SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL CENTER science idea

The Smart Plant Factory for research in the field of agrobiotechnology has started working at the Advanced Engineering School of the FEFU – a joint development of the FEFU Institute and the industrial partner Innopharm-DV LLC.

One of the key elements of the "Smart Plant Factory" is the use of technology for groundless cultivation of crops on multi-tiered shelving structures. This allows you to use a minimum of area to get the maximum amount of harvest. Due to the nutrient solution circulating between the tiers of the racks, plants receive all the necessary micro-/macronutrients for healthy growth. With the Smart Plant Factory, you can get up to 16 harvests per year, ensuring stable and continuous production.

The Smart Plant Factory includes several advanced engineering and software solutions. Firstly, thanks to the isothermal housing, it provides the opportunity to grow agricultural products anywhere, including extreme climatic zones such as the Far North.

Secondly, the Smart Plant Factory is equipped with an industrial automation system that provides automatic control of equipment and increases the reliability of the system. The factory operator can only set the required parameters in the software, which also provides information about the nutrient solution and the internal microclimate.

Thirdly, an artificial intelligence-based phenotyping system integrated into the factory analyzes the condition of plants using computer vision algorithms. In this way, the factory operator receives the most complete information about the progress of the cultivation process.

"The Smart Plant factory can be located in any corner of Russia and even in the Far North, for growing fresh herbs. A significant plus is the high level of production automation. This ensures a stable high-quality harvest. Artificial intelligence analyzes plant pathologies and indicates the cause, for example, yellowing due to a lack of nutrients. Based on this, AI suggests that the operator adjust the cultivation parameters," Ilya Baranchugov, project manager in the field of innovative crop production at the FEFU Advanced Engineering School, tells about the development.

The Smart Factory is not just a new stage in the development of agriculture, it is a revolutionary step towards a more sustainable, efficient and innovative production of agricultural products.

Smart Plant Factory was developed as part of the scientific project of scientists and students of the FEFU Faculty of Economics "Creation of an automated software and hardware complex for research, development and optimization of plant cultivation processes" together with the industrial partner Innopharm-DV LLC. Soon, the "Smart Plant Factory" will be used in FEFU educational and scientific processes. In addition, FEFU engineers plan to develop several more configurations of installations for delivery to the regions of Russia.

Source of information and photo: FEFU press service Information taken from the portal "Scientific Russia" (https://scientificrussia.ru /)