HYDROPONIC VERTICAL FARM

I assisted the development of a vertical farming system as a concept for SourceAmerica. This concept came about because agriculture is an industry where people with disabilities are underrepresented because working in the standard field or farm environment is not a possibility for a variety of reasons. This vertical farm was intended to be a way to diversify the income of a manufacturer by allowing them to employ people with and without disabilities to grow various plants (the vertical farm in the picture is growing lettuce) in addition to the products they already make. People with disabilities could be able to use this system because it rotates the plants to them, instead of them needing to navigate a field full of plants and other obstacles. The vertical farm is a self contained unit that could be installed alongside other products already being manufactured. I assisted mainly in the control of the farm by implementing an Arduino microcontroller, relays, motor controllers, and pumps to control the cycle timing, watering duration, and light exposure.