WO2017025790A1

WO2017025790A1 - Apparatus and method for a controlled growth of plants

Info

Publication number: WO2017025790A1
Application number: PCT/IB2016/001098
Authority: WO
Inventors: Harald Nicola COSENZA
Original assignee: Robonica S.R.L.
Priority date: 2015-08-11
Filing date: 2016-08-03
Publication date: 2017-02-16
Also published as: ITUB20153070A1

Abstract

The present invention refers to an apparatus, a system, and a method for a controlled growth of plants in a closed environment, for instance internally to special housings, glass cases, tanks, or containers, by means of a real time control and adjustment of those parameters which affect the growth of said plants and their respective physical, physiological, morphological, and organoleptic characteristics of such plants and their respective fruits.

Description

Apparatus and method for a controlled growth of plants Background

Reasons of a progressive scarcity of ground, as well as difficulties in provisioning and the success of distributed agriculture models are making it possible to obviate the problem of production of foods for the world population, in particular for quality production of edible plants or plants that produce edible fruits. In particular, different systems are spreading which allow to cultivate one or more plants in closed environments, contained in special housings (for instance miniaturized greenhouses, glass cases, hydroponic tanks) provided with devices for controlling the parameters that affect the growth of the plants. These distributed agriculture systems can substantially reduce the problem of scarcity and quality of foods, progressive loss of biodiversity, as well as difficulty in finding biological and fresh agricultural products that are not exposed to agents like fungicidal products or chemical fertilizers.

A common technical problem that said systems shall cope with is a simultaneous control of the numerous parameters that affect the growth of the plants and the optimization thereof over time, whenever a grower has no knowledges about agriculture and/or is not in a condition to manually interact with said parameters. Such problem comes from the circumstance that in an isolated artificial environment all conditions and elements that a plant interacts with shall be reproduced in an adaptive manner, as if it were inserted in its natural context and spontaneously took advantage of interactions with the ecosystem.

Thanks to an appropriate combination of hardware and software elements, the present invention makes reference to an apparatus, a system, and a methodology that are used to detect and control the growth of plants in isolated environments, different from those in which their cultivation usually takes place and consequently, even though not limitatively, in closed and/or covered environments (for instance miniaturized greenhouses, modular housings, glass cases, hydroponic tanks, and the like) , without a necessary and repeated manual intervention by an operator.

Making living organisms, for instance plants, grow in controlled conditions, for instance internally to special containers, typically consists of monitoring and modifying the environment in which plants live and in adjusting the variables affecting the growth thereof usefully and in real time. This function is empirically performed by controlling all parameters during the full life of the plant, including, for explanatory not exhaustive purposes, those related to type and concentration of nourishing and/or fertilizing substances, level of basicity or acidity of the solution (pH) , progress of intensity and wavelength of the light radiation with time, flow of water and its respective temperature, variation of the ambient air temperature and water with time, humidity, air flows, as well as its composition and its possible interaction of a plant itself with the external environment (for instance whenever the container in which a plant is contained is exposed to the natural light coming from the external world) .

Controlling said parameters, to be construed for explanatory not exhaustive purposes, makes it possible to define and modify the microclimate of the environment in which a plant lives and to optimize the characteristics of the plant, which concern for instance its dimensions, shape, color, and taste of said plant or its fruits and, more generally, the quantitative, morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of the plant or a part thereof .

A control of this parameters is conditional on the availability of a system of sensors which allows to monitor the physiological conditions of a plant in real time, or in such fraction of time as to make it possible to adjust a parameter, as well as of adaptive growing algorithms to be used as models for controlling and modifying the environment in which the plant lives. A modification of these parameters is in turn conditional on the availability of a system of actuators capable of implementing the growing models processed on the basis of such parametric control.

