Automated Insect Farming Workstation for Continuous Substrate Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated insect farming installations face limitations in size due to the deployment and storage of guiding chains for cables and pipelines, and the second aging phase process requires multiple workstations for substrate management, which restricts working surface area and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An automated farming installation with a movable workstation that can perform multiple actions on a continuous longitudinal tank, allowing for extended horizontal coverage and vertical expansion, supported by a structural frame and lift system, enabling efficient substrate handling and treatment within a limited footprint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If a mobile workstation is used to perform multiple actions on substrate, then the working surface area can be extended, but the guiding chain for energy and resource supply becomes too long to be stored by simple winding
Solution Approach 1:
The installation is divided into multiple modular units, each unit having its own mobile workstation. This segmentation allows each workstation to have a manageable guiding chain length while collectively covering a large working surface area through the arrangement of multiple units.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single long horizontal workspace to multiple stacked horizontal workspaces at different vertical levels. This vertical stacking allows the guiding chains to remain short within each level while the overall system covers a large area through vertical expansion.
2Reliability
If multiple separate equipment are used for spreading insect feed and seeding insects, then each function can be specialized, but the number of workstations increases and space efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple separate equipment functions (spreading insect feed, seeding insects, humidification) are merged into a single mobile workstation. This workstation travels along the substrate and performs all operations sequentially at different locations, reducing the number of stationary equipment needed while maintaining functional specialization through programmed operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile workstation is designed as a universal platform capable of performing multiple different functions (spreading, seeding, humidification) by equipping it with interchangeable tools or multi-functional mechanisms. This allows one workstation to replace several specialized stationary equipment.
3Ease of operation
If manual humidification of substrate is required, then operational flexibility is maintained, but labor intensity increases and automation level decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile workstation is equipped with automatic humidification capability that performs the task autonomously during its traversal along the substrate. The system serves itself by integrating the humidification function into the workstation's automated sequence of operations, eliminating the need for separate manual intervention.
4Productivity
If the installation size is increased to accommodate larger working surface, then productivity increases, but the space required and investment cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves increased productivity not by expanding horizontally but by stacking multiple workspaces vertically. Multiple levels of substrate can be processed simultaneously by mobile workstations at different heights, increasing the effective working surface area within the same ground footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
Mobile workstations replace stationary equipment, allowing the system to adapt its configuration and scale productivity by adding or removing modular units without permanently occupying large space. The dynamic repositioning capability allows efficient use of space while maintaining high productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
An automated farming installation (2) comprises a controller, one mobile workstation (6) controlled by the controller, and one work surface (3) able to support at least a load of substrate. The work surface (3) comprises a longitudinal continuous tank made by connection of at least two profiled tank portions, and the mobile workstation (6) is moved over a portion of the work surface to perform at least one sub-action controlled by the controller.