Inspiration
Our team was concerned about the logistical side of a longer term interplanetary mission, such as a colony on the Moon or Mars. We thought of the limitations that food production would face off of Earth, and agreed that the footprint of a farm capable of feeding people for an extended period of time was one of the primary limiting factors.
What it does
A robotic arm is able to move up and down on a rail to access multiple levels of vertical farms. The rail itself is connected to a rail system that weaves in-between the tight corridors of the farm. Cameras on the robot allow the program side to compare the observed plant to a database. This will then correspond with sensors in the soil that monitor temperature and moisture levels to monitor the plant's health.
If soil water levels fall too low, waterlines within the soil will provide more water until an adequate level has been reached. Combined with a atmospheric water reclamation system, the module will be able to minimize any water that is evaporated and carefully control humidity levels so that it is ideal for plant growth.
When it comes time to harvest, the robotic arm will cut the desired piece and place it into a collection bucket underneath it, which is capable of moving to an area that is easily accessible for collection.
How we built it
Part of the robot and rail system were designed in both SolidWorks and OnShape, with the functionalities being coded with Python.
Challenges we ran into
The entire module is far too complex to both design, fabricate, and prototype within a 2 day timeframe, so we were not able to develop our idea into state where we could feature a physical showcase. Not having a physical prototype also caused challenges with code, as we could not test whether certain aspects like movement would be functional
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Creating and designing certain aspects of a large concept, with multiple members picking up completely new skills along the way
What we learned
Our team had limited experiences with both GUI, object-oriented programming, and CAD software. Since then, we have learned significantly more in these subjects and in how autonomous systems function
What's next for Autonomous Greens Growing Interplanetary Environment (AGGIE)
We would like to continue the development of the AGGIE robotic system by moving to the prototyping stage and testing our system in real life.
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