Status of the art

A number of apparatuses, systems, and methodologies to cultivate plants in closed environment exist and have been disclosed according to the present status of the art. For instance, document WO2013126023, entitled "A plant growth system and monitoring method", describes a method for growing plants based on a set of controls performed by sensors, but it does not solve the problem related to a correct method for adjusting the growth parameters in real time. Document WO2008118080, entitled "System for modulating plant growth or attributes" also describes a system in which an apparatus detects the parameters relevant to a plant by means of sensors and generates a control signal, but it does not identify a concrete way whereby said signal is generated. In general, the prior art is focused on the particular configuration of the containers (see for instance document US20030089037 , entitled "Plant growth unit" or document FI200805989, entitled "Plant growing apparatus") and on controlling the light radiation, as the main factor responsible for growth. For instance, document US8847514, entitled "Programmable lighting with multi-day variations of wavelength and intensity, optimized by crowdsourcing using an online social community network", focuses on detecting and optimizing the light, generally that emitted by LEDs. In this case too, however, there is no information on how one or more variables affecting growth might be in real terms adjusted and optimized in the absence of a precise reference about the parameters concerning a given plant and the environmental conditions in which it lives. Therefore, according to the present status of the art, there are solutions that concern the control of the growth parameters, but none of them teaches how said parameters might be adjusted in real time to foster a better growth in the absence of knowledges on the characteristics of the plant. In normal conditions, a plant adapts to the ecosystem and responds to the modifications of the external environment and of the ground. In production internal to containers, glass cases, hydroponic and miniaturized tanks, or the like, if there are no knowledges about the characteristics of a plant, an apparatus and a method are required that enables everybody to cultivate a plant as if this were inserted in its natural context.

The present invention proposes to overcome the deficiency of the current status of the art by way of a continuous and real time monitoring of all variables of growth and an adjustment based on a standard growth profile, previously developed and variously available to the users of the apparatus, which is updated and integrated on the basis of the information and of the parameters collected at the local level and of other units in proximity thereto, in the environment where a plant grows.

Description of the invention and of the drawings

Figure 1 illustrates an apparatus, comprising a housing in proximity to which a capsule is housed to make a plant grow, cartridges containing nourishing solutions and pH correction solutions, control systems, actuators, and systems to connect to a server, an equipment on/off switch, as well as electrical power and water supply systems.

Figure 2 illustrates a capsule containing one or more seeds of a plant and carrying a code (for instance, for explanatory not exhaustive purposes, a QR Code) or an RFID/NFC label containing information concerning the plant and at least a cultivation profile thereof.

The present invention makes reference to an apparatus, a system, and a method for a controlled growth of at least one plant, said apparatus comprising (1) at least one container where to grow a plant, said container comprising in turn: (2) at least one device for emitting a light radiation (for instance, for explanatory not exhaustive purposes, a LED) suitable for lighting all the plant or one or several parts of the plant whenever there are no natural light sources available; (3) at least one water supply device, for instance a vaporizer or an atomizer; (4) at least one device for drawing water from a duct nearby; (5) at least one cartridge, provided with at least one content level detector sensor, for releasing nourishing substances and pH solutions for growth, comprising one or several of the following substances: acids, basis, nitrogen, potassium, nitrates, more in general macro and micro nourishments, such cartridge being further provided with at least one content level detection sensor; (6) at least one device suitable for detecting the shape of the plant, for instance a camera or a scanner; (7) at least one control system consisting of a set of sensors comprising at least (i) a luminosity sensor, (ii) an air temperature sensor, (iii) an infrared sensor, (iv) a pressure sensor, (v) an acidity sensor for pH control, (vi) a humidity sensor, (vii) a C02 detection sensor, (viii) a water temperature sensor; (ix) at least one sensor capable of detecting the nourishing elements in a solution and its respective level; (x) at least one sensor for measuring the water level inside the container; (8) one geolocalization device based on one or several of the following technologies: GPS, Wi-fi, 3G, 4G, etc.; (9) a water flow control system; (10) a pump for recirculating water; (11) a device for air flow control and its respective temperature regulation; (12) a water nebulization device; (13) an air filter; (14) at least one RGB color detection sensor; (15) at least one processor suitable for reading the data coming from said sensors, for communicating with a server via suitable communication means, and for transmitting instructions to said devices; (16) a connection for supplying electrical power to the apparatus (1); (17) at least one server properly connected to the network and to the apparatus via suitable communication means, said server containing a set of information about the various possible plants, usable for their growth; (18) at least one remote arithmetic unit, properly connected to the server (17) .

The apparatus also comprises at least one capsule containing plant seeds, said capsule comprising a code (for instance, for explanatory not exhaustive purposes, a QR code) or an RFID/NFC label containing information on the characteristics of the seeds and on at least one cultivation profile (19), usefully suitable for being accommodated in said container (1); (20) at least one on/off push-button to switch the apparatus on and off; (21) at least one lighting device, for instance a LED, used to feedback to the user the statuses of the apparatus, the progress statuses of growth, the connection status to the network, and the execution status of the user controls sent to the apparatus by one or several applications installed on movable devices and/or connected processors; (22) an electrical power accumulation device, for instance a battery.

A number of embodiments of the invention are described below for explanatory not limitative purposes.

