrates the point in which the rising of the CO2 - level is decelerating. The point 25 indicates that the change in the condition is coming, and the condition may be started to convert. For example, the point may indicate that the cooling of the container shall be started in 12 hours to maintain the optimal condition for the rearing. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to provide a 30 control signal to the condition management system to stabilize the condition inside the container before measuring the at least first parameter. Stabilization ensures a quality of the measurement(s) such that the results are comparable to each other. In an embodiment, the condition management system is configured, based on the control signal, to close the air conditioning of the container before 35 measuring the at least first parameter, and to open the air conditioning of the container after measuring. Referring now to Figure 3, in step 300 the condition 08 05 25 management system closes the air conditioning (AC) of the container based on the control signal received from the processing circuity. Then the container forms a closed space. In step 200 the at least first parameter is measured by the measuring circuitry after closing the AC. After measuring the at least first parameter, in step 5 302, the condition management system opens the AC of the container based on the control signal received from the processing circuity. In steps 202 - 206, the processing circuitry analysis the measured parameter and based on the analysis, provides the control signal to the condition management system to convert the condition inside the container if the upcoming change is detected. Closing the AC 10 provides stabilized closed environment inside the container for measuring the one or more parameters. In an embodiment, the AC may not be totally closed, it may be set substantially to the same state, based on the control signal, before each measuring time. 15 In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured perform stabilization based on the previous measurement data. The previous data may reveal how the different situations affect the measurement result and this can be taken into the account in the measurement(s), for example. In an embodiment, the measuring circuitry is configured to measure the 20 at least first parameter a plurality of times in a predetermined period. Then the anticipation is based on the several measurement times of the first parameter which improves reliability of the anticipation of the upcoming change. The condition inside the container may be stabilized before each measurement times. In an embodiment, the measuring circuitry is configured to measure the 25 at least first parameter on three days and 1-4 times per day during a rearing period. The rearing period in this content may refer the duration of the rearing process which may be about 14 days as described above. The measurements of the at least first parameter may be performed during three days in the rearing process and 1-4 times per day. This means that the anticipation of the upcoming change 30 in the condition may be based on the 3-12 measurement times. The more measurement times are performed, the more reliable is the anticipation. In an embodiment, the measuring circuitry is configured to measure the at least first parameter on days 5 - 7 of the rearing process. Referring now to Figure 5 which illustrates one example of measuring the at least first parameter on days 5 35 - 7. There is illustrated day 5 (D5), day 6 (D6) and day 7 (D7) of the rearing period and three measurement times Ml - M3 per day. Hence, there are totally 12 08 05 25 measurement times in this example. There may be more or less than 3 measurement times per day. The measurement times may be distributed equally for each day, for example. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to obtain at least a second parameter, wherein the second parameter is analysed together with the first parameter to anticipate the upcoming change. The first and the second parameter may indicate different variables. For example, if the first parameter is the CO2 - level in the container, the second parameter indicates some other parameter. In a first embodiment, the second parameter is measured by the measuring circuitry, in other words, one or more sensors. In a second embodiment, the second parameter is fed into the processing circuitry. The second parameter may be fed via user interface by an operator of the rearing system, for example. In an embodiment, the second parameter comprises a condition outside of the container. The condition may be weather outside the container. Hence, the second parameter may be weather obtained from a forecast and / or it may be measured by the measuring circuitry. Weather may comprise temperature, wind, rain, cloudiness and / or humidity information, for example. As described above, the rearing system is built in the container and condition outside the container may affect heavily also for the inner condition. So, in addition to the larvae mass in the container, the outer condition may also heat and / or cool the container. Therefore, by taking account the conditions outside the container, the anticipation of the upcoming change may be more reliably. In an embodiment, the measurement circuitry is configured to determine how the larvae mass and / or biomass inside the container affect the condition in the container. The measuring circuitry may be configured to measure does the larvae mass produce heat or consumes heat, for example. This may be performed by one or more temperature sensors, for example. This measurement data can be taken into account by the processing circuitry when providing the anticipation. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to store at least a part of data, provided during the execution of the method, to a memory, wherein the stored data is used in the analysing process to anticipate the upcoming change. The stored data may be used for making the anticipation more reliable. The stored data may comprise all the parameters disclosed in this application. The stored data may comprise information about the analysis and how reliable the previous anticipations were, and this information may be applied in the later 08 05 25 anticipations, for example. The stored data may further be used for defining the control profiles. In this manner, a continuously learning and evolving automated rearing system can be established. The more data have been stored, the more can the processing system learn from the past experiences and optimize the anticipation and the control profiles. This results the advantage that the environmental conditions for the rearing can be constantly improved, thus providing shorter rearing times and improved yield of the larvae, while consuming less electrical energy. The memoiy may be a local in the rearing system or external like a cloud service, for example. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is further configured to provide, based on the upcoming change, an alarm to the operator. The alarm may be given when the upcoming change is detected. The alarm may comprise a time when the change in the condition may take place, for example. When the upcoming change is detected, the alarm may be given if it seems that the condition inside the container does not meet the requirement for the optimum rearing environment (control profile) at that moment and / or later. In other words, if it seems that for example temperature, humidity and / or CO2 - level does not progress as planned, the alarm may be given. Furthermore, the alarm may be given if it seems that the conditions outside the container may cause issues for the inner condition. Outer condition may refer to weather outside the container. Based on the alarm, the operator knows that condition shall be further converted to maintain the desired conditions in the container. