Purpose: This research will study how hyperspectral sensoring can assess the moisture content of lettuce by monitoring its growth in indoor vertical farming. Research questions: “What accuracy can be achieved when using hyperspectral sensoring for assessing the moisture content of lettuce leaves grown in vertical farming?” “How can vertical farming contribute to sustainability in conjunction with integration of NIR spectroscopy?” Methodology: This study is an experimental study with a deductive approach in which experiments have been performed using the hyperspectral technologies singlespot sensor and the hyperspectral camera Specim FX17 to collect spectral data. To analyze the data from the experiments two regression models were used and trained to make it possible to predict future moisture content values in lettuce. In order to get a better understanding and analyze the results from the experiments, a literature review was also conducted on how hyperspectral imaging has been applied to assess the quality of food products. Conclusion: The achieved accuracies were 58.24 % and 65.54 % for the PLS regression model and the Neural Network model respectively. Employing hyperspectral sensoring as a non-destructive technique to assess the quality of food products grown and harvested in vertical farming systems, contributes to sustainability from several aspects such as reducing food waste, minimizing costs and detecting different quality attributes that affect the food products. / Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur hyperspektral avbildning kan användas för att bedöma fuktigheten i sallad genom att kontrollera hur den växer i vertikal odling inomhus. Frågeställningar: “Vilken noggrannhet kan uppnås vid användning av hyperspektral avbildning för att bedöma fukthalt hos salladsblad som odlas i vertikal odling?” “Hur kan vertikal odling bidra till hållbarhet i kombination med integration av NIR spectroscopy?”  Metod: Denna studie är en experimentell studie med en kvantitativ metod inom vilken en deduktiv ansats har tillämpats genom användning av de hyperspektrala teknologierna single-spot sensor och hyperspektralkameran Specim FX17 för insamling av spektral data. För att analysera datan från experimenten skapades och tränades två olika regressionsmodeller till att möjliggöra förutsägning av framtida värden av fukthalt i sallad. För att få en bättre förståelse för och kunna göra en bättre analys av resultaten från experimenten, utfördes även en litteraturöversikt på vad tidigare forskning om tillämpningen av hyperspektral avbildning för kvalitetssäkring av matprodukter har visat. Slutsats: Noggrannheten för PLS-regressionsmodellen var 58,24 % och 65,54 % för Neural Network-modellen. Minskat matsvinn och kostnader samt upptäcka olika kvalitetsattribut som påverkar livsmedelsprodukterna är de hållbara resultaten vid bedömning av kvalitet via hyperspektral sensing.

The present thesis explores the possibilities of reducing electrical energy consumption in a greenhouse environment through the construction a demonstrator system. The demonstrator system is imagined to be used in a vertical farming setup and is fully automated. The system achieves two main actions. It maintains the artificial light source at a fixed distance above the canopy of the grown crops, and it measures the change in natural light exposure and regulates the artificial light to maintain light conditions while utilizing sunlight. These prove to be good methods for reducing the amount of electrical energy consumed by such a system. / Examensarbetet utforskar möjligheterna att minska elförbrukningen i en växthusmiljö genom att bygga ett demonstrationssystem. Demonstrationssystemet är tänkt att användas i en vertikal jordbruksuppsättning och är helautomatiserat. Systemet uppnår två huvudsakliga moment. Det håller den artificiella ljuskällan på ett fast avstånd ovanför de odlade grödorna, och det mäter förändringen i naturlig ljusexponering och reglerar det artificiella ljuset för att bibehålla ljusförhållandena samtidigt som solljuset utnyttjas. Dessa visar sig vara bra metoder för att minska mängden elektrisk energi som förbrukas av ett sådant system.

