CAFF-I2GROW: INTELLIGENT AND INTEGRATED GREENHOUSE GAS REMOVAL WITH INDOOR AND CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE

The long-term goal of this I2GROW project is to use technologies to reduce energy consumption, maximize crop production indoors, and remove CO2 generated by human activities. We envision that our testbed will enable distributed, indoor crop production systems that will be deployed in school buildings, libraries, and offices to reduce GHG emissions from production, reduce the reliance on long-distance transportation of food, and provide a fresh food supply and employment opportunities to local people in urban centers as well as in schools located in rural areas.To achieve these goals, the I2GROW project plan to accomplish the following objectives.Objective 1 Smart growth: Develop robotic and sensor systems to determine optimal growth conditions and GHG reduction for indoor plant production.Objective 2 Smart building: Develop a map of optimal resource utilization in a building, hybrid natural and supplemental light control, and intelligent CO2 recycling.Objective 3 Smart health: Develop and test approaches to maximize food safety and reduce the risk of plant disease outbreaks inside buildings with heavy human activities.Objective 4 Analysis of economic feasibility and social benefits: this aim also includes data analytics, machine learning plant growth modeling, and pathogen detection.Objective 5 Outreach and extension: workforce training, industry involvement, K-12 education.