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  • Author Author: RWReynolds
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Vertical Farming Design Challenge

RWReynolds

Well excellent! Thanks to  Element14, Silicon Labs and David Hamblin for selecting me as a finalist in the Vertical Farming Design Challenge. image

 

Now, I guess it's time to make it happen. Can't wait to get the project materials and start working with the Silicon Labs devices to implement my design.

 

Just to reiterate and establish a starting point for my blog, here's the original application.

 

"My proposal consists of the design and implementation of a modular hydroponics based, vertically stackable, growing unit and wireless control and monitoring system.

The concept of smaller stackable units will allow for small, home-based, installations as well as the ability for unlimited expansion to fully commercial installations.

My proposal for this challenge is to build one complete stackable growing unit, a localized wireless control module and a remote wireless master control and monitoring module."

 

An overview of the design:

The goal is to create an expandable hydroponics growing unit that can be monitored remotely.


The Growing System: The growing system consists of vertically stacked Styrofoam growing pots and a hydroponics feeding system.

  1. Expansion is accomplished by vertically stacking growing pots to create a single vertical growing unit of 4 to 5 pots. This creates four smaller grow spots per pot, for a total of 16 to 20 grow spots per growing unit. This growing unit utilizes a single hydroponics feeding system.
  2. Additional expansion can be realized both through adding pots to the growing unit and by adding growing units to a growing area. All units would be serviced by a single hydroponics feeding system.

 

The Monitoring System: The monitoring system will consist of two complimentary systems.

  1. A sensor and wireless micro controller unit localized to the growing unit. This unit will act as both a control and data acquisition system.
  2. A remote wireless control and monitoring unit. This unit will provide a centralized method for monitoring and controlling multiple localized units data acquisition/monitoring units.
  • in reply to DAB

    Thanks DAB.

     

    The growing unit shouldn't be too much of a challenge. The design I'm using is well established. So there's lots of resources available.

     

    The control/monitoring system will definitely be interesting to implement. I have a good bit of experience with embedded Linux projects, BeagleBone and RPi, but not so much with bare metal ARM. I have extensive experience with bare metal implementation on Digi's Rabbit based modules however, but that's a whole different animal.

     

    I'm definitely looking forward to working with the Silicon Labs devices and development platform. image

     

    Rick

  • Sounds like a nice plan, it will be interesting to see your actual implementation.

     

    DAB