Robotics in agriculture: smart indoor farming

The agriculture industry is facing global challenges and disrupting trends. One of those is vertical farming. Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) from Scotland developed a solution called Smart Indoor Farming. They reimagined agriculture:

• Imagine a world in which farmers can take total control of the weather to create the perfect climate for growth anywhere, anytime.

• Picture what would happen if farmers could create microclimates perfectly designed to grow a multitude of different crops, sitting just centimetres from one another.

This technology is engineered in Scotland and delivered to local growers across the globe. Current models of vertical farms struggle to grow a wide enough range of high-quality crops profitably and at scale. Stacking growing space requires power-hungry automation and mechanics. Power costs are driven up the challenges of achieving uniform lighting and ventilation with the required levels of control. The vertical farmin industry has generated lots of attention and investment, but profitability remains elusive.

IGS facilities must be highly precise, yet operate with low-friction and easy to maintain. The drylin® gantry system from igus® meets all requirements and keeps maintenance and hardware costs low. In an inspection after one year of operation, no noticeable wear of the bearing shell was found.

IGS Towers are a powerful, smart system built for any environment, anywhere in the world. These are the benefits you can gain over traditional methods:

• Manages light, temperature, relative humidity, water, nutrients and CO₂ levels

• Fully automated Growth Tray systems support all these variables

• 100% robotic handling if required

• IoT-enabled remote monitoring and control of all systems

• Controls enabled at farm/tower/tray/LED strip level 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

• Dynamic lighting utilised on each Growth Tray

• Humidity harvested from air

• CO2/ O2 continuously balanced

• Data capture direct to SaaS platform

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