With an increasing urbanization and decreasing food security, the policy places greater demands on the future use of agricultural land and food supply. At the same time as awareness of food consumption increases among individuals, new technologies for farming also develop. The following degree project aims at carrying out a pilot study for further concept development for small-scale urban farming in winter cities. Based on a literature study and inspiration from reference objects, opportunities for continued conceptual development are analysed. These technical aspects together with a study of how public spaces, can or cannot, be used according to the case study’s municipality policy for usage of public space. And these aspects then lay the foundation for an initial concept and design proposal aimed at pointing out the possibilities of the concept. This initial concept is also the basis for a rough estimate of productivity with such urban cultivation tools. The conceptual urban farming tool devised here, is intended to not be taking more attention than necessary and portable. This is to make as little physical and visual impact in the city as possible, and to be adaptable to different places. However, there has been a lack of space for urban farming in the case study's municipal policy, for usage of public spaces. This has meant that the design proposal could not be anchored in accordance with the guidelines the municipality wishes for the use of public spaces. There are documented guidelines for similar use, and the design proposal has been assumed to fit in the policy of using the public space. The tool that has been developed consists of two containers, one of which is intended to work as a working area for harvesting and the other for cultivating. The hydroponic installation chosen in this work has been developed by Bright Agrotech. These installations are called Zipfarm and Zipwall, and are vertical cultivations which by drip irrigation bring nutrients to the plants. These towers that hold the plants during the cultivation period are mounted either in a portable rack or against a wall-based rack. This vertical cultivation method was chosen in this work because of the mobility. With the help of a tool to estimate production that Bright Agrotech provided and technical specifications for the grow lights used in the concept, a rough estimate of the operating cost of 13kr per kilo, to produce leafy green crops, has been calculated. This figure is based solely on the estimated amount of harvest and an estimate of the electricity consumption of the grow lights. The conclusion in this work, is that it is possible to integrate urban agriculture in winter cities with the aid of containers and hydroponic installations. What can be an incentive to not do this today is that electricity consumption can be too expensive, and that it is cheaper to cultivate in other places and transport the food in to the city.

The world is facing a food shortage as the world’s population increases and arable land decreases. Despite this, the food industry is wasteful, and 30% - 40% of all produced food is lost before reaching the end consumer. Emerging technologies aim to increase the amount of food that can be grown per m2 or allow the growing of food in climates or on lands previously impossible. Four main farming techniques utilising these emerging technologies are Controlled Environment Agriculture, Hydroponic Farming, Urban Farming and Vertical farming. When used together, these techniques form the basis for what can be called a Plant Factory. Despite the positive effects these technologies have on the production rate, few Plant Factories have managed to achieve profitability. By creating support for developing the post-harvesting system for a plant factory, this thesis aims to aid in the development of profitable plant factories. The thesis uses Design Research Methodology to achieve this aim in three parts. The first part identifies the underlying factors of the post-harvesting system affecting plant factory profitability. The second presents a set of support components that will aid the developers to improve key factors affecting profitability. The third part is a case study where the support components applicability at targeting the key factors are evaluated, and suggestions for further improvements and testing of the support is suggested.  Further, using Design Research Methodology, the methods used to develop support in this thesis are presented to easily be replicated by other researchers to aid them in developing support for other industries and circumstances. The suitability of the developed support was tested using the principles of an initial DS-II. The developed support proved very useful for the investigated case, and with its conditions, the application evaluation was considered a partial success. Two key factors were successfully improved and indicated that the intended support is ready for a comprehensive DS-II. A third support component needs more work to provide the intended support fully. Therefore a second  PS iteration is recommended before a comprehensive DS-II is done to increase its value.

The industry sector accounts for a vast amount of the world’s total energy use, as much as 37% during 2018. Using energy in a sustainable way is necessary from both an environmental and an economical perspective, and it is therefore relevant to take measurements that result in a more efficient use of energy. One way for industries to become more energy efficient is to recover the waste heat, which is energy that otherwise would go to waste. This report aims to find a method to recover and reuse the low temperature waste heat available at the life science company Cytiva’s production site in Uppsala, Sweden. The proposed solution will be to use the waste heat for heating a vertical greenhouse. The study will examine whether this is feasible, and also how installing photovoltaics affects the energy use. Furthermore, the environmental impact of operating the greenhouse with waste heat is also investigated by calculating the CO2 equivalent. The low temperature waste heat that Cytiva provides relevant for this study is 6683 kW, which will be used to heat up the greenhouse. Simulations in the software IDA ICE will be used to construct and simulate a model of the vertical greenhouse. Results from the simulations show that the chosen size, 25 x 50 x 35.5 meters, gives a good approximation according to the wanted temperature range, 18.3-32.2°C. Furthermore, the results imply that the total energy use, 790 652 kWh, and average power, 90.26 kW is less than the available waste heat and there is a large amount that still is unused. The CO2 equivalent is calculated to be 29 317 kg. A sensitivity analysis is made to evaluate the window-to-wall ratio as well as the size of the entire greenhouse. It showed that both parameters are critical and makes a big difference in the simulations.

