Researchers of the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center (SPC RAS) have developed a domestic digital system for managing agro-industrial facilities - vertical frameworks to grow greens on. The development functions on the basis of domestic software; it could be individually configured for efficient and automated production of various types of agricultural products and controlled remotely via the Internet from a personal computer or smartphone.
A vertical farm/framework is a generalized name for an agro-industrial complex with a closed cycle of growing various cultivated plants (like, lettuce or tomatoes). It is a special enclosed space with containers filled with substances useful for crops raising (soil, hydroponics or aeroponics). Such containers in a vertical framework placed in several “layers” one under another, thus effectively occupying the entire allocated space. The space is maintained at a special temperature, humidity, lighting, etc. Today, such farm/framework often occupy huge areas and eventually provide cities with fresh and diverse plant products.
Vertical farms/frameworks allow for growing various crops regardless of the season or climatic conditions, applicable even for the Arctic zone. However, the operation of a large farm requires a great number of workers and precise adherence to the growth cycle of supplying plants with nutrients, light and maintaining a certain temperature. Therefore, to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of such agro-industrial complexes, currently production automation systems are in high demand
“We have developed a domestic digital complex that supports full automation of the processes of growing plants at vertical farms, they are strawberries, various salads and microgreens. The development itself includes software with a user-friendly graphical interface, hardware modules that can be grouped into systems for various purposes, as well as a number of services that can link large greenhouse complexes into a single information structure,” says Anton Savelyev, Head of the Laboratory of Autonomous Robotic Systems at SPC RAS.
The digital system consists of three interconnected levels. The first level allows for configuring the operation parameters of various farm nodes: hydraulic pumps, lighting systems, microclimate maintenance, sensors. The configuration of the first level is executed through a local server module, arranging for communications between various sensors and executive nodes and store data about their functioning. At the same time, the configured modules of the first level work fully independent of the local server within given cycles.
The second system level is a local server of the agro-complex, that receives and aggregates data from all devices. This server is the information center of the system. With the help of such information, it is possible to monitor the operability of the system, predict module breakdowns and identify critical situations (loss of communication with modules, pressure disturbances in the irrigation system, changes in optimal temperature, etc.). In addition, all modules transmit information using LoraWan technology to distances of up to 6 km from the source in an open area. The above practically excludes the user from dealing with wired communication methods and their maintenance as much as possible and thereby significantly reduces the cost of automation.
In presence of the Internet at the site, the local server provides communication with the third level of the system - cloud storage. This level allows for linking several objects of vertical farms into a single network at once, and thus the system can ensure the operability of large complexes. The system interface allows for switching between different complexes, receive information about work and problems on a personal computer, tablet or smartphone and thereby carry out remote control of the enterprise.
“The system can be flexibly scaled thanks to wireless communication and the modular construction principle, and the intuitive interface allows any user to quickly adapt to enter certain parameters for growing certain crops. Moreover, the system is universal from the point of view of the soil - it works with ordinary soil, hydro- and aeroponics. Analogues of our development are produced abroad, for instance in the Netherlands. Note, that they are much more expensive and require regular payment for maintenance. We offer modules and software of domestic development in line with import substitution for the Russian economy,” Anton Saveliev explains.
Today, a digital system for managing vertical farms, developed at SPC RAS, is undergoing implementation at one of the enterprises of the agro-industrial complex near St. Petersburg. In addition, pilot production is organized on the territory of SPC RAS. The solution proposed by scientists is successfully scaled and adapted to the specific needs of agro-industrial partners who plan to install a digital system at their farms.
This development is one of the major SPC RAS projects in the field of automation and digitalization of various agriculture branches of Russia. Among projects of a kind is a robotic complex that would help farmers to effectively perform various agricultural works (sowing and harvesting, cargo delivery, spraying and watering crops), as well as an unmanned drone with an installed module for laser processing of farmland, with them plants could be processed to get their productivity enhanced. In addition, the SPC RAS researchers annually present their latest developments at the key All-Russian agro-industrial exhibitions.