Challenge Indoor and vertical farming offer sustainable solutions for future food production, but current systems often lack the integration and automation needed to optimise resource use and maximise yield. Managing variables like water, energy, light, and climate conditions remains complex and resource-intensive without advanced control systems.
Solution This four-year innovation project, led by WBS Project H in collaboration with AI experts at UNSW and protected cropping specialists at WSU, aims to develop a novel wireless IoT system for indoor agriculture. The system integrates sensor networks to monitor and control key environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and LED light spectrum, in real time. By automating and fine-tuning these variables, the project seeks to reduce water and energy consumption while boosting plant productivity.
Impact The IoT system will enable data-driven, precision-controlled indoor farming, significantly improving sustainability and efficiency in vertical farms and greenhouses. This breakthrough has the potential to transform protected cropping practices, offering scalable solutions for high-yield, low-resource agriculture in both urban and remote settings.