With a growing risk of food insecurity in the face of extreme population growth, the world is in need of hands-on solutions that could combine a significant increase in food production while decreasing the effects of agriculture on the environment. Such a solution could be provided through cultivating staple crops in Indoor Vertical Farming facilities, however, due to its high expenses, these developments have stagnated, lacking financial support. As this financial support could be provided by Impact Investors, this thesis explores the relevance of non-financial factors and how they relate to the financial returns as well as how much it influences an Impact Investors decision to invest. The primary data was collected through a quantitative survey, including a fictional scenario based upon the cultivation of wheat in an Indoor Vertical Farming. The results were analyzed and interpreted through the lens of the Willingness to Pay concept and the Rational Choice Theory.The results showed that in the case of this study, the respondents were most willing to pay for the factors water, yield, and emissions. However, regardless of the positive impact of these factors, they lacked the influence to get them to commit to the presented scenario as they still prioritized financial returns as the base of decision. Lastly, another prominent driver behind the investors likelihood to invest was found to be age, where younger investors were much more likely to invest than the older respondents. / Med en ökande risk för livsmedelsosäkerhet parallellt med extrem befolkningstillväxt behöver världen praktiska lösningar som kan kombinera en betydande ökning av livsmedelsproduktionen utan ökad belastning på miljön från intensifierat jordbruk. En sådan lösning kan tillhandahållas genom odling av stapelgrödor i vertikala jordbruksanläggningar inomhus, men på grund av dess höga kostnader blir denna utveckling stagnerad på grund av saknat ekonomiskt stöd. I och med att en möjlig väg att säkra ekonomiska stöd kan tillhandahållas av Impact Investors undersöker denna avhandling relevansen av icke-finansiella faktorer och hur de relaterar till den finansiella avkastningen samt hur mycket det påverkar ett Impact Investors beslut att investera. De primära uppgifterna samlades in genom en kvantitativ enkätundersökning, baserat på ett fiktivt scenario om odling av vete i ett vertikalt jordbruk inomhus. Resultaten analyserades och tolkades genom perspektiven 'Willingness to Pay' och 'Rational Choice Theory'. Resultaten visade att respondenterna i den här studien var mest villiga att betala för faktorerna vatten, avkastning och utsläpp. Oavsett de positiva effekterna av dessa faktorer saknade de dock tillräckligt inflytande för att få investerarna att helt engagera sig i det presenterade scenariot eftersom de fortfarande prioriterade ekonomisk avkastning som främsta beslutsunderlag. Slutligen visade sig att en annan framstående drivkraft bakom investerarnas sannolikhet att investera var ålder, där yngre investerare var mycket mer benägna att investera än de äldre respondenterna.

Conducting cultivation on areas that were once well-functioning ecosystems is destroying the planet. Reduced area to cultivate, an increasing population and the consequences of transport and import put high pressure on improving the way food production works. For a few years vertical farming has been a popular solution to this problem. Hydroponic is a soilfree cultivation method that is usually managed indoors in a controlled environment. To stop the devastation of nature and ecosystems, create sustainable agriculture and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, knowledge and an interest in wanting to change old habits are required. By implementing vertical farming in school environments, they could actively work towards a relief of traditional agriculture and introduce new forms of cultivation for future generations. The work seeks to clarify what an implementation of a hydroponic system in a school could have looked like and what use the school could have of the cultivation. This work suggests an idea that vertical farming would be easier to establish in combination with other activities. A combination where the cultivation does not only produce vegetables but also can be used in several ways. In the work schools are proposed to be the activities that vertical farming should be combined with and the aspects of using cultivation as a pedagogical tool is used as an argument for this. In order to overcome the current climate crisis it is necessary that education on this takes place, therefore lessons regarding ecosystems, ecosystem services, agriculture and water management are considered extremely important. These important topics can be applied in all subjects in school and hydroponics would be a good tool to use in teaching about this