According to one embodiment, when a capsule with seeds is properly accommodated in the apparatus, the processor, via a camera or a scanner, reads the code (for instance, for explanatory not exhaustive purposes, a QR code) or the RFID/NFC label properly printed on or included in said capsule and collects the information contained therein. Concomitantly the processor connects to the network, by way of appropriate communication means and, on the basis of the plant recognition information contained in the code/label, downloads from a server its corresponding standard growth profile usefully available on the server itself. Said growth profile makes up a packet of predetermined information items, relevant to a plurality of time spread calibration points for every step, which is used to maintain the microclimate and the environmental conditions that fosters the growth of the plant which the profile refers to, internally to the container, in its different steps of the life cycle (default profile) . Said calibration points are updated upon being downloaded along with the geolocalization information locally obtained by the control system of the apparatus, which allows to integrate the default profile with further information related to local parameters (for instance, for explanatory but not exhaustive purposes, altitude) which might affect growth. After the apparatus is initialized by downloading the default profile, the processor collects the information concerning the growth parameters internally to the container continuously or at preset time intervals, via the sensors of the control system, calculates, on the basis of a predetermined algorithm, the error (ε) with respect to its corresponding calibration points of the default profile, calculates the correction values for the parameters, and sends this information to those devices which control the individual growth parameters in order for them to be adjusted in real time. Said operating step is repeated according to a closed feedback cycle for every controlled parameter.

All data concerning the collected parameters and to the adjustment values calculated by the processor is locally recorded by the processor and sent to the server by using appropriate communication systems. If such communication to the server is not temporarily available, then said data is stored by the processor in any case and sent to the server as soon as a connection to said server comes available again. On the other hand, a visual feedback device (21) enables a user to display visual signals indicating some statuses, such as the equipment one (for instance, on/off, or connected/disconnected), the growth process status, the network connection status, and the status of execution of the user controls sent to the apparatus by one or several applications installed on mobile devices and/or on connected processors. Said statuses can be detected upon a user's request, or upon switching the apparatus on through the on/off push-button (20).

According to a further embodiment, the processor detects, either continuously or at predetermined time intervals, information on parameters related to the growth of the plant by means of the sensors, integrates it with the apparatus geolocalization information, and sends all of this information, by way of appropriate communication means, to a remote server which stores it. The so collected information remains available for correcting the default profile, even in a non- continuous manner and according to a non-closed cycle. According to a further embodiment, whenever a capsule is inserted into the appropriate housing and is recognized by a camera or a scanner, the plant recognition information is sent together with the local parameters detected by the control system directly to the server in which a default profile is stored. On the basis of said information and said parameters, the remote arithmetic unit calculates the error (ε) with respect to its corresponding calibration points of the default profile, calculates the correction values for the parameters, and sends, said information by way of appropriate communication means to those devices of the apparatus which control the individual growth parameters and modify them according to the received instructions .

According to a further embodiment, the default profile of the plant is pre-loaded in the apparatus' processor. Whenever the capsule with seeds is placed in the appropriate housing and the code/label containing the plant recognition information is read by means of a camera or a scanner, said information is immediately compared by the processor to that already available therein relevant to the growth profile of said plant and, if necessary, updated, so that the processor is capable of integrating the default profile with the geolocalization information and the remaining information on the parameters of the plant detected by the control system.

According to a variant of the previous embodiments, whenever the default profile is downloaded or identified by the processor, said processor communicates, even via the server that said apparatus is connected to, with other apparatuses nearby, if any, or directly, by way of suitable communication means, and exchanges information available in said other apparatuses relevant to the plant and to the monitored parameters, to the lighting radiation, to the type and level of nourishment, to humidity, to water level and temperature, to air temperature and flow. According to said variant, the processor, both in the local configuration and in the remote configuration, calculates the correction values for the parameters and sends to the devices the information for adjusting the microclimate on the basis of a comparison to the information received from said similar apparatuses nearby .

