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Rise Garden, one of the companies featured at CES 2023, has revolutionized farming with its award-winning IoT-based hydroponics system, which provides an innovative solution for home gardening. By offering modular indoor hydroponics, Rise Garden has made it incredibly easy and convenient for anyone to cultivate their own food. This method proves particularly beneficial for individuals with busy schedules, limited growing seasons, or restricted access to land in urban areas — transforming a challenging task into a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
The expandable, Wi-Fi-connected platform’s modular design allows for the growth of a wide range of greens and vegetables. Founded in 2019, the company receives funds from investors like True Ventures and the Alexa Fund to assist people in producing their food all year and work with schools to integrate nutrition teaching into the curriculum.
Benefits of using a hydroponics system over traditional farming
Hydroponics systems offer a range of benefits over traditional farming methods. First, hydroponics is remarkably water-efficient, utilizing up to 80% less water compared to soil-based agriculture. By recirculating and reusing water, it minimizes waste and supports eco-friendly practices. Second, hydroponics allows for space efficiency, making it suitable for small spaces like indoor environments or rooftops. Vertical farming and optimized plant density maximize yields per square foot. Another advantage is precise nutrient control; hydroponics systems deliver nutrients directly to plant roots, resulting in optimal growth and faster uptake. This method also reduces the need for chemical pesticides, as hydroponics is less prone to pests and diseases. Additionally, hydroponics enables year-round cultivation — independent of seasonal variations — ensuring a consistent supply of fresh produce. With accelerated growth rates and higher yields, hydroponics proves to be a productive alternative.
Figure 1: Benefits of hydroponics farming
Chicago-based Rise Garden has created a system that uses IoT-based devices to simplify and enhance this idea of indoor gardening. The system consists of reusable, modular planters that may be customized, connected to a central hub, and installed quickly. The system can be assembled in 45 minutes using a home garden kit, and the hub has sensors that keep track of several environmental variables to provide real-time data to the Rise Garden app, which is accessible from anywhere.
The nine-gallon system, which grows plants using nutrients and water instead of soil and natural sunlight, only consumes water and fertilizers. This strategy requires less space and is efficient, as it requires water to be refilled only once a week and Rise Garden will automatically supply the plants with the proper amount of water.
The organization developed a flexible and self-sustaining system using vertical farming to produce food entirely on a vertical plane. Users can grow green leafy vegetables on one shelf and root vegetables on the other. For instance, a Rise Garden could grow a head of lettuce in 22–25 days. To further customize the growing environment, the system is also compatible with a variety of accessories, including trellises, grow lights, and plant markers. It is a modular design that is an expandable garden which can add up to three levels and increase the number of plants by up to 36 on each level — and is attractive to look at.
Technologies used in the new Rise Garden
The software uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning algorithms to accurately gauge the requirements to grow the plant effectively, since hydroponically growing plants require precise control over various environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, light levels, and fertilizer concentrations. It is Wi-Fi-enabled and can be operated via an app. The Rise Garden is self-watering and self-fertilizing thanks to a sophisticated hydroponic technology, and the app will inform you precisely when to add nutrients and water, let you control lights, monitor your growth process, and even let you know when it is time to harvest. Further, it generates alerts and messages when it is time to fertilize or water the plants. Additionally, the system includes voice control with Alexa integration.
Figure 2: Features of the new Rise Garden (Image Credit: Rise Garden)
Rise Garden delivers an application that monitors how frequently users need to water their plants. It also supplies users with a meter to monitor the pH of the water and a subscription service that sends subscribers fresh fertilizers and “seed pods” each month. To grow the product of their choice, users can insert Rise Garden-supplied plant pods into each row of the system.
The system uses up to 95% less water than traditional farming methods, and the plants grow up to 30% faster. It uses full-spectrum, energy-efficient 30W LED lights that mirror the sun’s natural light to optimize plant development and can be customized for each plant’s specific needs. To ensure tremendous success in growth, Rise Garden is a nursery system with three-part fertilizers and pH management solutions. Additionally, compared to other systems on the market, it provides the widest selection of seed pods.
Furthermore, the approach eliminates the need for pesticides and herbicides, making it a more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional farming techniques. Its ability to increase in size is a further benefit; users can start with a single planter and grow their gardens as they acquire experience according to the modular design.
Prospects of hydroponics farming
There is a less-significant rivalry for such revolutionary inventions; currently, most solutions in market stick to growing a few herbs. For instance, Avalow, a startup organization based in California, has created a self-watering, elevated planter bed with sub-irrigation to assist customers in growing herbs in the convenience of their homes. However, Rise Garden technology is designed to produce a large volume of food with various plants, including green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, fruits, and flowers. This system will not replace groceries completely, but Rise Garden is a healthier alternative, and after the system has been placed for a month, the number of overall groceries will be fewer.
In conclusion, AI-based technology is transforming agriculture by enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of hydroponics cultivation. These tools can assist farmers in producing higher yields with less waste and effort by monitoring and controlling the environment in which plants grow. As the planet’s population rises, AI hydroponics technology will play a more prominent role in feeding the Earth. To sum up, the Rise Garden IoT-based hydroponics system is revolutionary for the indoor-gardening industry. It presents a more effective, scalable, and sustainable alternative to conventional farming techniques with intelligent sensors, machine-learning algorithms, and configurable planters. The Rise Garden system makes growing fresh vegetables at home simple — regardless of whether you’re an experienced gardener or a newbie.
The post Rise Garden’s Award-Winning IoT-Based Hydroponics System Helps Grow 108 Veggies at a Time appeared first on IoT Times.
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