Monitoring Plant Growth in Plant Factories: A Smart IoT Solution

This paper emphasizes the critical importance of effective plant growth monitoring to optimize environmental conditions and ensure high crop yields in plant factories. The study aims to introduce an IoT-based plant growth monitoring system integrated with the capabilities of the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. To achieve this, IoT devices are strategically deployed in a hydroponic system for real-time data collection on crucial environmental factors and nutrient solutions. Moreover, a separate set of IoT devices has been employed to regulate the nutrient pump and illumination for enhanced control. In this comprehensive research, multiple variables, encompassing temperature, humidity, light intensity, pH, electric conductivity, total dissolved solids, and nutrient temperature are systematically gathered and stored in Microsoft Azure SQL database. Additionally, the inclusion of a camera to capture regular plant images further enriches the dataset. The primary focus of this research centers around the design and implementation of an innovative IoT-based system tailored specifically for data collection in hydroponic farms. By presenting an expansive overview of the design and potential impact of IoT-based systems in this field, the paper proves to be an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners keen on exploring IoT monitoring and control applications in smart farming systems. As part of future work, the accumulated data will be leveraged for advanced analysis utilizing machine learning techniques, with the ultimate goal of unveiling concealed patterns governing plant growth. This endeavor promises to open up new possibilities for further advancements in controlled environment agriculture and sustainable food production.