Claims

1. An apparatus for a controlled growth of plants comprising: (1) at least one container where to grow a plant, said container comprising in turn (2) at least one device for emitting a light radiation suitable for lighting all the plant or one or several parts of the plant; (3) at least one water supplying device; (4) at least one device for drawing water from a duct nearby; (5) at least one cartridge for releasing nourishing substances (macro and micro elements) and basic and acid solutions for correcting the pH of water; (6) at least one device suitable for taking images, for instance a camera or a scanner; (7) at least one control system consisting of a set of sensors; (8) one geolocalization device based on one or several of the following technologies: GPS, Wi-fi, 3G, 4G and the like; (9) a water flow control system; (10) a pump for recirculating water; (11) a device for air flow control and its respective temperature regulation; (12) a water nebulization device; (13) an air filter; (14) at least one RGB color detection sensor; (15) at least one processor suitable for reading the data coming from said sensors, for communicating with a server via suitable communication means and for transmitting instructions to said devices; (16) a connection for supplying electrical power to the apparatus (1); at least one server (17) properly connected to the network and to the apparatus via suitable communication means, said server containing a set of information about the various possible plants, usable for their growth; at least one arithmetic unit (18) somehow connected to said server (17); at least one capsule containing plant seeds, said capsule comprising a code containing information on the characteristics of the seeds (19); at least one on/off switch (20) to switch the apparatus on and off; at least one user feedback visual device (21); at least one electrical power accumulation device for instance a battery (22); said apparatus being characterized in that the control system (7) is capable of detecting, either continuously or at predetermined time intervals, the parameters of the container (1) in which the capsule (19) has been accommodated together with the plant, sending them to the processor (15) which is capable of connecting via appropriate communication systems to the server (17) in which growth models are available in the form of information packets, acquiring said growth models, calculating the deviation error ( ε ) between the information that makes- up the acquired growth model and the parameters measured by the control system (7) and sending to the devices and to the systems (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) the information for correcting the parameters that affect the growth of the plant.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the processor (15) is capable of storing the information whenever the connection to the server (17) is temporarily unavailable and of proceeding in transmitting and synchronizing the information to the server (17) when the connection becomes available again.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the server (17) via the arithmetic unit (18) is capable of calculating the deviation error ( ε ) between the information that makes-up the growth model available on said server (17) and the parameters measured by the control system and of sending to the devices and to the systems (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) the information for correcting the parameters that affect the growth of the plant.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that on the processor (15) at least one plant growth model is already available and said processor (15) is capable of calculating the deviation error ( ε ) between the information that makes-up the growth model and the parameters measured by the control system (7), without communicating with the server (17).

5. An apparatus according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the server (17) is a server whatsoever of the cloud type.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the processor (15) is capable of communicating, via appropriate communications systems and through the server, with other similar apparatuses nearby and of exchanging information on the growth of the plants in the other apparatuses.

7. An apparatus according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the control system (7) comprises at least (i) one luminosity sensor, (ii) one air temperature sensor, (iii) one infrared sensor, (iv) one pressure sensor, (v) one acidity sensor for pH control, (vi) one humidity sensor, (vii) one C02 detection sensor, (viii) one water temperature sensor; (ix) at least one sensor capable of measuring the nourishing elements; (x) at least one sensor for measuring the water level internally to the container.

8. An apparatus according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the apparatus can receive power from the electrical power accumulation device (22) should the electrical power source temporarily fail.

9. An apparatus according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the user feedback visual device (21) indicates at least the statuses of the apparatus, the growing progress statuses, the connection status to the network and the execution status of the user' s control sent to the apparatus by one or several applications hosted on mobile devices and/or on processors connected thereto.

10. A method for a controlled growth of plants comprising any of the apparatuses according to claims 1 thru 9, characterized in that in the moment when the capsule (19) is properly placed in the container (1), said device suitable for taking images (6) proceeds in reading the code stamped on or included in said capsule (19) and sends the plant-related information contained in the code to the processor (15) which identifies the plant, connects via appropriate communication systems to the server (17), acquires its corresponding plant growth profile, acquires the geolocalization information got by the device (8) and creates an updated profile of the plant.

11. A method according to the previous claim, characterized in that the control system (7) proceeds, either continuously or at predetermined time intervals, in measuring the parameters of the container (1) in which the capsule (19) has been placed together with the plant, proceeds in sending them to the processor (15) which calculates the deviation error (£) between the information that makes-up the acquired growth model and the parameters measured by said control system and sends, either continuously or according to predetermined time intervals, to the devices and to the systems (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) the information for correcting the environmental parameters that affect the growth of the plant.

12. A method according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that, on the basis of the information collected by the control system (7) and sent to the server (17), the arithmetic unit (18) properly connected to said server (17), calculates the deviation error (ε) between the information that makes-up the growth model available on the server (17) and the parameters measured by the control system and sends to the devices and to the systems (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) the information for correcting the environmental parameters that affect the growth of the plant.

13. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that at least one plant growth model in already available on the processor (15), which calculates the deviation error (ε) between the information that makes- up said growth model and the parameters measured by the control system and sends to the devices and to the systems (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) the information for correcting the environmental parameters that affect the growth of the plant.