Controlled Indoor Farming With LED Growth Condition Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional farming faces challenges such as monocultural practices, soil depletion, excessive water usage, and long transportation routes, leading to inefficiencies and environmental impacts, while indoor agricultural systems like vertical farming offer opportunities for high-quality, localized food production but require precise control of environmental conditions to ensure plant health and growth.
Innovation Solution
A controlled agricultural system that includes customizable illumination and environmental conditions, using LED technology and sensor systems for real-time monitoring and adjustment of light and growth parameters, allowing for precise control of plant growth stages and health management, and integration with smart grid power supply for energy efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional farming methods are used, then large-scale food production is achieved, but excessive water usage and environmental impact occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional horizontal ground-based farming to vertical indoor farming, utilizing the vertical dimension to stack multiple growing layers. This enables high-density plant cultivation in a compact space, achieving large-scale production without requiring extensive land area and water resources, directly addressing the contradiction between productivity and water consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements precise control of environmental parameters including LED light spectrum, temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels to optimize plant growth conditions. This controlled environment agriculture approach enables year-round production with significantly reduced water consumption through closed-loop irrigation systems, resolving the conflict between maintaining high productivity and reducing resource loss
2Productivity
If traditional farming is used, then food production is maintained, but long transportation routes increase ecological footprint
Solution Approach 1:
By moving agriculture indoors and implementing vertical farming structures within or near urban areas, the system eliminates the need for long-distance transportation. Food can be produced locally in city environments, dramatically reducing the ecological footprint associated with transport while maintaining productive output
Solution Approach 2:
The system recreates optimal natural growing conditions indoors through controlled environment technology, including artificial sunlight spectra, regulated temperature zones, and managed humidity levels. This allows food production to be replicated in urban settings without requiring traditional rural farmland, reducing transportation needs while preserving productivity
3Adaptability or versatility
If indoor agricultural systems are implemented, then localized food production is achieved, but precise control of environmental conditions is required
Solution Approach 1:
The system integrates multiple environmental control functions into unified systems: LED fixtures that simultaneously provide lighting and heat control, centralized climate management that regulates temperature and humidity across multiple zones, and automated irrigation that coordinates water delivery with environmental conditions. This multi-functionality reduces operational complexity while enabling localized production
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors and automated control mechanisms that continuously monitor environmental parameters and adjust conditions in real-time. This feedback loop simplifies operation by automatically maintaining optimal growing conditions without requiring manual intervention, making the complex controlled environment manageable and adaptable to different locations
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This system enhances energy efficiency, reduces water usage, and minimizes environmental impact by providing tailored growing conditions for plants, improving crop quality and reducing waste, while enabling precise monitoring and prediction of plant health and yield.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the plurality of light sources comprises a light emitting diode (LED) arranged to emit light in a respective spectral range
Implementation Method 2
sensor systems for real-time monitoring and adjustment of light and growth parameters
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to different techniques of controlling an agricultural system, as for example a controlled agricultural system, an agricultural light fixture and a method for agricultural management.Furthermore, the disclosure relates to an agricultural system, which comprises a plurality of processing lines for growing plants of a given plant type, wherein a first processing line in the plurality of processing lines is configured to move a first plurality of plants through the agricultural system along a route; and apply a first growth condition to the first plurality of plants to satisfy a first active agent parameter for the first plurality of plants.