SBIR-STTR Award

Controlled-environment agriculture is a crucial tool to combat the increasing pressures of climate change and population growth on food systems but requires relatively expensive sensor automation systems to maximize crop yield. Current indoor agriculture sensor systems use wired power and require expert labor to set up. Many rely on limited energy replaceable batteries and problematic infrared communication with no internet (cloud) communication for better plant growth optimization. Project Objectives/Description In this Phase I program NanoFlex will develop the first completely wireless Internet of Things (IoT) sensor system that uses LED light harvesting driven by NanoFlex's organic photovoltaic(OPV) with twice the energy harvesting potential of other solar technologies in indoor light. NanoFlex will optimize an OPV cell to the LED light most commonly used in indoor farms and optimize the power management of the electronics to run on minimal power. Superior energy harvesting under LED light will enable completely wireless installations to operate for many years without battery replacements broader bandwidth and unlimited frequency of data communication to the cloud. We will develop and demonstrate working sensor and automation systems in five U.S.-based vertical farms and greenhouses with two commercial partners. Anticipated Result/Benefits A successful program will produce a wireless sensor automation system that can be easily retrofitted into existing vertical farms and greenhouses or new installs. This will lead to a commercially available wireless IoT sensor system that works in all lighting conditions enabling crop optimization yield improvement and reduction of resources used to grow plants.