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migration.user — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 18:03:25 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by migration.user on 10/1/2021 6:03:25 PM

Vertical Farming: Winners Announced!

element14Dave — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 22:26:13 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by element14Dave on 12/17/2015 10:26:13 PM

Vertical Farming Design Challenge
All About Vertical Farming	Overview Video	Prizes
Terms and Conditions	Kit List

We challenged innovators of the world to build the farm of tomorrow to satisfy the needs of a rocketing human population – predicted to grow by 23% in the next 25 years.

15 global challengers sewed their seeds, harvested and enjoyed an abundance of lettuce in a 5 month race to design and build the most energy and water efficient mini farm, supported by SILICON LABS and WÜRTH ELECKTRONIK products, who provided the base kit from which to develop the farms.

With shrinking farm land consumed by expanding cities, we will be forced to expand up rather than out. Vertical farming is challenging the way we grow our food and places like Singapore are already embracing vertical agriculture now as a sustainable answer to tomorrow’s very real problem, distributing food supplies to their communities from these new intensive farmers.

After much conversation, our judging panel made up of experts in the vertical agriculture field and sponsors decided on these 3 finalists:

Our Grand Prize Winner is...

Jose Marques from Portugal is our overall grand prize winner for his Modular Farm Project!

Judges comments:

“Jose showed a great approach to vertical farming which can be easily re-produced by others and truly hits the target of what we thought the outcome should be. Especially his in-detail explanation and step-by-step build-up of his project convinced me in the end.” Simon Leuz, Würth Elektronik

“Great enhancement with solar power and control with the Zero Gecko kit” Roy Druian, Silicon Labs

“With great images and screenshots, he shows off the knowledge gained from the front and back end of vertical farming very well.” Henry Gordon-Smith, Association for Vertical Farming

Jose has won the grand prize worth over $2000 including: Military Grade - Portable Solar Power Kit, Nest Learning Thermostat, Wurth Elektronik Energy Harvesting Kit featuring the EFM32GG Giant Gecko M3 Kit from Silicon Labs and a donation the AFV of $250 in Jose's name.

We had a chance to catch up with Jose about the challenge and being selected as the winner of this challenge.

element14: What was your reaction to winning?

Jose: That was a pleasant surprise. It’s an honor to receive the first prize after such a long and tough competition. Being first among such great projects makes me very proud of what was accomplished.

element14: What part would you consider the most fun of the project?

Jose: Undoubtedly the growing part. Seeing and documenting the small seeds becoming baby leafs and finally grown lettuces is always amazing! Of course being able to taste the final result is also nice! As an engineer I also enjoyed the challenge itself of building a functional product, it’s a different fun… but the small achievements were an extra motivation to keep things going week after week.

element14: What was the most challenging?

Jose: I think that connecting all the sensors and actuators was complicated. In the middle of the process there were several issues and, as everyone knows, developing software for two or more systems is a complex task. Another challenge was the lettuce growing process using a 100% artificial system. We moved directly to a hydroponic Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) system with artificial lighting. This gave a lot of freedom and also a lot of uncertainty. But the holistic approach of a sustainable system with renewable energy generation and storage, fully automated with vision system and artificial intelligence made things challenging as a whole due to the amount of work and individual tasks complexity.

element14: What other builds did you follow along with in the challenge?

Jose: I followed closely the Vertically Oriented Modular System from Rick Reynolds and the Adapted Greenhouse from Michael Ratcliffe. Sometimes I felt guilty to not having the time to follow every project but at a certain point the work become so intense that the time became really scarce.

element14: What advice would you give to other members who are doing, or thinking of doing a design challenge?

Jose: Do it! Plan things in advance, discuss ideas, write things down, look for help when needed, be ambitious, and try to get motivated. But don’t hesitate to give the first step.

element14: Thanks Jose, congratulations on the winning project!

Jose: Thank you. It was really a pleasure to be part of the community and be able to share our achievements. It was also rewarding to hear and learn from all the comments and feeling that we could help and inspire other members.

I would like to congratulate all the finishing challengers for their great job and the sponsors who were kind enough to supply the parts that made possible to build upon. I also would like to congratulate the organizers who did a nice job on getting things arranged, were always very receptive to help and clarify any question and by the pertinence and relevance of the theme that hopefully will inspire more and more people to engage on the challenge of provide food for them and for their communities in a sustainable and secure way. I also would like to recognize the Association for Vertical Farming for being a driving force on this subject.

Finally a word of appreciation for some close friends who helped to make possible to accomplish such an ambitious goal in such a short time. They were enthusiastic enough to support me on the hard times while keeping motivation high.

Last but not least, to my son Hugo who was born during the course of the challenge and was an inspiration to leave a small contribution to solve a problem that is ours, but will impact on the next generations too.

