Clemson University helps lead high-tech transformation in growing crops indoors

Tractors and plows have long been key to growing crops, but a leading researcher argues that the next generation will need to add to that list solar panels and autonomous robots that work together.

Technology is revolutionizing food production as the world's population increases and more people gravitate to cities far from the open expanse of farmers' fields. At the forefront of the transformation is Javad Velni, a professor of mechanical engineering at Clemson University.

Velni is pioneering new techniques in a quickly growing area of agribusiness and research known as controlled-environment agriculture. Crops are grown in greenhouses and other structures with the help of sophisticated engineering and horticulture techniques as an alternative to large-scale outdoor farming.

Controlled-environment agriculture has the advantage of moving food production closer to urban population centers, increasing efficiency, reducing supply-chain snags and protecting against the potential impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather.

But the approach has its drawbacks, particularly the cost of electricity for artificial lighting and climate control. Velni and his team aim to reduce those expenses by integrating renewable energy sources, advanced sensing and computing systems, and innovative networked sensing and control systems.

The idea is to decrease energy use and optimize crop growth by continuously adjusting the greenhouse's environmental conditions, such as lighting, temperature and carbon dioxide levels. Velni and his team see the project as a step toward fully autonomous greenhouses that produce as much energy as they consume.

"We need more efficient agricultural practices to feed growing urban populations around the world," Velni said. "Controlled-environment agriculture has delivered an increase in production efficiency, but current greenhouse facilities consume a substantial amount of energy just to power the electric lighting and heating and cooling systems. With our work, we are aiming to cut the cost of electricity."

It's a challenge growing in urgency. The world's population is expected to increase 26% by 2050, with 68% of the population forecast to live in urban areas, Velni and his team found.

They are taking on the challenge with an interdisciplinary approach, combining expertise in automation and control systems, computing and data science and agricultural science.

As part of a new federally-funded project, researchers plan to test their ideas in a greenhouse where they will grow lettuce and tomatoes.

The plan calls for researchers to custom-build a team of autonomous robots to collect detailed data on the crops. The robots will be equipped with cameras and a specially designed arm to capture images from various angles and then return to a charging station when battery power is low.

The thermal and RGB images will help researchers create a model to help predict crop growth and yield.

Also as part of the project, researchers plan to develop a model that would help greenhouses of the future control environmental conditions to optimize photosynthesis for crop growth. At the same time, those greenhouses would use weather forecasts and crop needs to predict energy consumption and maximize efficiency.

Velni brings to the project a background in advanced controls. He creates models of systems using a fusion of data-driven approaches and first-principles tools. He has applied his past work to a wide range of applications, including ground, underwater and aerial autonomous vehicles. In 2018, he began working on supplemental lighting control for greenhouses.

"The cost of electricity used for the supplemental lights alone varies between 10% and 30% of the total cost of running a greenhouse," he said. "Funding for this new research will help us tackle that challenge and others. We have assembled a talented team and are well-positioned to make advances in controlled-environment agriculture."

Velni's latest project is funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. He is collaborating on the project with researchers from Texas A&M, the University of Virginia and the University of Memphis.