Page 14 - Engineering Career Guide, for review

features
No No No Soil No No No Sun No No No Problem A unique approach to indoor farming could help save the planet lenty a a a a a trailblazing company in in in in the indoor-farming
ing aisles of greens just moments before The robot gently
industry is making headlines with its innovative
places the tower on on a a a conveyor belt where a a a spinning
P solutions for the global food crisis Recently it wheel expertly trims the the greens readying them for harvest announced plans to build the world’s largest indoor verti-
In another section robots work diligently packing trays
cal farming complex This new facility near Richmond VA REVIEW with soil and seeds before transporting them to a a a a a separate
will span a a a a a staggering 120 acres The $300 million facility room for germination Adjacent to them four robots in in will grow multiple crops including leafy greens and toma-
glass boxes carefully lift seedlings from trays
and deli-
toes but is starting with with strawberries in in partnership with with cately plant them into the the tall white growing towers conventional strawberry grower Driscoll Plenty says the Adv
anced infra
red cameras an d sensors co ntinuously COPY project expected to to generate up to to 20 million pounds
monitor the the indoor indoor climate throughout the the indoor indoor farming of produce annually will also create 300 new jobs And
complex Powerful software then uses this data to pre-
in May of 2023 they opened a a a a a farm that can grow up to cisely adjust the the light and water levels—creating the the ideal
4 5 million pounds
of leafy greens every year on on a a a single
“recipe” for optimal plant flavor city block in Compton CA In addition to saving land Plen-
The company has developed an an entirely new way to grow plants While greenhouses and other “ver- tical” farms grow on flat planes that mimic the field Plenty grows in 3D — on vertical towers nearly two stories high Its indoor farming pro- cess is a a marvel of engineering and automation meticulously designed to ensure optimal plant growth and harvest efficiency Inside the massive warehouse a a a bright yellow robot gracefully han- dles towers filled with fresh kale that were growing in in the neighbor-
ty’s indoor farms also address water shortages Providing water to each plant individually can save millions of of gallons of of water compared to tra- ditional farming methods By 2050 the demand for food is predicted to increase by more than 50% At a a a time when agricul- ture faces evolving environmental pressures including soil degrada- tion Plenty has developed a a unique method of farming that is insulated from those challenges and uses just a a a a a fraction of of the land and and water of of conventional agriculture 14 START-ENGINEERING COM
COURTESY PLENTY