In Second Place:

Michael Ratcliffe from the UK for his Automated Green House project.

Judges comments:

“Great understanding of the growing process and overall insight” Roy Druian, Silicon Labs

“Michael Ratcliffe's solution of the Automated Greenhouse is the ideal response to the needs of growers around the world. The information he offers through various means of sensors, automation, and nutrient delivery contribute notably to the vertical farming dialogue. The inclusion of aquaponics only adds to the important lessons being shared via this highly-sustainable form of decentralized agriculture” Henry Gordon-Smith, Association for Vertical Farming

Michael has won the grand prize worth over $700:

Michael will receive: A foldable solar panel, Nest Learning Thermostat, and a donation the AFV of $250 in their name.

In Third Place:

James O’Donnell from the USA for his Vertical Hydroponics Farm Project.

Judges comment:

“Great work in producing lettuce, feeding the family” Roy Druian, Silicon Labs

James has won the grand prize worth over $500:

James will receive a Nest Learning thermostat and a donation the AFV of $250 in their name.

THANK YOU ALL OF THE CHALLENGERS FOR TAKING PART.

Feel free to leave your comments and questions or have a go at this challenge yourselves even though the competition has now ended.

‘Growing up is something we will all have to do!’

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our Sponsors:

Silicon Labs and Würth Elektronik

The kit provided to each contest included the below (valued at around $1400):

Silicon Labs:

EZR32WG 868MHz Wireless Starter Kit*
Sensor Puck
EFM32ZG-STK3200 Zero Gecko Starter Kit

*the following frequencies were made available the following frequencies as a replacement to the 868 MHZ due to country restrictions: 169MHz, 434 MHz, 490MHz, or 915 MHz.

Würth Elektronik:

Power Inductor Design Kit SKU 744 383
LED Kit Design Kit: SKU 150 151
Switches Design Kit: SKU 499 001
Capacitor Design Kit: SKU 885 070, SKU 885 080, SKU 885 060

Stay tuned for more exciting Design Challenges coming soon!

Tags: würth_electronik, design_challenge, silicon_labs, past_contest, vertical_farming

Vertical Farming Design Challenge | Challenger List

patkelly — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 15:11:04 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by patkelly on 8/4/2015 3:11:04 PM

Many thanks to all who applied for the Vertical Farming Design Challenge - there were a great many imaginative ideas on how best to build an energy efficient, small footprint, vertical "layered" farm that is a true IoT solution. .

However, we could only have 15 sponsored competitors - and in this instance we've selected:

Ognyan Chikov
Bulgaria

Project: Automated Farm
Synopsis:

My technical solution is made of few elements that in collaboration with each other will lead to build a complete system for operating vertical farming. The Solution is not only including software and hardware for automation and monitoring, but a new type of growing surface that will be used rather than overall footprint of the build.

Read Ogynyan's project blogs (tag automated_farm)

Keith Earns
United States

Project: Project EDEN
Synopsis:

EDEN uses aeroponic nutrient misting systems to grow indoors, without the need for soil. All self- contained, so no runoff. Vertical farming allows use of lateral space. With fresh produce less can be imported and thrown into the trash. Photosynthetically Active LED spectrum, CO2/pH automation, and humidity control will be active to ensure plants grow in near- optimal conditions.

Read Keith's project blogs (tag project_EDEN)

John Henderson
United States

Project: Ambient Growth
Synopsis:

The prototype shall incorporate a small scale environmental control module that shall be capable of modulating the ambient growth temperature of the plant growing area such that the plants will successfully grow. Furthermore, the prototype shall utilize LEDs as grow lights such that the grow period can be extended significantly to optimize growth of the plants. It is also possible that a high voltage generator and grid lattice may be incorporated in the grow chamber to provide for ionization and additional plant growth stimulation.

Read John's project blogs (tag ambient_growth)

Calla Klafas
Australia

Project: Aquaponic Salad Garden
Synopsis:

This project aims to develop a design of a small form factor vertical garden that is setup as an easy picking shelf for fresh ingredients for the kitchen of an urban apartment in Sydney.

Read Calla's project blogs (tag aquaponic_salad_garden)

Erik Lau
United States

Project: The Plant
Synopsis:

The proposed automation system will include methods to regulate pH temperature, water level, power usage, and feed for the fish. We will be able to regulate the system, either through the internet web page or on site computer connection.

Read Erik's project blogs (tag the_plant)

Jose Marques
Portugal

Project: Modular Farm
Synopsis:

My goal is to develop a simple modular automated system to support indoor plant growing of fruits and vegetables. Simple means anyone with a minimum technological or botanic background should be able to install and operate it. Because it is fully automated, the human factor is minimized and we make sure the plants will have what they need when they need it. The modular approach is very important for scalability. In this way the system will be flexible enough to be used either as a domestic growing system or as an industrial production facility.

