Environmental variability monitoring, data collection and modelling in CEA

Managing a consistent plant environment is critical to maximizing yield and quality of plant produced in a controlled environment agricultural (CEA) systems. The environmental conditions directly impact plant production which in turn impact plant product quality and marketability. The quality of the produced plant (leafy greens, or other plants) are influenced by both the environment and plant species/cultivar tested. Understanding and controlling the variability of the environmental conditions is critical for any plant production operation with the knowledge gained at one location able to be used to improve other production locations. The objective of this study is to design and build a small test growth chamber (< ½ m3) and evaluate and monitor the environmental conditions in the space using a suite of sensors and cameras to attempt to quantify the environmental parameters in this space. These environmental factors will be monitored and tracked, with and without plants, to understand sensor range and consistency. After construction of the testing system plants will be tested in the system to monitor plant growth and plant architecture to link the environmental data with plant production data and develop an environmental thermal and mass flow model to understand how this system operates...

Faculty Supervisor:

Mark Lefsrud

Student:

Partner:

Canadensys Aerospace

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

McGill University

Program: