A group of students studying at Selcuk University Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Machinery and Technologies Engineering developed a system that limits human influence in soilless agriculture technology. Students who are the architects of the project; He named the robotic arm system with sensors and image processing, which allows farming without soil and human beings, as the “Next Generation Intelligent Agriculture System”.
This work of the students who participated in the Aviation, Space and Technology Festival TEKNOFEST 2021 as the “Young Makers Team” came third in the “Agricultural Technologies” category. The project’s similarity to the plant growing system in the movie ‘The Martian’, starring Matt Damon, which tells the story of an astronaut going on a mission to Mars, also drew attention.
Soilless, fast and low cost production
The founder of the Young Makers Team, Muhammet Celalettin, the member of the team Sedat Demircialan and their advisors Assoc. Dr. Ali Yavuz Şeflek rolled up his sleeves for cost-effective and fast production for soilless agriculture. Robotic technologies and automation were also included in the project, which was designed with the soilless farming method.
Thanks to artificial intelligence and image processing technology, the plant grows more efficiently under the best conditions in the system prototype, which allows to grow as high quality products as possible with limited resources. The system, which processes the data in the development of the plant and intervenes when necessary, also prepares the appropriate environment and values and increases the yield.
Noting that they are happy to represent Selçuk University in the best way at TEKNOFEST 2021, consultant Assoc. Dr. Ali Yavuz Şeflek, “The system consists of a mechanism that automatically adjusts the nutrients needed by the plant in the water and the ‘pH’ level of the water at the desired level. We met the light need of the plant with the LED system. The robot arm we placed on our system is also a system that works with image processing techniques. We designed it as a demo, but in the future, we think that this camera system will also be used in processes such as harvesting or detecting plant diseases.” He stated that the system they developed is a new generation hydroponic system.
A new generation agriculture system that aims to produce food under all conditions.
Emphasizing that their projects are different from other hydroponic farming systems, Team Captain Özer said in his statement, “We used image processing techniques to examine the health status of the plant besides the sensors. With image processing, we detect the root development of the plant and whether there is a pathological problem in the leaf. It can be put directly on the table. “We are growing a natural drug-free product. We have created a robotic arm unit to offer a clean product. This system will also be used in planting, planting and harvesting processes in the future.”
Emphasizing that they aim to create a new generation agriculture system and to produce food under all conditions, Özer said, “We set out on this road with the idea of growing crops in an earthquake-prone region, in a military area or in areas where the soil is not suitable, regardless of climate. As important as national defense is to us, our land is the same. We aim to make fresh production possible in the poles or deserts by adapting our product to a container in the future. For example, we can grow fresh lettuce in a desert. We both provide a solution for the user in fresh product and create a cheaper consumption plan compared to others. ” he did.
While the project was met with great interest at TEKNOFEST, Özer also stated that they need more teammates for the projects they want to implement in the future and that they expect interested people to join the team.
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