Biofeedback-Based Closed-Loop Phytoactuation in Vertical Farming and Controlled-Environment Agriculture

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Biotechnology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Biohybrid systems integrate biological organisms with technology for environmental control.
• Phytoactuation, using biofeedback, advances hydroponics, vertical farming, and controlled agriculture.
• Current systems require enhanced methods for real-time monitoring and control of plant growth parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a phytosensor system for biofeedback-based phytoactuation.
• To demonstrate the system's capability in optimizing plant growth conditions and environmental monitoring.
• To explore applications in vertical farming, environmental monitoring, and AI research.

Main Methods:

• Utilized (electro)physiological sensors for plant monitoring.
• Employed in vivo impedance spectroscopy for analyzing plant stem fluid composition.
• Integrated a multi-channel power module for controlling environmental parameters (light, irrigation, fertilization).
• Compared electrochemical fluid transport estimation with heat-based sap flow methods.

Main Results:

• Reduced microgreen production cycle from 7 to 4-5 days and wheatgrass from 10 to 7-8 days.
• Achieved a 30% increase in pea biomass through biofeedback-based irrigation.
• Demonstrated 25-30% energy optimization in vertical farming applications.
• Successfully performed biological monitoring of ozone pollution using tomato and tobacco plants.

Conclusions:

• Biofeedback-based phytoactuation offers significant improvements in agricultural efficiency and resource management.
• The developed phytosensor system is effective for real-time monitoring, control, and environmental applications.
• This technology holds potential for advancing AI research in biological adaptation mechanisms.