Read Jose's project blogs (tag modular_farm)

James O'Donnell
United States

Project: Vertical Hyperponic Farm
Synopsis:

To demonstrate a vertical hydroponic farm, I will create a scale version that will demonstrate many of the required features. This will consist of four sections: water treatment, germination, seedling/microgreens, and nft channels. I will focus on measuring energy, water, nutrient, and other material use while controlling the nutrient solution, temperature, and lighting.

Read James' project blogs (tag vertical_hydroponic_farm)

Kowshik Patel
India

Project: Cylindrical Farm
Synopsis:

Combining a cylindrical bottom for greater surface area, mystifying nozzle and automation controls. This build will use IoT applications to help increase biomass production in India.

Read Kowshik's project blogs (tag cylindrical_farm)

Michael Ratcliffe
United Kingdom

Project: Adapted Greenhouse
Synopsis:

This project will adapt the challenge of connectivity and power efficiency to an already established greenhouse.

Read Michael's project blogs (tag handheld_sensor)

Rick Reynolds
United States

Project:Vertically Oriented Modular System
Synopsis:

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.

Read Rick's project blogs (tag modular_hydroponics)

Clem Martins
United States

Project: Hydroponics Using Water Bottles & Control
Synopsis:

This build will be using recyclable materials like waterbottles and egg cartons to grow leafy vegitables. It will also document daily progress of this hydroponic, closed system using grpahs and pictures published on the cloud.

Read Clem's project blogs (tag hydroponic_water_bottles)

Ajit Singh
India

Project: New Delhi Vertical Farm
Synopsis:

We are building a fully automated, low energy footprint, indoor vertical farm in New Delhi, India. Natural environment in Delhi is characterized by extreme temperatures not conducive for traditional techniques employed in vertical farming - hydroponics and aquaponics. The space we have at our disposal is 1,000 sqaure feet. The space will have artificial smart lighting and air conditioning - through water based coolers, misters, foggers and exhaust fans.

Read Ajit's project blogs (tag new_delhi_farm)

Shane Sissons
United Kingdom

Project: Ferris Farm
Synopsis:

This project will use a motorized system which will provide light, water, food and air movement. The mechanical design will include a rotating platform with an integrated feeding system.

Read Shane's project blogs (tag mechanical_farm)

Joshua Tsai
United States

Project: Solar Farm
Synopsis:

This project integrates solar power technology into a sensor-rich, fully automated hydroponic vertical farming application.

Read Joshua's project blogs (tag solar_farm)

Srinivasan Kanni Udaiyar
India

Project:Simple IoT Based Plant, Soil and Water Management System
Synopsis:

Each of the plant species (vegetable,fruit,herb) chosen will be arrayed up on a wall mountable tray / container(eco-friendly) with soil and necessary manure.The material chosen for the tray/container will be eco friendly or reusable.The supporting material will contain the plant seed, soil and manure.The containers will be mounted on a pipe in order to support DRIP IRRIGATION(efficient water utilisation).Nutrients will be passed on along with the drip irrigation.

Read Srinivasan's project blogs (tag simple_iot)

Vertical Farming - Prizes

element14Dave — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 21:16:49 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by element14Dave on 7/15/2015 9:16:49 PM

Vertical Farming Design Challenge
About this Challenge	All About Vertical Farming	Kit List
Overview Video	Terms and Conditions

Grand Prize Includes:

Global Solar SUNLINQ™ 62 Watt Foldable Solar Panel Kit

The Nest® Learning Thermostat™

Würth Elektronik Energy Harvesting Kit

The Sunlinq is a military grade, global, flexible solar panel capable of generating up to 62 watts. This kit (as featured on Impact Battery's Web site) includes a 7 amp solar charge controller, Y cable, alligator clamps, eyelets, 10 foot extension cable, and 5.1mm barrel plug.

Learn More

The Nest thermostat learns the temps you like, turns itself down when you're away, and has remote control through Wi-Fi.

Learn More

This energy harvesting kit is a complete solution from harvesting of the energy to energy management and storage that can easily be transferred to any design solution. Featuring the EFM32GG Giant Gecko M3 kit from Silicon Labs!

Learn More

Buy NowBuy Now

And a $250 donation to The Association for Vertical Farming in the Challenger’s name

Second Prize Includes:

ALLPOWERS™ 18V 28W Foldable Solar Charger

The Nest® Learning Thermostat™

Portable solar charging uni that automatically adjusts the current and voltage to achieve maximum power, delivering its fastest possible current up to 1.8 Amp.

Learn More

The Nest thermostat learns the temps you like, turns itself down when you're away, and has remote control through Wi-Fi.

