Smart Hydroponic Greenhouse: Internet of Things and Soilless Farming

Abstract

Population growth and rapid climate change are leading to a reduction in arable lands and this requires an immediate solution. Hydroponic cultivation is one of the best approaches developed in recent years since this method requires water as a means of nutrition rather than soil. Thanks to its characteristics, hydroponics can solve many problems not only with regard to food supply but also health diseases such as allergy to heavy metals. However, this type of cultivation requires a lot of effort to ensure a perfect environmental condition and a balanced nutritional solution. For this reason, IoT technology is usually applied to automate all these processes. In this work we present a prototype of a hydroponic greenhouse integrated with IoT technology and a Dashboard for viewing data in real time. The sensors applied can monitor the temperature and humidity of the greenhouse, the water level in the basin and the amount of light. In the prototype there is also the possibility to turn on or off some electronic components. The aim of this work is to build a basic system for an automatic hydroponic greenhouse that can be customized or amplified according to your needs.