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to analyse, based on the measured parameters, sufficiency of the rearing system in relation to a capacity need of the optimal rearing process. In other words, the processing circuitry may detect if the capacity of the system is not enough to keep the condition inside the container in the desired level (according to the control profiles). For example, the processing circuitry may analyse can the optimal rearing conditions maintained in the container by the electricity level that can be produced by the system. Then the processing circuitry may provide an alarm that capacity may not meet the upcoming needs. The system may further propose how much more capacity is needed to meet the requirement. The processing circuitry may determine a maximum capacity of the rearing system in different weathers and / or the mass of larvae placed inside, for example. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for proactively controlling condition in a rearing container of insects comprising a 08 05 25 measuring circuitry and a processing circuitry in connection with the measuring circuitry and a condition management system of the rearing container, wherein the measuring circuitry is configured to measure at least a first parameter from air inside the container, and the processing circuitry is configured to analyse the measured at least first parameter to anticipate an upcoming change in the condition inside the container, and in response to detect the upcoming change, the processing circuitry is configured to provide a control signal to the condition management system to convert the condition inside the container before the upcoming change. Referring to Figure 1, the rearing system 100 comprises the container 102 and the measuring circuitry 104 having the plurality of sensors 104A - C arranged in the container 102. The rearing system 100 further comprises the processing circuitry 108 coupled with the measuring circuitry 104. The rearing system 100 further comprises the condition management system 106 configured to be operated under the control of the processing circuitry 108. The inner side of the container is configured to receive the larvae for example in the trays 110 placed on the shelfs. The rearing process described in this application may be fully automated, and the rearing can be performed even without opening the freight container doors during the process that may span over two weeks, for example. An advantage in this is obviously low need for manual inspection and control but, additionally, improved rearing because no light may be needed inside the container. The larvae react to the light and may frighten, thus reducing their appetite and degrading the rearing. The operator can give an instruction for a specific date or duration of the rearing period. The system can optimize temperature, humidity and other parameters so that the larvae are optimally ready for harvesting and separating at that exact time. Also, as the larvae in some cases are used for breeding, it is beneficial to optimize the rearing process to produce pupae as quickly as possible. Again, the system can optimize conditions to allow this to happen automatically. The purpose is to automatize the rearing process so that the conditions are maintained within the threshold(s) specified for each control profile. The container may, however, be different for different rearing seasons and, therefore, the processing system may test the characteristics in the beginning of the rearing and, in some embodiments, during the rearing. One aspect of testing the characteristics also during the rearing may be to detect faults in the container, such 08 05 25 as holes or other problems in the insulation, or malfunctioning of a sensor or a control system such as the air conditioning system or a heater. Such testing can of course be made between the rearing seasons per container but, in optimal utilization, a time interval between consecutive rearing seasons may be in the 5 order of an hour or a few hours, while the rearing season may span for over a week, e.g. two weeks. One aspect is to measure ‘inertia’ of the container to respond to adjustment of temperature or humidity control. This may be carried out by the processing system by instructing the air conditioning system or the ventilation system to change the temperature or humidity (increase or decrease) and to 10 measure a response time by using the temperature or humidity sensor(s). Predetermined reference response time(s) may be defined and, upon measuring the response time, the processing system may determine whether or not the response time is within an acceptable tolerance. External conditions outside the container may be taken into account, e.g. on the basis of weather forecast 15 information or by using sensors outside the container. For example, when it is cold outside a longer response time may be allowed when the response time relates to increasing the temperature inside the container. Similarly, when it is hot outside the container, a longer response time may be allowed for cooling the container. The effect of the ventilation may be tested by inputting a command to the air 20 conditioning system to change the temperature / humidity and by measuring the temperature / humidity in different parts of the container, by using the available sensors. If the sensors indicate that the temperature / humidity changes in substantially similar manner in the different parts of the container, similarity determined by defining certain tolerances, the air conditioning may be determined 25 to operate suitably. On the other hand, if the sensor data indicates that the temperature / humidity differs or changes differently in the different parts of the container, the processing system may determine to either increase the ventilation or to report a notification of a malfunctioning ventilation system. One input parameter for testing may define whether the container is empty or filled with 30 trays, and different acceptable response times or other reference parameters may be defined. As described, the rearing system may be arranged in the transportable container and placed in an off-grid location in which an electricity may be produced by a solar panel system. A capacity of the solar panels may be limited compared to 35 an electrical network, and therefore optimization of the power consumption is very important. The invention provides the solution in which preparing for the 08 05 25 upcoming change can be started in advance. This stresses the system less and lowers the power consumption. In the off-grid areas the significant peaks in the power consumption shall be avoided to ensure that the capacity of the power source is enough. Furthermore, lower power consumption enables simple and lighter structures of the rearing system which is beneficial from cost and transportation point of view. Yet, the simple and lighter structure can provide the same rearing efficiency as larger systems. The communication between the processing circuitry, the measuring circuitry and / or the condition management system may be carried out according to wired or wireless communication protocols and networking solutions known in the art. There exist several wireless communication protocols suitable for the purpose, e.g. Bluetooth, Wifi (IEEE 802.11) or Zigbee, and detailed description of them is omitted here. The processes and / or methods described in this application may also be carried out in the form of one or more computer processes defined by one or more computer programs. In particular, the analysis of the measurement data and decision on the following control actions may be defined by the computer program. Similarly, the functions of the processing circuitry may be defined by a computer program product stored, read, and executed in the processing circuitry. The computer program(s) may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be stored in some sort of carrier, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include transitory and / or non-transitory computer media, e.g. a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and software distribution package. Depending on the processing power needed, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital processing unit (processor) or it may be distributed amongst a number of processing units. References to computer-readable program code, computer program, computer instructions, computer code etc. should be understood to express software for a programmable processor such as programmable content stored in a hardware device as instructions for a processor, or as configured or configurable settings for a fixed function device, gate array, or a programmable logic device. It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims. 08 05 25

