SBIR Phase II: Full-Scale Demonstration of Autonomous Robotic Greenhouse for Sustainable Local Food Production

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The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project promotes small and mid-sized farming in the United States through environmentally friendly means. Through cost-effective labor automation, a fully automated, turn-key greenhouse production system can be made more accessible. This project will provide farmers with a tool that can guarantee a baseline annual production of leafy greens and herbs, independent of weather variables and labor accessibility. By removing weather limitations and labor requirements, small and mid-sized farms can be made more profitable and scalable. This project will have a positive impact on the advancement of local and regional food systems. By advancing a market that has been historically ignored from a technological standpoint, an attractive alternative to large-scale industrial agriculture and foreign fresh food imports will be created. Making small and mid-sized farms more economically viable will create a more robust and sustainable food system. This SBIR Phase II effort will design, build, and demonstrate a full-scale, automated greenhouse farm prototype. This prototype will remain completely autonomous for weeks at a time requiring no humans to enter the farm while all processes from seed to storage of harvested crops are performed robotically. No greenhouse technology, at any price point, has been able to demonstrate an ability to achieve this degree of automation. This technology will advance the implementation of robotics in food production by addressing the capital costs, labor, and energy barriers that controlled environment agriculture systems currently face. Key challenges include the production of approximately 340 plants per day without any human intervention, a low-cost design for setup and ongoing operations, and the ability to adjust product outputs in real-time to meet market demands. Human interaction with the growing process will be limited through a high degree of system automation, including computer vision for plant inspections and self-cleaning processes. Novel plant growth and handling processes will allow for virtually any type of leafy green or herb to be grown. A variety of sensors will be used to monitor conditions and adjust the system, allowing fresh produce in areas without suitable agricultural opportunities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.