Grow system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hydroponic systems face challenges such as high manual labor costs, waste production, pest management issues, inflexibility, nutrient level degradation, oxygen saturation problems, and limited data collection, leading to inefficient food production and inability to diversify crop types.
Innovation Solution
A hydroponic grow system incorporating a mobile robot, variable controllers, sensors, and a data aggregation system for automated task execution and data collection, along with a low-flow plumbing system and localized nutrient buffering to maintain optimal nutrient and oxygen levels, allowing for flexible crop management and reduced waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If traditional farming methods are used, then vast amounts of space are required, but space efficiency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional two-dimensional ground farming to three-dimensional vertical farming by stacking multiple grow beds vertically. This allows multiple crops to be grown in the same footprint area simultaneously, dramatically increasing space utilization and food production efficiency without requiring additional horizontal space.
Solution Approach 2:
The farming system is divided into multiple independent grow beds stacked vertically, each capable of holding and nurturing plants separately. This segmentation allows for optimized resource distribution to each layer while maintaining high density vertical arrangement, solving the contradiction between space requirement and productivity.
2Ease of operation
If manual farming operations are performed, then labor costs are high, but automation level is low
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates automated mechanisms for water distribution, nutrient delivery, and environmental monitoring that operate without continuous human intervention. The closed-loop hydroponic system automatically recirculates and replenishes nutrients, while sensors monitor plant health and trigger appropriate responses, reducing manual labor while increasing automation.
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional manual farming operations are replaced with automated mechanical and electronic systems including pumps for water circulation, sensors for monitoring, and controlled-environment systems. This substitution reduces dependency on manual labor while maintaining or improving operational effectiveness.
3Quantity of substance
If soil-based farming is used, then water management is complex, but water control precision is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The hydroponic system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor water levels, nutrient concentrations, and plant health parameters. This feedback information is used to automatically adjust water delivery and nutrient supplementation, ensuring precise water control and preventing both overwatering and underwatering conditions that plague traditional soil farming.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses hydraulic principles to deliver precise amounts of water and nutrients through controlled flow systems. The closed-loop hydroponic circulation system maintains precise water levels and distribution to each grow bed, eliminating the imprecision of soil-based water management while optimizing water usage efficiency.
4Quantity of substance
If traditional hydroponic systems are used, then nutrient levels degrade, but nutrient consistency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The closed-loop hydroponic system recovers and recirculates nutrient-rich water from plant roots back through the system, preventing nutrient degradation and loss. Unused nutrients are continuously replenished, and the system maintains consistent nutrient levels by recycling valuable nutrients that would otherwise be discarded, ensuring stable composition throughout the farming operation.
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
The system reduces labor costs, minimizes waste, ensures consistent nutrient and oxygen supply, and enables flexible crop diversification, improving overall efficiency and plant growth by providing precise control and data-driven decision-making.
Implementation Method 1
a separation mechanism configured to provide an air gap between the top cover and the membrane
Implementation Method 2
a buffer mat, a membrane
Data Source
AI summary
A grow system. The system includes growing plants in grow modules that are individually moveable. The plants grow in trays where roots never touch the water supply. The plumbing to the grow modules is a low flow, one way flow continual drip system that is hands free. A mobile robot can navigate around a growspace, bring any grow module from one location to another, and perform growspace operations. The growspace is a control space with data source zones and a control space manager. The control space manager can collect data and control different variables across different data source zones in order to determine optimal policies and conditions for data source growth and generation.