Learn More

And a $250 donation to The Association for Vertical Farming in the Challenger’s name

Third Prize Includes:

The Nest® Learning Thermostat™

The Nest thermostat learns the temps you like, turns itself down when you're away, and has remote control through Wi-Fi.

Learn More

And a $250 donation to The Association for Vertical Farming in the Challenger’s name

All Challengers who submit a completed Project will receive

A one year membership to The Association for Vertical Farming and a

$100 donation to The Association for Vertical Farming in Challenger’s name

(Grand Prize, Second Place and Third Place winners will make the donation amount indicated above).

Learn More

DISCLAIMER:

Global Solar, Sunlinq™, ALLPOWER™, The Nest® Learning Thermostat™, are all Trademarks owned by their respective manufacturers/brands. These companies are in no way involved in the Design Challenge and their products featured on this page is not an endorsement or sponsorship.

In the event that any of these products is not available at the time of winner’s announcement, or if a prize is not eligible to be shipped to the physical location of the winner, element14 will make a good faith effort to substitute with a product of similar scope and value, at its own discretion. Please see the Terms and Conditions.

Tags: -, vertical, prizes, farming

Design Challenge Proposal Example - Vertical Farming

element14Dave — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 14:09:23 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by element14Dave on 6/30/2015 2:09:23 PM

Vertical Farming Design Challenge
About this Challenge	All About Vertical Farming	Overview Video
Terms and Conditions	Kit List	Prizes

The key to a successful application is to provide as much information about your proposed project as possible. Below is an example proposal from community member Inderpreet Singh ipv1

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Prelude

The Internet Of Things has really gained popularity in the recent years with the advent of the Arduino with ethernet Shield, Netduino plus, RPi, Beaglebone Black, RIOT board and the like. An IOT solution can be implemented in a multitude of ways using any one of the mentioned technologies. IOT applications have found their way into these but the real applications where IOT shines is where the use of connectivity and intelligent use of data is involved. With lots of data available on the internet, the major advantage is that we can have systems that employ rules that not only take local inputs into consideration but also data from the Internet. A good example is weather based systems.

I was one of the finalists for the beyond the phone challenge and I tried implementing an IOT like solution for a logistics problem.(IP: 11 : Wireless Power Sensor Array: Final Presentation Submission) I later realized that the solution, though working was not really the optimum solution. The design was built around a real world problem and the final design has a few issues.

The first issue is the overall maintenance . The price of the power system is quite hefty and even though it seems viable, the cost of battery and it's maintenance is unacceptable by most vendors.

The second problem was the costing of the wireless modem- the XBEE modules work right but they are a bit pricier than expected which makes the entire project less value for money.

Reason For Applying

My interest in this challenge was sparked due to an array of reasons. I will try an be brief about each.

The Challenge is based on the RPi- It's a proven piece of hardware and runs linux. With the advent of the RPi Compute module, the design can be made commercially viable. (See my blogs at embeddedcode.wordpress.com)

The EnOcean Sensors are using lower frequency radios and NO BATTERIES! That solves one of the problems which was based around the power system.

The EnOcean Sensors use an 8051 core. I have been using the 8051 since yr2002 and have designed a number of automation solutions around the controller. I can hack it to work the way I want it. This will be possible with the Dolphin Suite but I can still try otherwise. Maybe design a new sensor? I can upload my code onto a sensor using the programming interface(datasheet says so)

The Eclipse Smart Home Project. I am not a software guy but for using RPi as a Home Automation tools, I was using WebIOPi which uses the REST API. I have seen some of the seminars by Benjamin Cabe which use MQTT(Paho) and LWM2M(wakaama) and the Eclipse Orion tool and by Kai K on Eclipse Smart Home and OpenHAB. I have started experimenting with OpenHAB and seems like a very powerful tool and would like to get more hands on with enocean pi, the bindings and how it can be expanded to it's full potential.

And lastly, it is an IOT challenge! I am loving it!

EDIT: Well there is one more reason... It's the Raspberry Pi B+! Yes. The lower power consumption means that I can now put it on the battery longer.

My proposal is a two part proposal with

one application which is a Smart home solution in accordance with the theme of the challenge and

the second part is modifying my existing application, incorporating the EnOcean sensors and OpenHAB (Side Project)

Project Proposal -> Forget What!?

There are a lot of mini tasks that everyone performs everyday in the house and with time the regular tasks become a part of our routine and we seldom forget them. It is the not so regular tasks that get us. The tasks that we rush through. A good example was locking the door when you leave the house. There are multiple options to solving such a problem like using a "key only door lock" or even an electronic lock.

