Climate change and a growing global population pose ongoing threats to
critical resources. As resources required by the agriculture sector
continue to diminish, it is critical to leverage the emerging
technologies and new solutions within the sector. New cultivation
practices have emerged over the years, allowing food to be grown within
urban areas. Greenhouses are versatile in the resources needed for their
operation, as well as the foods that can be grown. While greenhouses
provide a potential for a more constant food supply, there is a lack of
optimization between the components. There are benefits to having
modular components of a greenhouse, allowing for adjustments or repairs
to singular pieces. However, there is inefficiency in the entire system,
since each component functions without considering the others. To
improve greenhouse efficiency, a closed-loop system can be introduced. A
greenhouse is a closed system, and by repurposing, reusing, and
recirculating resources, a greenhouse can evolve to have a closed-loop
system. This enables the components of a system to share resources more
effectively, communicate any systems changes that are required, and
minimize waste outputs.
This research explores the current technology in the space of
agriculture and computer science to create a fully closed-loop system.
The most noticeable system components are food waste, nutrient systems,
water systems, growing media, and heating and energy. Not all components
within a greenhouse can leverage the same artificial intelligence
methods and techniques based on existing findings. There are methods in
place that allow the components to interpret data gathered from the
greenhouse and alter its operational patterns. There remains a lack in
communicating this information to other aspects of the system to have it
make informed data-driven decisions as well. One can optimize singular
components thereby reducing resource reliance, to a certain threshold
until it impacts the plant’s development and yield. When all the systems
components’ resource needs and outputs converge the functionality of the
system can be optimized to utilize resources at a higher efficiency.
Results are indicative of very siloed and isolated research, exploring
closed-loop systems within greenhouses, but not leveraging its full
capabilities.