Development of an automated Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) platform for the horticultural industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Mechatronics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
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2023
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Massey University
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Farming methods have evolved over time, with many countries shifting from traditional to organic farming. The increase of organic farming means that there is more land required. This increased land requirement is solved by deforestation; however, this increases negative climate change impacts due to greenhouse gases. Moreover, the land available for organic farming is decreasing due to urbanisation. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is seen as a solution to this problem. CEA is the farming of crops in a technologically enhanced environment wherein variables required for plant growth e.g., light, water etc, are monitored and controlled. Vertical Farming is a newer method of Controlled Environment Agriculture, wherein plants are provided with controlled nutrients while being suspended in a soilless medium. Currently, while vertical farming has been implemented in small and large forms; it has not been explored in great depth. Hence, due to less familiarity with implementation and technology, there are various gaps and barriers observed in the method. As each plant variable is monitored and controlled, the system uses sensors, actuators, microcontrollers, and communication methods which increases technological complexity. Due to this, farmers shifting to a more modern farming method is slower and less likely. There are five overall barriers observed in the transition to modern technological farming. They are: lack of knowledge, high implementation cost, cyber security risks, need for human intervention, and lack of temperature control implementation. These barriers and gaps are preventing the vertical farming industry to develop and become a more common method of farming. A small-scale controlled environment was developed and proposed as a potential method to reduce these barriers. The system included all modern technologies such as ROS (Robot Operating System), website implementations, and various components, such as sensors, LEDs, fans, etc, controlled using a microcontroller. The main objective was to develop an effective, technologically enhanced solution, which could control temperature using a PID controller. Using these results, the solution could be improved to better match industrial standards and specifications which would allow upscaling of the solution for large scale implementation. Finally, the successful results of the solution provided a robust answer towards reducing the gaps and barriers identified.
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Figure 2 is reused under a CC BY 4.0 DEED license. Figure 10 (=Bertram, 2019) is ©OnePointOne, Inc. and was removed.