OBJECTIVES

Specific objectives of SusMedHouse:

To tackle the challenges and realise the expected impacts of Topic 1.2.2, SusMedHouse aims to develop an automated and sustainable greenhouse system to produce high-quality crops with advanced technology. The demonstration will be realised with a divided greenhouse with four benches to make controlled experiments in different areas, namely:

To understand future technology expectations of greenhouses, growers’ needs, factors affecting plant growth and plant nutritive value for common greenhouse crops

Farmers’ needs, motivations and expectations on upcoming business and operational precision farming models and technologies will be investigated. Gaps and opportunities for future inclusive farming systems will be identified and actively tackled. Literature knowledge on optimal environmental conditions and plant development will be gathered, in cooperation with Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture. Also, experiments mainly focusing on lettuce, tomatoes and pepper plant growth will be conducted.

OBJECTIVE-1

OBJECTIVE-2

To upgrade existing concepts into the necessary conceptual system and sensors network

Conceptual system for a smart, energy efficient, automated greenhouse system will be designed, considering inputs from farmers, literature and experiments. Necessary hardware for sensor network, climate control and automation system will be determined in cooperation with Ankara University Faculty of Engineering Department of Biomedical Engineering.

To develop an AI software that will find and provide momentary optimal conditions for plant growth

Existing AI software (TRL5) will be improved in terms of commercial greenhouse purpose. AI will learn and decide the optimal conditions for plant growth, owing to its ability to control parameters and to get feedback from proximity, surveillance and weight sensors. Several different algorithms will be tested using LabVIEW to ensure the fastest learning method. AI will be integrated and its compatibility with the whole system will be demonstrated.

OBJECTIVE-3

OBJECTIVE-4

To develop a mobile application and user interface showing greenhouse conditions

Internet connected automation system will have a user interface and will be integrated with a mobile application to provide growers easy monitoring and remote-control ability. A pair of experimental augmented reality glasses will be developed and tested for growers to see every value of parameter while observing the greenhouse.

To develop a DSS

DSS will be integrated with automation system and user interface. It will guide the farmer by showing expected profits and losses for different actions; resulting in greater sustainability, and smarter management, considering data regarding environmental impact. It will also help to decide harvestable areas and harvest time and have a user-friendly interface.

OBJECTIVE-5

OBJECTIVE-6

To develop innovative bio-degradable, peat-free growth media for plant development

ISAFOM-CNR infrastructure is able to produce lab-scale safe compost from “certified supply chain” source-collected waste streams (TRL 5), which represents a potential valuable surrogate for peat in the preparation of more sustainable growth media for plant cultivation. New advanced bio-degradable peat-free growth media will be developed and tested under ISAFOM-CNR supervision.

To develop new eco-friendly methods to fight pests and pathogens

New methods will be developed such as usage of innovative sexual confusion instruments by AVIPE in order to minimise pesticide usage. Eco-friendly growth media developed by ISAFOM-CNR will also contribute to pathogen and pest management.

OBJECTIVE-7

OBJECTIVE-8

To build an AI supported, smart, energy efficient, automated greenhouse system and to demonstrate whole system integrity and compatibility on a medium scale greenhouse.

To achieve this objective, a 2.000 m2 greenhouse will be built with necessary control systems and sensors to enable automation and AI implementation to verify the concept and demonstrate end-user implementation. This infrastructure will be integrated with other components of the project to exploit all the improvement from SusMedHouse.

To optimise solar energy

Photovoltaic panels will be used in a small portion of the greenhouse to examine the feasibility of electricity production. Low-E and solar control coatings will be used to maximising energy efficiency and keeping the whole greenhouse at optimal temperature. Light simulation of shadowing effect of PV panels will be done. Optimal orientation and design of PV system to provide suitable growing conditions for crops will be determined. Solar control coating with regards to energy demand and plant growth will be optimised. LED design to provide artificial lighting will be evaluated and performed in this work package to support the sunlight when the plants have insufficient lighting.

OBJECTIVE-9

OBJECTIVE-10

To control nutrient leakage to surface, sub-surface and groundwater to prevent eutrophication

A closed loop system will be created with hydroponics to prevent leakage. Mass flow rate of nutrient and water will be controlled by WOLA in the traditional cultivation in a way to prevent reproduction of organisms causing eutrophication. In addition to that AI supported control system will minimize the excess usage of the nutrients.

To test the established smart greenhouse system on an aquaponic and hydroponic setup

Verified system (on conventional greenhouse) will be tested on a small scale aquaponic and hydroponic setup, to examine the benefits of new soilless and sustainable methods. Eutrophication regarding aquaponics will be considered.

OBJECTIVE-11