Food Computer: why will it change the world?

Have you ever imagined having your home garden fully automated? That is already possible. And no, it’s not expensive, you can build your own food computer using MIT open software. Understand here how it works.

Smart farming is increasingly advanced. High-precision controls, data collection, automated farming techniques, a true food computer. I believe so much in the modernization of agriculture that I made a post listing the most promising ideas in the area (the post is this, just click here) and it is clear that from then on, more innovations have arisen. Luckily some of them are within everyone’s reach, that’s right, for free.

MIT researchers are working on this. Through the Open Agriculture Initiative (OpenAG), they created the “food computer,” a digitized system that provides a controlled environment for agriculture using robotic controls.

Small Food computer

It is designed to optimize agricultural production within a controlled chamber. It monitors and adjust exposure to light, humidity, temperature, C02 level, water cycles and more, following a predefined recipe. The difference is that the “revenues” for different types of plant and the software that monitors data are freely available (we talk first about the Open Source concept in the HACCP article here). Users themselves can collaborate to improve the process.

The software working

For those interested, you can even set up your own small farm (table size) and use the software data. There is also the average size for small producers (container size). And, finally, the data center, still under development, for industrial production, which will involve different cultures simultaneously, ideal for vertical farms (also we speak of vertical farms here).

Big Food Computer – data center

What about the tools?

You can also make yours! Just join Farm Hack, a global farming community that builds and modifies its own tools. They share everything online and in meet ups because they believe they become better farmers when they work together. The bet is that we will all be farmers in the future. Nice proposal, isn’t it?