Development of an Automated and Adaptable Novel Irrigation System for Greenhouse Expansion to Efficiently meet the Water and Nutrient Needs of Various Tree and Plant Species

一家成立于2010年的加拿大公司，Native Trees and Plants（NTP）是安大略西南部地区生产本土植物销售的先驱。目前，NTP已经建立了第三个温室，将其目前的产量增加两倍，超过5000平方英尺的温室空间沿着与1000平方英尺的室外种植空间。尽管如此，由于新温室的大小，使用现有的方法不可能有效地为所有植物浇水。此外，标准的温室灌溉系统是不够的，因为NTP有许多不同的物种，对水和养分的需求各不相同，目前市场上没有一种产品能满足这些需求。因此，NTP决定开发和改造温室灌溉系统，以满足这些要求。然而，NTP还需要仪表，控制和自动化方面的专业知识，以正确控制开发的系统，以及适当的编程，硬件和软件，以及培训，以完成适应性强的高架灌溉系统。 与兰顿学院和NTP的合作项目将专注于开发一种高架温室灌溉系统，该系统是自动化的，可适应各种不同的植物类型，大小和布局。该项目的成功有可能在商业规模上部署该解决方案，以在加拿大各地销售单位，并使本地树木和植物的NTP产量增加一倍。根据具体的客户需求和市场增长，年销售额可能在15-30台之间，大约相当于每年225，000 - 450，000美元的年收入。新的灌溉系统将通过减少用水量、增加增长和降低疾病发生率（由于更好的水管理和节省基础设施成本）使使用高架灌溉的客户受益。预计在短期内还将增加2-3个全职职位，并在未来2-4年内增加3个全职职位。

A Canadian company founded in 2010, Native Trees and Plants (NTP) is a pioneer in producing native plants for sale in the southwestern Ontario region. Presently, NTP has built a 3rd greenhouse that will triple their current output to over 5000 ft2 of greenhouse space along with 1000 ft2 of outdoor growing space. Although, due to the size of the new greenhouse it is not possible to efficiently water all the plants that it will contain using their current methods. In addition, a standard greenhouse irrigation system is not sufficient as NTP has many different species with varied water and nutrient needs, and currently there is not a product on the market that will meet these needs. Therefore, NTP has decided to develop and adapt a greenhouse irrigation system to meet these requirements. However, NTP also requires expertise in the instrumentation, control, and automation to properly control the developed system, as well as proper programming, hardware and software, and training to complete the adaptable overhead irrigation system. The collaborative project with Lambton College and NTP will focus on developing an overhead greenhouse irrigation system that is automated and adaptable to a variety of different plant types, sizes, and layouts. The success of the project has the potential to deploy the solution on a commercial scale to sell units across Canada, as well as double NTP output of native trees and plants. Depending on specific customer needs and market growth, annual sales could range from 15-30 units per year, roughly equating to $225,000-$450,000 per year in annual revenues. The new irrigation system will positively benefit customers that use overhead irrigation through reduced water usage, increased growth, and decreased incidence of disease due to better water management and savings on infrastructure costs. It is also estimated to generate 2-3 additional full-time positions in the short-term and an estimated additional 3 full-time positions in the next 2-4 years.