So what are the things that we can forget around the house other than the obvious? Below is a list of the ones I will be targeting. A design diagram is given below: (Note with the RPI B+, I have proposed to add a LiPo Battery, LCD, Keyboard and Mouse along with a Wifi Dongle which will make our SmartHome Kiosk Mobile!)

1. Did I put the milk back in the fridge? - IOT Waiting Platform

Large pots of stew and boiled milk cannot be put in refrigerator immediately. They need to be cooled down and I have forgotten to put the milk back in the fridge on more than one occasion. This applies to any leftovers and things you took out of the fridge and need to put back in later. Now people set alarms and timers etc but when you get to bed or leave the house in a hurry, there is a nagging question at the back of your mind... Did I or didn't I? To answer this question, I propose a "WAITING PLATFORM".

Figure 1: Proposed Lever Arrangement

The Hardware: The device will use the EnOcean push switch to transmit whether there is something on the platform or not. The platform will be built out of wood and will incorporate a sort of lever arrangement to facilitate the pressing of the EnOcean Power generation bow in order to generate the power necessary for the transmission of the signal. A rough sketch is given below but the actual device will be designed once I have the sensor physically with me and I can see how best to assemble it in the frame.

The Software: The EnOcean Pi will be used to receive the status and updates will be passed onto the user via OpenHAB. The status will also be pushed via MQTT to a Mosquitto Server where clients can subscribe and check. More on this later.

2. Do we need to refill the cooking LPG cylinder? -IOT Weighing Machine

In India, we get cooking gas in the kitchen by the purchase of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) Cylinders. These come by weight and once you exaust one, you place an order of the next. There is usually a waiting period of 5 to 10 days which means we almost always keep one spare. Unfortunately, in times of shortage this waiting time goes up as well and it is standard household practice to place orders for these in advance. The fuel is by weight and we can check if a cylinder is going low. This is also a problem with hotels etc as well. The question to be answered is "Does my Cylinder need refilling and how long is it still going to last?" To answer this question, I propose the "IOT Weighing Machine"

Figure 2: LPG Cylinders in India

The Hardware: The device will use the EnOcean Temperature Sensor, hacked to take measurements from a loadcell or weight sensor. I think the only way to upload custom code to the module is via the Dolphin Suite and EDK but I will try to figure something out. Worst case, I will map the load cell outputs to the temperature sensor via some glue logic circuitry. The load cell shown below is a 50Kg one and is good enough for our application. It might take an additional battery and a little bit of signal conditioning circuitry to attach this to the existing EnOcean sensor. I will be fabricating a metal hook like structure that will allow me to hang the entire weight on a single cell instead of using a platform with multiple cells which will increase the circuitry.

The Software: The sensor calibration etc will all be done on the RPi. The Data will be passed onto a database to record the level of LPG and determine consumption patterns which can be further used to extrapolate the next time we need to place an order. The extrapolation will all be done in much later stages using either Jquery or something else at client end or NodeJS at server end. Once the cylinder goes empty, an alert will be generated. More on this later.

Figure 3: Load Cell

3. Did I turn off everything in the room? -IOT Appliance Monitor

This problem is the most common when leaving home, but sometimes we just don't need to control a light or AC- That is accomplished some other way. We just need to know if we turned off EVERYTHING! So to answer this question, I propose the IOT Current Sensor. The concept is simple, using a non-invasive AC Current Sensor, we can determine whether current is being drawn on a particular wire or not. If there is a current draw, there must be an appliance left on. The sensor can be simply clipped onto a wire and you are done.

Hardware: The EnOcean Temperature Sensor is hacked and connected to the Current Sensor and some signal conditioning circuitry. Again I might need to figure out a way to modify the existing sensors without the Dolphin Suite and API. Alternatively I will have to build a custom module all together. The values obtained are transmitted to the EnOecan Pi instead of the temperature readings. The Sensor is shown below and can directly be clipped onto the main line into a room or onto the line of a particular appliance like Air Conditioner.

Software: The values of current obtained from the sensor at the EnOcean Pi will be transmitted to a logging server and the alerts are generated at remote client end. That's it!

Figure 4: Non-Invasive Current Sensor

4. Did I bring the clothes back in from the clothes line? - IOT Clothes Line(A) and IOT Meteorological Station(B)

This is part of an ongoing project which solves a regular problem that we have. The summer weather brings high speed winds and sudden showered as a part of pre-monsoons here. We let our clothes out in the sun to dry and if there are high speed winds, there is a possibility of them being blown away. Hence as a part of a classical home automation system, I have under fabrication a clothes line which is motorized and can be retracted electronically. Combine that with an Anemometer(Wind Speed Meter), a Rain detector and temperature sensor we get a MET system in our house. In addition to that if we combine it with weather forecasts, we can separate sudden gusts of winds to oncoming storms and retract clothes lines more intelligently.

