Vertical Farming Control System Using Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional agriculture methods are inefficient in space utilization and yield, with limited control over environmental conditions, leading to suboptimal crop growth and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented control system for a vertical farming system that uses sensors and machine learning to monitor and adjust environmental conditions such as lighting, temperature, humidity, and nutrient supply in a controlled environment, optimizing crop growth and yield.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional agriculture methods are used, then land area is required for crop production, but space utilization efficiency is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements vertical farming by transitioning from horizontal 2D agriculture to vertical 3D agriculture. Multiple layers of growth racks are stacked vertically, allowing crops to be grown at different heights within the same footprint. This dimensional transformation enables the system to produce multiple crops per square foot of land area, directly resolving the contradiction between yield per square foot and land area requirement.
2Productivity
If controlled environment is implemented, then environmental conditions can be optimized, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controlled environment system is divided into modular components including individual growth racks, separate lighting assemblies, independent HVAC units, and discrete nutrient delivery systems. Each module can be controlled and adjusted independently, allowing optimization of environmental conditions for different crop types while managing overall system complexity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The environmental control system is designed with multi-functional components that serve multiple purposes. For example, the HVAC system provides both heating and cooling functions, lighting assemblies provide both illumination and thermal effects, and the nutrient delivery system integrates both water irrigation and fertilizer application. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate systems needed, managing complexity while maintaining optimized environmental control.
3Productivity
If automated control systems are used, then crop production efficiency is improved, but initial cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated control system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, light intensity, and nutrient levels. This data is fed back to controllers that automatically adjust lighting schedules, HVAC operation, nutrient delivery rates, and irrigation timing. The feedback mechanism enables continuous optimization of crop production without manual intervention, achieving continuous production capability while managing control system complexity through automated closed-loop control.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer implemented system for a vertical farming system comprising at least a first crop growth module and operating in an environmentally-controlled growing chamber, the control system comprising sensors for measuring environmental growing conditions in the environmentally-controlled growing chamber over time to generate environmental condition data, a device configured for measuring a crop characteristic of a crop grown in the crop growth module of the environmentally-controlled growing chamber to generate crop growth data and a processing device comprising software modules for receiving the environmental condition data and the crop growth data; applying an algorithm to the environmental condition data and the crop growth data to generate an improved environmental growing condition and generating instructions for adjustment of the environmental growing conditions in or around the growth module in the environmentally-controlled growing chamber to the improved environmental growing condition.