Remote Indoor Farm Control Interface for Multi-Facility Scheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for controlling and monitoring indoor farms lack efficient remote management capabilities, leading to inefficiencies and challenges in managing environmental and operational parameters.
Innovation Solution
A user interface and system that allows remote monitoring and control of indoor farming operations, including tray handling, irrigation, temperature, humidity, and lighting, through a centralized computer network, enabling synchronized management of multiple facilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If centralized remote control system is implemented, then management efficiency and control capability are improved, but device complexity and system infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a centralized control server as an intermediary between users and indoor farming devices. The server receives control requests from user devices, processes them, and sends commands to the appropriate farming equipment (lighting, irrigation, ventilation systems). This mediator architecture enables remote management without requiring direct complex connections between user devices and each farming device, thus improving management efficiency while managing system complexity through centralized processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The control server provides a universal platform that can manage multiple types of indoor farming devices and multiple facilities through a single system. The system handles diverse functions including environmental monitoring, irrigation control, lighting management, and ventilation regulation through one centralized interface. This multi-functional approach improves productivity by consolidating management tasks while the standardized interface helps manage the inherent system complexity.
2Ease of operation
If remote monitoring and control capabilities are added, then operational flexibility and user accessibility are improved, but device complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables users to independently monitor and control indoor farming operations through remote device interfaces (mobile apps, web portals). Users can view real-time environmental data, adjust parameters, and receive alerts without requiring on-site presence or specialized technical knowledge. The automated control algorithms also enable self-adjusting functionality where the system automatically responds to environmental changes, reducing the need for manual intervention and simplifying user interaction despite the underlying system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously collects data from sensors monitoring environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, light intensity) and provides real-time feedback to users through the interface. This feedback loop allows users to make informed decisions about crop management. The system also uses this feedback to automatically adjust device operations, maintaining optimal conditions without requiring complex manual control from users, thus improving accessibility while managing system complexity through automated responses.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for receiving, over a computer network, from a plurality of devices installed in an indoor farming module, a plurality of data associated with at least one of: a water level in a watering reservoir, a pH level in an irrigation system, a temperature in the indoor farming module, a humidity level in the indoor farming module, a carbon dioxide level in the indoor farming module, and a power relay status, filtering the received plurality of data on a remote computer based on a filtering field, displaying, in a plurality of panels, the filtered data received from the plurality of devices; configuring a plurality of schedules for the plurality of devices, wherein the plurality of schedules comprise at least one of an irrigation schedule, a lighting schedule, and a data collection schedule, and sending the configured plurality of schedules to one or more controllers of the indoor farming module.