Hardware: The hardware has a mechanical part which is already under fabrication according to my house. It consists of a set of pulleys and cables like cable car systems. I have spring based tensioner for the main line and separate steel lines for the motor. The electronics are still on paper. The motor needs a powerful current source since it can run a few horses. I will be supplying it from a custom power supply which has a current limiting circuit to make sure I don't overload the system and blow it up! The control interface is via opto couplers which means I can have anything behind it. I am thinking:

Custom control circuit for the Clothes Line with all the sensors data of the power system and rain detetection with wireless transmitter. (Xbee or something with an 8051 or MSP430)

Use the EnOcean Reed switch and make a custom Anemometer. I can make a custom frame for the anemometer and count the number of rotations by the switch turning on and off. Alternatively I can hack that can use an opto interrupter to make a contact less RPM counting mechanism. No additional circuitry required.

Software: The software will need some customization. For the Clothes line, I need to write the bindings with OpenHAB(experimenting on that right now) which will allow me to control the clothes line inside OpenHAB itself. And for the MET station, I will need to convert the opening and closing of the reed switch into RPMs and into windspeeds. I will also need to read all the temperature and rain sensor data inside OpenHAB as well. There is a facility to write rules for automation in OpenHAB and that is what will be used to control the clothes line automatically. The computed data is update only locally and the status of the clothes line is the only thing that is updated to the MQTT server and Database server for logging. Might have to calculate windspeeds from RPMs but is not that tough.

5. Did I close the Windows? - IOT Windows

I know that there are people already selling these but it made sense to make one of my own. With powerful winds comes a lot of dust and but winds plus rain equals cools air. The device is a simple windows opener and closer which will work according to the weather.

Hardware: Not sure about the mechanical structure right now, but will be getting some expert help on this one to design a device which can be added to our dozen windows!

Software: Will have to write the bindings as well as rules for automatically opening and closing the windows.

6. PLUS Notification to User visually and by audio!- IOT Color Sphere

So with OpenHAB at the back, I need to burn cellphone batteries to be updated? No! I do not have phillips hues, but I can make one! A visual indication system is proposed to generate alerts visually and while I am at it, I add a speaker for audio notifications.

Hardware: Speakers connected to the RPi and an Arduino Nano (USB) with RGB LEDs. Put these in an acrylic box and thats it!

Software: More bindings need to be written to have a particular color generated and the rest is like Phillips hues. The speakers will be used with a set of predefined sound files for alerts on various events. If I get the chance I just might take a peek as Jasper for Text to Speech.

EDIT: The new RPi B+ has larger number of USB ports which means that I can add an Arduino, a WiFi Dongle, attach a small LCD(the one I have already procured has HDMI in 10.1") and Keyboard and Mouse to make our RPi an Internet and Smart Home Kiosk. I can design a suitable housing out of wood for the same which makes the unit wall mounted or table top. With the lower power consumption, I have a battery(LiPo Battery with LiPo Rider Pro) which can make our SmartHome Kiosk Terminal mobile. Yay!

7. Control Appliances with an IR Remote Control

Since I have an Arduino Nano connected, I can have predefined IR protocol Commands that can be transmitted via an IR Led. This will allow the system to switch ON and OFF anything that is controlled via IR Remote like TV or Air Conditioner.

Hardware: An IR LED connected to the Arduino Nano directly or via a transistor is all that is needed

Software: Pre-programmed commands inside the Arduino that are executed on commands from the RPi via the UART Serial Port. Will need to write a binding for that as well.

8. Android Application: - It's an Android Apps for getting alerts over MQTT- mqtt eclipse server?

This is also one thing that I am not sure I can get done in time, but I will definitely get done sooner or later. An app that can talk to the MQTT server to read status of various alerts proposed above. If there is a readymade app somewhere I will find it and use it or write code from scratch. (I used to write Java about 8 years ago- how tough can it be right?)

Challenges and Threats

I have proposed a lot and that itself is a challenge. Additionally I am not sure if the EnOcean modules can be reprogrammed as I am expecting without the Dolphin Suite. It might take a little more reverse engineering to get custom firmware to work but each module can be used even without modifying the firmware. The last foreseeable problem is getting required parts and PCBs in time. I can start work on the PCBs immediately and with regards to the parts, I will learn from my past mistakes and make sure I can get the parts in time here in India.

