I'm pretty happy in my current job, but this looks extremely tempting (as a EE that does more with power grid optimization). Although the optimization I do is more in dealing with LP & MIP models vs the control theory stuff I did in college.
I've recently started getting into gardening and have long thought that greenhouses and hydroponics with lots of sensors would be the way forward for the world's growing population. Is the scaling really as easy as I've heard claimed? It would seem that water use reduction and controlling pests (no need for pesticides) would be a big boon. Also, having these farms closer to population centers should help with supply chain logistics and maybe even allow y'all to pick the produce at a later time rather than before when it's ready.
Not sure if you're willing to answer here, but what does the tech stack look like from both the controls engineering (Ex: Matlab or Labview?) and data science side (Ex: Python, R, Matlab...etc)? Is the business model to make turn key greenhouses? How do you deal with the fact that every farm would be different? I imagine it is a bit like substation design firms that have a base design that just needs to be tweaked for the exact needs of the client.
Best of luck on your mission. Again, this looks interesting and beneficial for the planet.
Also EE getting deep into gardening, plants, soil web, etc. Haven't tried hydroponics but doing site prep for a greenhouse (Growing Spaces kit) where I will have an aquaponic setup.
I would recommend learning about soil and fungi. You will be less interested in electronics and computers afterwards...
You should try some hydroponics yourself! I think it will quickly fill in some of your questions and give you a concrete understanding of the challenges.
Short answer: Soil and sun do a lot, replacing them requires many inputs and sensors
It's on my to-do list. I could see the need for light and moisture sensors, as well as nutrient bath flow sensors. Not sure what all else besides temperature and humidity.
I've recently started getting into gardening and have long thought that greenhouses and hydroponics with lots of sensors would be the way forward for the world's growing population. Is the scaling really as easy as I've heard claimed? It would seem that water use reduction and controlling pests (no need for pesticides) would be a big boon. Also, having these farms closer to population centers should help with supply chain logistics and maybe even allow y'all to pick the produce at a later time rather than before when it's ready.
Not sure if you're willing to answer here, but what does the tech stack look like from both the controls engineering (Ex: Matlab or Labview?) and data science side (Ex: Python, R, Matlab...etc)? Is the business model to make turn key greenhouses? How do you deal with the fact that every farm would be different? I imagine it is a bit like substation design firms that have a base design that just needs to be tweaked for the exact needs of the client.
Best of luck on your mission. Again, this looks interesting and beneficial for the planet.