Topicautomated System To Control Hydroponic Production Situa

Topicautomated System To Control Hydroponic Productionsituationnorwa

Topic: Automated System to control Hydroponic Production Situation: Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Alaska are close to the North and South poles and experience six months of long days in summer and six months of long nights in winter. The unconducive climate for growing plants in these cold regions requires people to import food from afar. Even in America, where the climate is comparatively conducive for planting, meals travel about 1500 miles to get from farm to plate [1]. Long distance transportation of food not only consumes large quantities of fossil fuels, approximately 10 kcal of fossil fuel energy for every 1 kcal of energy from food, but also emits carbon dioxide which adds to the carbon footprint [1].

Although import and distribution of food worsen the global warming crisis, people do not buy produce locally as it is expensive, seasonally available or unavailable in cold climates. Furthermore, the worldwide population is projected to hit nine billion by the year 2050 and the need for efficient farming without straining valuable resources will be highly sought after. An automated hydroponic greenhouse can enable people who do not have the time or knowledge about gardening to grow a wide variety of plants in their own home. The greenhouse would not require human intervention as sensors in the greenhouse determine the amount of light, water, and nutrients the plant needs and monitors its growth.

Identification of the problems: In hydroponic agriculture, plants utilize nutrient-rich water rather than soil for their growth. Some nutrients get absorbed faster than others and cause an accumulation of positive or negative ions in water which in turn affects pH levels. As plant uptake of nutrients is pH dependent, absorption of other nutrients is hindered. Some compounds also need to be provided separately as they react with other compounds to form hard substances that are difficult for the plant to absorb. Another problem is the high cost which is approximately $925 for setting up automated hydroponic systems. This cost includes the purchase of large amount of equipment and sensors such as artificial lights, water purifiers, pumps, temperature sensors, and hygrometers. These equipment also have high energy costs and it was found that hydroponics required 82 times more energy compared to traditional soil-based agriculture [2]. Hydroponic systems are also vulnerable to power outages and as a result unwatered plants could dry out. Research Question: How can automated systems for controlling hydroponic production help with solving issues with traditional agriculture? Methodology: The methodology we will use for the research will rely on secondary research from the American University of Sharjah library and library website.

On the library website, we will gather information from relevant journals such as Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Journal of Clean Production, Food and Energy Security, and International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. One of the journal articles [1], provides us with the definition of hydroponics and explores the history and future of hydroponics. This article also helps us understand the potential of hydroponics and its various applications such as interplanetary missions. Another journal article that will be helpful to us is [2] which provides detailed statistics comparing land, water, and energy requirements of lettuce grown using hydroponic versus conventional agricultural methods. This article will help us understand the benefits and detriments of hydroponic systems and allow us to design our greenhouse more efficiently. Also, [3] explores the hardships of controlling pH and nutrient level of the hydroponic solution and proposes software that will solve this problem. As the software solution discussed in this article has been tested and implemented already we can incorporate it while programming the sensors in the greenhouse. Solutions: A possible solution to the problem of continually varying conductivity and pH of the water was proposed by Domingues et al. [3], and they describe a system managed by lab-made software. The software monitors conductivity and pH and automatically adjusts any variation by dispensing solution of acid, base, or nutrient through solenoid valves.

Although the cost of setting up an automated hydroponic system cannot be reduced it was found that hydroponic yield was 11 times higher than traditional soil-based agriculture [2]. In addition, plants grown hydroponically are of higher quality and consume lesser water than traditional farming. The overall amount of water is limited as hydroponic systems recycle and reuse water. Moreover, plants grown hydroponically do not require pesticides because their controlled environment is not susceptible to fungi, pests, or other soil-borne diseases. Another problem is the high energy costs that entail growing hydroponic produce in large quantities. Hydroponics can lower the high energy costs by utilizing energy-efficient LED lights. Although hydroponics will still have higher energy consumption as compared to soil-based agriculture, the LED lights have made hydroponic agriculture economically viable.

Statement of Evaluation: The automated hydroponics system will help regulate and control every aspect of the growth of the plant. This helps make the process of plant growth and crop production extremely efficient and effective while drastically reducing the effort required for it. With the automation of hydroponics, anomalies such as excess nutrient concentration or varying pH levels can be easily detected. The data captured from the sensor can be analyzed through an efficient algorithm and the output generated can prompt the system to respond accordingly. Domingues et al. [3] also evaluated the efficiency of growth of lettuce in a hydroponics based greenhouse with sensors against lettuce grown in soil. The results attested the precocity in the harvest of hydroponic agriculture which was 64 days against 71 days in soil-based agriculture. The results show that hydroponic agriculture is successful as it not only has higher productivity but also requires reduced labor and has better control over parameters that influence the growth of a plant. The success of automated hydroponics will be a step in the right direction in terms of sustainable farming, which in turn will help the environment and economic viability of operating a farm. This is because the parameters of plant growth are closely monitored and fine-tuned; including air, temperature, lighting, moisture, and nutrients; without the presence of a traditional medium [4]. Furthermore, the lack of dependence on arable land and other natural factors helps to facilitate the optimum growth of the plants while decreasing our carbon footprint by a considerable amount and the use of automation for hydroponics leads to a self-reliant system. This is also a viable solution due to its extremely low labor costs and capability to grow plants in any indoor setting.

Contribution of the team’s engineering disciplines: Building a smart greenhouse requires having knowledge from different fields of engineering and science; therefore every team member will contribute to their field of knowledge. Our team consists of a civil engineer, electrical engineer, computer engineer, and a computer scientist. The civil engineer is responsible for the design and the layout of the smart greenhouse to have the most efficient design with minimal cost. The electrical engineer’s role is to come up with environmentally friendly methods to generate power for the smart greenhouse, rather than using power lines to power up the greenhouse. In order to monitor the environmental parameters, the computer engineer and the computer scientist are going to program sensors and controllers to perform certain tasks such as controlling the temperature inside the greenhouse and analyzing obtained data.

References

1. Cuesa.org. (2018). How Far Does Your Food Travel to Get to Your Plate? Retrieved from https://cuesa.org
2. Barbosa, G., Gadelha, F., Kublik, N., Proctor, A., Reichelm, L., Weissinger, E., Wohlleb, G., & Halden, R. (2015). Comparison of Land, Water, and Energy Requirements of Lettuce Grown Using Hydroponic vs. Conventional Agricultural Methods. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(12), 1439–1459.
3. Domingues, D., Takahashi, H., Camara, C., & Nixdorf, S. (2012). Automated system developed to control pH and concentration of nutrient solution evaluated in hydroponic lettuce production. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 84, 53–61.
4. Stauffer, J. E. (2006). Hydroponics. Cereal Foods World, 51(2), 83–86.
5. Other credible sources as appropriate.