Smart Growlighting

It is well accepted that plants have different lighting needs and physically develop differently based on spectrum, photoperiod, and intensity, but modern growlights used in indoor agriculture provide only a generic light quality for a diverse range of plants. Creating a growlight that accommodates plants' ideal qualities of lighting would significantly increase the time it takes to mature while creating higher-quality produce, and the use of only the light the plant truly needs would help agriculture become much more efficient. Use of this solution would change indoor agriculture for the better, helping farmers raise higher-quality produce at faster rates, ultimately creating a positive step in agricultural innovation as an solution to feed the growing world.

As the nutritional needs of the world continue to grow, the world's need for space to grow food also grows. Traditional farming is likely not the solution for feeding the future, as it requires significant amounts of space while submitting crops to the possibility of natural disaster or disease. I strongly believe that innovative forms of indoor agriculture will be the most reliable source of food in the future, but even the indoor agricultural systems are not as efficient or effective as they should be. Specifically, in lighting; greenhouses and vertical farms only utilize general light fixtures. And while there are countless variants of growlight, none of them fully encompass every wavelength a plant needs, meaning that growlights have to be mixed by the intuition of the farmer in order to access a full range of light. There are also a lack of standards for plant lighting, due to a limited amount of research done on the specific lighting needs of specific plants. It is already widely accepted that the perfect mixture of light could minimize the time to harvest and optimize the plant's physical features, but those conditions are currently unknown.

A growlight that accommodates the unique needs of a specific species of plant. This utilizes extensive research on the ideal lighting spectrum, intensity, and photoperiod needed to grow the ideal form of a crop in a smaller amount of time, research that has never been conducted this detailed before. The growlight itself has two potential designs. It could be a master growlight with preset settings, using a microcontroller to adjust the spectrum, number of lights on, and timing of an array of addressable LED lights, the other solution being a growlight custom-made for the preset settings of one specific plant. Each solution will also attempt to use a source of green energy for operation to minimize environmental impact. The concept used for each, that of using detailed research on the ideal lighting conditions to grow a plant as efficiently as possible, is the same for each. This solution would result in crops taking less time to harvest, crops growing into better-quality produce, and the whole system saving energy by only using the essentials for lighting.

This solution would significantly help farmers and anyone with business in agriculture, as an increase in knowledge of lights’ correlation to plants would significantly help growers produce higher-quality crops at maximum efficiency. In order to take their perspective into this project, I have sent a survey to many local farms in order to verify that this topic is an issue that needs to be solved, and through every step of design, I plan on validating the design with people actually working in agriculture, and having the product reviewed by many. It's really important for this solution to be an effective solution for agriculture. This product also directly affects anyone who eats. As the population of the world continues to grow, and the landscape continues to change, there already is a greater demand for innovative agricultural solutions like vertical farming. Changing growlight technology allows for more nutritious produce growing at faster rates than ever before, helping meet the world’s increasing dietary needs.

This solution prioritizes the efficiency of indoor agriculture and quality of grown crops. As indoor agriculture is likely the future of for sustainable growing, innovation to improve the system benefits both the farmer, both small-scale and industrial, and the consumer. As a whole, this system helps agriculture become more low-impact while speeding up the time to harvest and making produce higher-quality; increasing yields and nutrition value while saving energy previously used for redundant lighting. Supporting this solution is supporting the future of efficient agriculture.

There have been countless growlights manufactured to optimize plant growth, many by creating alterable intensity and period settings, and many by recommending different wavelengths for categories of plants. Detailed research on competitors and existing patents is included in the documentation linked above. However, there are two major flaws in these designs: for one, most solutions with settings require manual input, meaning that the farmers themselves has to guess on the ideal conditions for specific plants, even though there are no specific standards for growth, and for another, solutions hint at different plants having different lighting needs, but never provide settings deeper than for categories of plants. The Smart Growlight is extremely innovative in this field by providing extremely detailed settings not just for categories of plants, but for specific plants themselves, taking into account the grow time and ideal form for that specific species. This significantly improves the growing quality of crops across the industry while remaining accessible to gardeners from entry-level to experienced. The specificity of this product to the unique needs of different species of plants improves growth at an unparalleled level while providing a better tool for use of all gardeners.

