09. agriculture zero

A vegetable and herb farm module, consisting of a tower, a container and some cameras.

The tower is layered on the inside with root baskets where the vegetables are planted, then grow out from various holes around the perimeter of the tower. The tower may rotate to optimize the time the different plants spend in the sun. From the container, water is pumped into several basins that are located below each layer of root baskets. Inside the basins, the water is vaporized and rises to gently moisturize the roots.

The container consists of a compartment for compost at the top and one for water at the bottom. Organic waste is slowly composted until it turns into highly concentrated compost tea which drips into the water tank below. The compost that is being produced on the side can be used in traditional agriculture or sold as a commodity. The water infused with nutrients from the compound is pumped up into the tower to water the plants.

The cameras are mounted around the perimeter of the container, using computer vision technology to analyze the current health and state of the plants. If the cameras for example spot a yellow and brown, dried up portion around the outer edge of a leaf, the system will notice that there might be a potassium deficiency in the provided nutrients and ask the user to provide banana peels as a potassium source. The cameras can also recognize how much light the different sides of the tower are getting and turn it in such a way that the plants receive sunlight in an evenly distributed way.