Indoor farming with robots

Small farmers strive to maximize crop yields, reduce labor and waste, and use environmentally friendly and energy-saving cultivation techniques. This is why the TrellaGro LST™ was developed. With the use of robotics, it attempts to create an automated cultivation system that gently trains plants to grow horizontally rather than vertically. In addition to this point, farmers can also track environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and CO2 levels. With the help of igus products, we were able to implement our TrellaGro LST™. Advantages in favor were the low cost, quiet operation, low weight, self-lubrication, corrosion resistance, dirt resistance, durability and easy installation. The following products were used: igus drylin® W pillow block bearings as bearing points for the carriages and the Igus drylin® W profile double rails.

The patented technology for the plant training is based on two "carriages" that move independently of each other in the same linear axis. The first is an apex carriage that senses the vertical growth of the plant and then gently steers it in one direction during the vegetative growth phase until the plant is no longer growing vertically, but horizontally. The second cart is located below the Apex cart and houses a pair of fans and other environmental sensors. This cart moves back and forth several times during a growth cycle, allowing the built-in fans to direct air through the foliage above. To stack two independent "rails" on top of each other for linear movement in close proximity, two Igus drylin® W-profile double rails (WSQ-10-40) were used per unit. These rails mount easily to an extruded aluminum frame and keep three (of four) frame mounting slots clear for mounting other components, while providing two linear rails for the apex carriage and fan carriage.

Gantry Planner