Closing Summary

I initially though this is a bit much but when i saw the webinars and how easy it was getting started at the software end, I was confident enough to submit this proposal. EnOceans Sensors promise to be one of the guiding technologies of IOT electronics while the Eclipse Smart Home and OpenHAB is a fantastic project especially for guys like me who are electronics engineers and not professional software programmers. It would have been a boon to have the EnOcean EDK, at least the software and APIs for customization of the modules. There are a lot of things that can become part of a Home Automation System like Gesture Recognition, RFID interfaces and other automation abilities. The theme here is "Forget me not" but I will be adding these facilities over time, past the challenge.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Inderpreet Singh

about me: I am currently an Assistant Professor at Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar. I have been an electronics hobbyist for more than 20 years and I work on Wireless, DSP and embedded products. I work as a consultant for private companies in India along with working on open source hardware/software products which I blog and share at my blog and github

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Tags: -, vertical, proposal, example, Design, challenge, farming

Vertical Farming Design Challenge | Unboxing the Kit

patkelly — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:11:23 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by patkelly on 6/25/2015 4:11:23 PM

www.youtube.com/watch

Unboxing the Vertical Farming Design Challenge kit including products from Silicon Labs & Würth Elektronik. View the full kit list

Vertical Farming Design Challenge

Tags: vertical, design_challenge, design_challenges, vertical_farming, Design, challenge, farming

Vertical Farming Design Challenge - Kit List

element14Dave — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:55:28 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by element14Dave on 6/15/2015 3:55:28 PM

Vertical Farming Design Challenge
About this Challenge	All About Vertical Farming	Prizes
Overview Video	Terms and Conditions

Challengers!

It is time to Grow Up! Observations and forecasts from leading publications point to the need to increase our ability to grow fresh food in urban areas – closer to the populations that will consume them. This means shifting from traditional outdoor gardens to indoor systems for food production. Electronic Engineers are uniquely suited to provide systems based on a technology infrastructure that can lessen required energy consumption in production and improve the output of a smaller space.

To get you started on your challenge journey we have a base-kit that you can work with and from. How you put these into practice is entirely up to you. This is a good collection of equipment for you to sink your soldering iron into, feel free to hack away, apart or together any component as you see fit.

{gallery} Vertical Farming

Silicon Labs EZR32WG 868MHz Wireless Starter Kit

Silicon Labs Sensor Puck - SENSOR-PUCK board

Silicon Labs EFM32 Zero Gecko Starter Kit

Würth Elektronik Design Kits- Capacitors 885 080, 885 070, 885 060

Würth Elektronik Design Kit - Switches- 499 001

Würth Elektronik Design Kit - LEDs 150 151

Würth Elektronik Design Kit - Power Inductors 744 383

Attachments:

community.element14.com/.../EFM32G_5F00_sensor_5F00_puck.zip
community.element14.com/.../wstk6220_5F00_EZR32WG_5F00_868MHz_5F00_Wireless_5F00_Starter_5F00_Kit-_2800_1_2900_.pdf	wstk6220_EZR32WG_868MHz_Wireless_Starter_Kit (1).pdf
community.element14.com/.../efm32zg_2D00_stk3200_2D00_ug.pdf	efm32zg-stk3200-ug.pdf

Tags: -, vertical, Design, challenge, farming, list, kit

All About Vertical Farming

kellyhensen — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:51:22 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by kellyhensen on 6/15/2015 3:51:22 PM

Vertical Farming Design Challenge
About this Challenge	Overview Video	Prizes
Terms and Conditions	Kit List

Interested in more information about Vertical Farming? Below are a list of links to more information about Vertical Farming, some industrial Vertical Farm companies, inventions in support of Vertical Farming and news stories. Have you seen something interesting on the topic? Please share it below.

About Vertical Farming

The Association for Vertical Farming

An internationally active nonprofit organization focusing on advancing Vertical and Urban Farming technologies, designs and businesses. Members of the Board Maximilian Loessl and Henry Gordon-Smith will be serving as Judges of final submissions and consultants to Challengers.

The Vertical Farm

Dickson Despommier, Ph.D. spent thirty-eight years as a Professor of Microbiology and Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia; author of The Vertical Farm – The origin of a 21^st Century Architectural Typology

Industrial Vertical Farms

In the Midwest of the United States

Green Sprit Farms - http://www.greenspiritfarms.com/
Green Sense Farms - http://greensensefarms.com/
The Plant Chicago – www.plantchicago.com
FarmedHere – http://farmedhere.com

In the Netherlands

Plant Lab - http://www.plantlab.nl/

In Singapore

Sky Greens – http://skygreens.com

In Japan

Japan Gandpa Dome - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_WuJ9P1u-k

News Stories

This Indoor Farm Can Bring Fresh Produce to Food Deserts

WIRED - ISSIE LAPOWSKY

ALMONDS GOT THE brunt of the bad press, but they hardly deserve all the blame for California’s water woes. Sure, it’s worth considering how to minimize your water footprint, and forgoing your daily handful of almonds in solidarity with the parched earth couldn’t hurt. But considering how widespread the water crisis is, and the fact that agriculture is responsible for 80 percent of the country’s water consumption, the more crucial question to be asking now—particularly on Earth Day—is what can be done to fundamentally change the way our food gets made?

