Open-Source Sensory Packages for Aquaponics and Hydroponics

Our solution is to implement inexpensive sensory components in existing aquaponic and hydroponic systems owned by educational facilities. Students will quantify and share system data through open source software that connects different schools. Students will develop expertise in hydroponic and aquaponic farming along with data analysis and information technology skills.

Our solution provides inexpensive sensory components and an open source software package to existing aquaponics and hydroponics systems in educational facilities. The sensory systems are comprised of Arduino and Raspberry Pi motherboards fitted with various sensors customized for the system. The sensors used in each package will be provided from a sensor company and white-labeled under our business. Students will experiment with the sensors, quantify data, and share their results through our open source software that will connect different schools. These interactions will help disadvantaged youth develop fundamental skills in data analysis, information technology, and coding. They will have the expertise in the aquaponic and hydroponic industry.

Our solution addresses the needs of schools to develop 21st century workforce skills for disadvantaged youth by enhancing the educational experience with aquaponics and hydroponics. Students use our sensors to acquire data about the system which includes water temperature, humidity, water flow, and nutrient quantity. Additionally, the components are adjustable, and students can experiment and program the components to improve function or perform other measurements. Students will perform system maintenance, analyze data, and code. Then, students can access and share system data and sensory component modifications on our open source software. They can utilize data from other schools to further enhance their system design and efficiency. This exchange helps students understand information technology and participate in an “Internet of Things” community.

A scaled version of our package will extend our solution to schools across the country and beyond, which create an international community for sharing aquaponics and hydroponics data for experimentation and development. Additionally, greater numbers of students using aquaponics and hydroponics will be able to implement our technology. Greater exchange of data promotes accelerated development of technical skills and expertise in aquaponics and hydroponics.

Our solution addresses the need for developing 21st century skills, particularly regarding technology, in youth working with aquaponics and hydroponics. Future workforce will involve more technology and will demand critical thinking, coding, information technology, and data analysis skills among others. Therefore, students need an online platform and equipment in addition to their aquaponics and hydroponics system. They need to understand functions of aquaponic and hydroponic technology, manipulate data from their systems and others, and solve problems in practical environments.

Between 2015 and 2020, the United State Department of Agriculture Employment projects 57,900 annual job openings in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, or the environment. These fields present opportunities in management and business, science and engineering, biomaterials productions, and education and governmental services. Our solution will help students develop computer science skills for employment and success in these high demand fields. According to research from Integrated Agricultural Systems, the interaction with the technology in our solution will enable users to understand the Internet of Things and information technology and “employ data analytics and visualization tools to draw conclusions.”

Our solution will improve ease of use, maintenance, and educational value of aquaponic and hydroponic systems within educational facilities. Monitoring the system and measuring data will become easier with our sensory components. The largest beneficiaries are students. They will extract data and collaborate with other users through an open source software. They may use other data from the platform to improve their own systems. Ultimately, students will develop expertise, program, learn information technology skills, and perform data analysis.

Track number of people using the open source software and number of purchases - The sensory package increases usability and accessibility of aquaponics and hydroponics resulting in its spread

Issue pre-assessments and post-assessments and compare results - Students gain agricultural expertise and information technology skills

Record changes made to the product during development and compare its price to similar products on the market - Through our pilot we will locate areas of our product that can be improved and make those changes

Our solution is unique because it's made for students by students. Students will learn in an open environment that encourages real-world problem-solving. They will apply skills in data analysis to quantify data from sensory components and will program sensors in aquaponic and hydroponic systems to enhance function. Beyond the traditional classroom, students will interact online to share data with other students. They may retrieve online data and tinker with their own systems to achieve improved results or efficiency. Our solution will be an option that appeals to schools with aquaponic or hydroponic systems by offering system enhancements at reasonable prices.

Our technology is centered on preparing students for future careers. They are encouraged to retrieve and analyze sensory data, program the sensors for enhanced function, and implement the sensors according to their design. Students participate in an open source community where they can share and incorporate user data. Additionally, students make connections between the data and their systems, which develops students expertise in urban agriculture.  As a result, students will have the necessary skills and experience for a career in future agriculture. If their interests are elsewhere, their technological skills are applicable to almost all future workforce.

We will sell our sensors online. Instructions for integrating the package onto their system will be included online. Our sensor package will be affordable for most education facilities because we will offer various ones for different needs. For example, a package aimed towards a middle school will contain basic sensors that prioritize durability over accuracy while a package aimed towards a university will contain more, specialized sensors to gather the most accurate data. By providing a range of packages, we can ensure that schools will be able to tailor their expenses to their needs.

Once we get our educational business off the ground, we plan to use those profits to start an actual aquaponic business. Our new business will be able to hire from the new workforce created by our educational system as well as utilize the open source data provided by those schools. By creating a partnership between the education and commercial aspects of aquaponic and hydroponic agriculture, we are able to offer a more in depth experience to our consumers.

We are selling the sensory package itself and not the aquaponics/hydroponics system, so our market is restricted to educational facilities that already have these systems in place. We hope that by marketing this sensory package, we will be able to increase the usability and accessibility of aquaponics and hydroponics, providing an impetus for the spread of the technology.

Our sensory package also requires electricity and internet access to be utilized to its fullest. This means that third-world countries that don’t have access to these utilities will not be able to make use of our sensory package.

After looking at MIT's OpenAg Initiative, we realized that aquaponic and hydroponic systems have great potential. We then started working on our own open source system specific to education in regards to aquaponics. Past experiences with aquaponics and open source software benefitted us and other students. As a result, we want to utilize with Solve's network of like-minded professionals and resources to offer opportunities with sensory technology and open source software to youth

• Teachers in the Harrisburg School District
• Intag (technical guidance)

Libelium