Claims

1. A method for proactively controlling condition in a rearing container of insects, comprising:measuring, by a measuring circuitry, at least a first parameter a 5 plurality of times in a predetermined period from the container;analysing, by a processing circuitry, at least the measured first parameters to anticipate an upcoming change in the condition inside the container, wherein the processing circuitry, when anticipating the upcoming change, is configured to determine a point in which rising of a carbon dioxide level in the10 container is decelerating; andin response to anticipate the upcoming change, providing, by the processing circuitry, a control signal to a condition management system to convert the condition inside the container before the upcoming change.15 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured toanticipate the upcoming change at least 1 hour in advance.

3. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the condition management system is configured, based on the control signal, to accelerate or decelerate a20 rearing process in the container.

4. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the first parameter comprises carbon dioxide.25 5. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to provide a control signal to the condition management system to stabilize the condition inside the container before measuring the at least first parameter.30 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the condition management system isconfigured, based on the control signal, to close an air conditioning of the container before measuring the at least first parameter, and to open the air conditioning of the container after measuring.35 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the measuring circuitry is configured tomeasure the at least first parameter on three days and 1-4 times per day during a08 05 25rearing period.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the measuring circuitry is configured to measure the at least first parameter on days 5 - 7 of the rearing process.

59. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to obtain at least a second parameter, wherein the second parameter is analysed together with the first parameter to anticipate the upcoming change.1010. The method of claims 9, wherein the second parameter comprises a condition outside of the container.

11. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the processing circuitry is15 configured to store at least a part of data, provided during the execution of the method, to a memory, wherein the stored data is used in the analysing process to anticipate the upcoming change.

12. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the processing circuitiy is20 further configured to provide, based on the upcoming change, an alarm to the operator.

13. A system for proactively controlling condition in a rearing container of insects, comprising:25 a measuring circuitry; anda processing circuitry in connection with the measuring circuitry and a condition management system of the rearing container,wherein the measuring circuitiy is configured to measure at least a first parameter a plurality of times in a predetermined period from air inside the30 container, and the processing circuitiy is configured to analyse the measured at least first parameters to anticipate an upcoming change in the condition inside the container, wherein the processing circuitry, when anticipating the upcoming change, is configured to determine a point in which rising of a carbon dioxide level in the container is decelerating, and in response to anticipate the upcoming change,35 the processing circuitiy is configured to provide a control signal to the condition management system to convert the condition inside the container before theupcoming change.LDCM

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