This solution relies on the use of a microcontroller and addressable LEDs of different wavelengths. Researched findings drive the settings for the LEDs, ultimately determining which wavelengths to activate, how strong they should be, and how long they stay on for. (Simulations for sunrise and sunset are also likely included as part of timing.) Depending on research, the included spectrum can include UV(A,B,C), red, blue, far-red, green, and infrared LED lights. A microcontroller is then used to manage the panel of lights and their specific settings.

Since a product like this does not yet exist, there is no demonstration available. However, there is proof that changing the spectrum of plants strongly affects the physical outcome, and can shorten the time to maturity. The miniseries "Plants and Light" by Farmer Tyler on YouTube effectively demonstrates this. 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLzitf7fR92F87whFA3Rs_nqTblvjxp3a

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This idea is still completely conceptual, so right now, the solution serves no people. Because of the quantity of research required to start development on a solution, it is unlikely that it will serve people in the next year, but in five years, it will likely be serving thousands of domestic farmers if not more, and international.

Within the next year, I hope to gain the support of an agricultural organization and begin work on this project, taking the first step in helping this dream become reality. The biggest part of success in year one is gaining traction either through this contest or another means. In five years, a significant amount of research should be done, and a prototype completed. The product could be released for consumers as an alpha edition, with new research on different plants later creating new settings uploadable to the system. I'm not sure for most of the specifics for achieving this dream, as I'm focused on just beginning for now, but that's the rough goal.

I'm about to be a freshman in college, so I will have a difficult time constantly managing this idea's development because I will be focusing on academics as well as real-world market application. Because of this, if I am unable to recruit help, it might be difficult to make progress efficiently. Plus, as a student, I'm having a hard time getting the attention of possible partner organizations or even just getting feedback from farmers.

This problem can easily be solved by developing a team of the right people, or a partnership of the right quality. I can't constantly manage the project as a student, but I am more than willing to work with other people to make this product reality, even if it means passing on control. The right connections can actually solve everything I'm confused about in the operations and business part of this project as well.

None yet

As the developer of this concept is a 2020 high school graduate just entering the market, partnership with an already-established agriculture facility is preferable for the design of this solution. This would help the Smart Growlight move from just an idea to a goal with resources like space and labor already available. Possible organizations to approach so far include the Morton Arboretum, Argonne National Laboratory, and local greenhouses or agriculture companies. The full business model depends on what the partnered business or facility agrees to, but the next step for this project is to collect more detailed information, approach potential companies and deliver this pitch, and work for the financial resources to support this project.

I've had this idea for over a year, and believe that its development could positively influence agricultural practices around the world, helping to create a reliable means of food production. But as I'm just in my transition to college, it's hard for me to truly get leverage in this field, as much as I want to bring this solution to reality. Even getting started with this and sending out agricultural surveys and requesting review from companies, my age is seen as a flaw, which makes most ignore my requests. I'm also not entirely sure where to go from here, as I have no experience with large-scale projects like this. As a whole, I'm having a hard time getting started on my own. I believe applying to Solve could be my opportunity to get started, providing base funding to support the project and show organizations that I'm serious about pursuing this concept, and providing resources on where to go and how to get started. But besides a little funding, a partnership with Solve would really be the most valuable gain to this project. I really need guidance and support to make this solution reality. Solve will be the first step in developing a product that will positively change the world. 

The biggest thing I'd like to get out of a partnership with Solve would be guidance. I've never managed a project this large before, and I have minimal business experience at all. I really need help on starting out, and most of the business aspects following that. The biggest part of support for business and production would probably be talent recruitment, as hiring the right people for this project could help some of the other areas I'm unsure about (see above checkboxes) fall into place. I also need some base funding to start out and get the attention of businesses I'd like to partner with to support the project in its early stages and prove that I'm serious about his project.

Any help is appreciated really. I was thinking about pairing with the Morton Arboretum, Argonne National Labs, or a local agricultural facility for the execution of this project, but I'm open to anything really. I know I need support, but I'm not positive who to get it from.