Adaptive Horticultural Lighting Control via Growth Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for controlling horticultural lighting struggle to dynamically adjust to the evolving lighting requirements of plants or crops throughout their growth process, as these requirements change over time and vary by stage of growth, making it challenging to provide optimal illumination.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilizes a recipe module to receive inputs representing lighting scenarios and growth parameters, a tracking module to monitor integral indicators and external information, and a feedback loop to adjust the lighting parameters in real-time, ensuring the horticultural lighting apparatus provides the necessary illumination based on the plant's or crop's current needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fixed lighting scenarios are used for horticultural crops, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but adaptability to evolving plant growth requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting control system transitions from static pre-programmed scenarios to dynamic adaptive control by continuously monitoring plant growth parameters and integral indicators, then automatically adjusting lighting parameters in real-time to match evolving plant requirements throughout different growth stages
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by tracking integral indicators (such as cumulative photosynthetic photon flux) and plant growth parameters, comparing current lighting delivery against targets, and using this information to adjust subsequent lighting scenarios for optimal plant development
2Reliability
If lighting parameters are adjusted frequently to match plant growth stages, then lighting effectiveness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to increased control complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting control system performs self-adjustment by automatically monitoring plant growth parameters and integral indicators, computing required lighting modifications, and implementing parameter changes without manual intervention, allowing the system to serve itself in adapting to plant needs
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-calculates and stores multiple lighting scenarios corresponding to different growth stages and conditions, selecting and transitioning between them based on current plant status, thereby preparing appropriate lighting configurations in advance for different developmental phases
3Loss of energy
If continuous monitoring and adjustment of lighting is implemented, then energy efficiency is improved by reducing waste, but use of energy increases due to monitoring and control operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous monitoring of plant growth parameters and integral lighting indicators throughout the growing period, ensuring uninterrupted detection of plant needs and continuous optimization of lighting delivery to eliminate energy waste from mismatched illumination
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes lighting parameters (intensity, spectral composition, photoperiod) based on detected plant growth stage and accumulated light exposure, adjusting these parameters to match optimal requirements for each developmental phase and thereby reducing energy waste from inappropriate lighting
4Manufacturing precision
If integral indicators and growth parameters are tracked in real-time, then manufacturing precision of lighting delivery is improved, but measurement and detection difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system integrates multiple functions into a single platform: monitoring plant growth parameters, calculating integral lighting indicators, comparing against targets, and adjusting lighting parameters, thereby simplifying the overall measurement and control process while maintaining high precision
Data Source
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AI summary
There are provided techniques for controlling horticultural light illuminating a crop or plant. There is provided a method that includes tracking integral indicators and/or external information representative of a growth parameter of the crop or plant, and adjusting the horticultural light based on the integral indicators and/or external information. There is also provided a system including a recipe module, a tracking module configured to track integral indicators, and a feedback loop configured to feed ongoing integral indicators to the recipe module, and, in response thereto, alter illumination instructions, thereby adjusting the lighting scenario to be transmitted to a horticultural lighting apparatus.