Why Vertical Farming Could Be On The Verge Of A Revolution ...

Huffington Post

Could the future of modern agriculture be found completely indoors?

That’s the question on the mind of Caleb Harper, the research scientist behind the CityFARM project of MIT Media Lab’s City Science Initiative.

Vertical Farms Will Be Big, But For Whom?

Fast Company

In a windowless warehouse just outside of Chicago, where today’s forecast is for below-freezing temperatures, Green Sense Farms grows leafy greens and herbs all year around. They sell their bounty—protected from insects, disease and brutal winters—to grocers like Whole Foods and some local restaurants. Green Sense grows their soil-free produce (they use coconut husk instead) in indoor growing towers. Beneath 30 foot ceilings, rows and rows of produce are stacked and CO2 levels, water, lighting, and humidity are precisely controlled.

Vertical farming: A hot new area for investors

CNBC

One of the most promising fields in agriculture these days entails growing crops indoors in layers, stacked in racks, in existing underutilized warehouses or multi-story buildings.

Kickstarter Inventions

Grow Up! Vertical Farming for Everyone 160 backers pledged $28,926 to help bring this project to life.
Brand New Windowfarms- Vertical Food Gardens 323 backers pledged $36,270 to help bring this project to life.
Vertical Harvest of JH: A Growing System for Change - 323 backers pledged $36,270 to help bring this project to life.

Article explaining this conveyor system that takes plants for a ride in front of windows

Turn our cities' windows into vertical veggie farms! 231 backers pledged $28,205 to help bring this project to life.

Tags: vertical, vertical_farm, vertical_farming, all, farming, about

Vertical Farming Design Challenge

kellyhensen — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:50:21 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by kellyhensen on 6/15/2015 3:50:21 PM

Vertical Farming Design Challenge
All About Vertical Farming	Overview Video	Prizes
Terms and Conditions	Kit List

Background

From Wikipedia

According to current projections of population growth, the world population of humans will continue to grow until at least 2050, with the estimated population, based on current growth trends, to reach 9 billion in 2040,and some predictions putting the population in 2050 as high as 11 billion. World population passed the 7 billion mark on October 31, 2011.

From the World Wildlife Organization

Soil is the earth’s fragile skin that anchors all life on Earth. It is comprised of countless species that create a dynamic and complex ecosystem and is among the most precious resources to humans. Increased demand for agriculture commodities generates incentives to convert forests and grasslands to farm fields and pastures. The transition to agriculture from natural vegetation often cannot hold onto the soil and many of these plants, such as coffee, cotton, palm oil, soybean and wheat, can actually increase soil erosion beyond the soil’s ability to maintain itself.

Half of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years. In addition to erosion, soil quality is affected by other aspects of agriculture. These impacts include compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation, and soil salinity. These are very real and at times severe issues.

From VerticalFarm.com

By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth’s population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to avoid this impending disaster?”

The confluence of these observations and forecasts points to the need to increase our ability to grow fresh food in urban areas – closer to the populations that will consume them. This means shifting from traditional outdoor gardens to indoor systems for food production. Electronic Engineers are uniquely suited to provide systems based on a technology infrastructure that can lessen required energy consumption in production and improve the output of a smaller space.

Vertical Farming is a developing industry growing to meet these demands. The main areas for measuring their success – and focus for improvement - are the production output per square foot, monitoring and lessening the energy and water consumption, and efficiencies around harvesting.

The Challenge

We will select 15 challengers from all entries received to build indoor, vertical farms that are true IoT solutions. The projects should include:

Environmental monitoring (light, temperature and humidity)
A watering and feeding system
A greater growing surface than just the overall footprint of the build
Energy monitoring to collect data on the overall consumption of power and water by the system

Help Along the Way

In addition to the great Kit that Challengers will receive, we also have support for those of you without a green thumb. We’re going to be recommending the types of seeds to buy, the types of fertilizer and ranges to be aware of when you’re monitoring moisture, light and humidity. We’ll announce a point in time about six weeks out when all Challengers should start their seedlings. After a 7-10 day germination period, your seedlings should be transferred to your Vertical Farm. Then after about a month of growing we’ll ask you to harvest your crop. Submitting information about the overall weight of the harvest and the average height of the plants will help the Judges determine the best developed solutions.

And if your seedlings start looking sickly, then post a question on the Design Challenge site and someone from the Vertical Farming Association will give you tips and suggestions to help you nurse your plants back to life.

More details coming soon.

Tags: vertical, vertical_farming, Design, challenge, farming