Modular Controlled-Environment Growing Units for Seed-to-Harvest Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current farm automation technologies are compartmentalized and lack a fully automated system capable of managing crop cultivation from seed to harvest, failing to address the unique needs of different crops and often being too costly for smaller growers.
Innovation Solution
A computer-controlled, modular, and multi-configurable growing system that utilizes machine learning, sensor networks, and automated resource delivery for soil-based and soilless growing media, enabling independent seeding, cultivation, and harvesting with adjustable environmental conditions for optimal crop growth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If current farm automation technologies are used, then certain compartmentalized tasks can be automated, but a fully automated system from seed to harvest cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple previously separate automation functions (seeding, irrigation, nutrient delivery, environmental monitoring, harvesting) into a single integrated automated system. The controller coordinates all these functions through a unified control architecture, enabling full automation from seed to harvest without requiring multiple independent systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs universal components that can perform multiple functions. For example, the automated mechanism can handle different crop types and growth stages using the same hardware platform, adjusting parameters through software control. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity while achieving comprehensive automation.
2Productivity
If large-scale farming systems are implemented, then crop production efficiency increases, but adaptability to different crop needs decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates dynamic adjustability where environmental parameters (lighting, temperature, humidity, nutrient composition) can be changed in real-time based on the specific crop being grown. The controller receives crop-specific parameters and dynamically adjusts all subsystems to match the optimal growth conditions for each crop type, maintaining high productivity across diverse crops.
Solution Approach 2:
Different zones within the controlled environment can be configured with locally optimized conditions for specific crop requirements. The system allows spatial variation in environmental parameters across different growing areas, enabling each zone to be tailored to the specific needs of crops grown in that location while maintaining overall system efficiency.
3Productivity
If traditional farming methods are used, then crop cultivation can be performed, but space utilization and resource efficiency are maximized
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from traditional two-dimensional ground-level farming to three-dimensional vertical farming. Multiple growing layers are stacked vertically, allowing crops to be cultivated at different heights. This dimensional change dramatically increases the effective growing area within the same footprint, improving resource efficiency without requiring additional land area.
Solution Approach 2:
The controlled environment system employs nested structures where growing chambers, shelving units, and support systems are arranged in compact, space-efficient configurations. Equipment and infrastructure are integrated within each other to minimize wasted space, allowing maximum crop density within the available facility area.
Data Source
AI summary
Accordingly, the inventor has conceived and reduced to practice, a system and method of farming using a computer controlled micro-environment suitable for soil-based and soilless growing media that is sustainable and totally automated from seed to harvest. The system utilizes software, sensor networks, and computing hardware that monitors and alters the environment in the growing units and provides nutrients, water, lighting, air flow, and temperature control specific to the crop being cultivated in one or a combination of vertical assemblies of growing units with electronically controlled features. Each unit is enabled to independently seed, cultivate, and produce a mature crop and discharge the contents for further processing for the intended market.