The world is facing many challenges to be able to ensure food security, such as anincreased food demand coming from an expanding world population andurbanisation, worsened agricultural opportunities from increased land deteriorationand significant environmental impacts coming from the food sector. Thus, there is aneed for new agricultural solutions to meet our needs whilst decreasing impactssimultaneously. A part of these solutions could be found in urban farming andhydroponic vertical farming systems (VFS). VFS uses artificial intelligence toregulate heat, lighting and irrigation to cultivate crops indoors. By placing thesesystems inside a grocery store, new opportunities for these crops are presented,such as water-and-nutrient recirculation, reductions in transports, usage ofpesticides and agricultural land, as well as opportunities for industrial symbiosis inheating and converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. Thus, the aim of this report is toassess the environmental hotspots and areas of improvement of an hydroponic VFSplaced in the grocery store using life cycle assessment (LCA). The study isconducted in partnership with Swegreen, which are the creators behind the studiedVFS model called SAGA, designed to be operated in medium sized grocery storesin Sweden. Results from the study show that energy consumption is a hotspot in most impactcategories, followed by impacts from infrastructure, fertilisers, packaging andconsumer waste management. However, for the climate change impact category,the sensitivity analysis indicates that the impact from the energy consumption ishighly dependent on what type of electricity mix that is being used, since thedifference in impact on climate change between the Swedish electricity mix, andNordic electricity mix ranged from 0.340 to 0.385 kg CO2 eq (carbon dioxideequivalents) per kg produced edible lettuce. Moreover, synergising effects fromintegrating the system into a grocery store, such as cleaning the air from carbondioxide and reusing residual heat from the system, showed the opportunities forgrocery stores to reduce impacts in climate change by up to 43% of the total climatechange impacts from the VFS. However, using these synergising effects effectivelywould require additional investments to build up the necessary infrastructure toachieve these avoided impacts. / Världen står inför många utmaningar för att kunna säkerhetsställalivsmedelsförsörjningen, såsom en ökad efterfrågan på livsmedel till följd av enväxande världsbefolkning och urbanisering, försämrade odlingsmöjligheter till följdav utarmad odlingsmark och växande miljöpåverkan från livsmedelssektorn. Detfinns därför ett behov av nya lösningar för att tillgodose våra behov och samtidigtminska påverkan inom jordbrukssektorn. En del av dessa lösningar kan hittas istadsodling och hydroponiska vertikala odlingssystem (VFS). VFS använderartificiell intelligens för att reglera värme, belysning och bevattning för att odla grödorinomhus. Genom att placera dessa system i en livsmedelsbutik skapas nyamöjligheter för dessa grödor, såsom recirkulation av vatten och näringsämnen,minskade transporter, användning av bekämpningsmedel och jordbruksmark, samtmöjligheter till industriell symbios vid uppvärmning och omvandling av koldioxid tillsyre. Syftet med denna rapport är att bedöma miljömässiga hotspots ochförbättringsområden för en hydroponisk VFS som placeras i livsmedelsbutiker medhjälp av livscykelanalys (LCA). Studien genomförs i samarbete med Swegreen, somär producenten av den studerade VFS-modellen kallad SAGA som är designad föratt drivas i medelstora livsmedelsbutiker i Sverige. Resultaten från studien visar att energiförbrukningen är en hotspot i de flestapåverkanskategorier, följt av påverkan från infrastruktur, gödningsmedel,förpackningar och konsumentens avfallshantering. För klimatpåverkan visarkänslighetsanalysen att påverkan från energiförbrukningen är starkt beroende avvilken typ av el som används, eftersom total klimatpåverkan för den Svenska elmixenoch den Nordiska elmixen var 0.340 respektive 0.385 kg CO2 -ekv(koldioxidekvivalenter) per kg producerad ätbar sallad. När systemet integreras i enlivsmedelsbutik bidrar det till synergieffekter från koldioxidavskiljning ochåteranvändning av spillvärme från systemet. Detta öppnar upp för möjligheter förmataffären att minska klimatpåverkan för upp till 43% av systemets totalaklimatpåverkan. Däremot skulle det krävas ytterligare investeringar för att bygga uppnödvändig infrastruktur för att uppnå dessa synergieffekter.

L’agriculture verticale permet de contrôler presque totalement les conditions pour croître des plantes, qu’il s’agisse des conditions météorologiques, des nutriments nécessaires à la croissance des plantes ou même de la lutte contre les parasites. Il est donc possible de trouver et de définir des paramètres susceptibles d’augmenter le rendement et la qualité des récoltes et de minimiser la consommation d’énergie dans la mesure du possible. À cette fin, ce mémoire présente des algorithmes d’optimisation tels qu’une version améliorée du recuit simulé qui peut être utilisée pour trouver et donner des lignes directrices pour les paramètres de l’agriculture verticale. Nous présentons égalementune contribution sur la façon dont les algorithmes de contrôle, p. ex. l’apprentissage par renforcement profond avec les méthodes critiques d’acteurs, peuvent être améliorés grâce à une exploration plus efficace en prenant en compte de l’incertitude épistémique lors de la sélection des actions. cette contribution peut profiter aux systèmes de contrôle conçus pour l’agriculture verticale. Nous montrons que notre travail est capable de surpasser certains algorithmes utilisés pour l’optimisation et le contrôle continu. / Vertical farming provides a way to have almost total control over agriculture, whether it be controlling weather conditions, nutrients necessary for plant growth, or even pest control. As such, it is possible to find and set parameters that can increase crop yield, and quality, and minimize energy consumption where possible. To that end, this thesis presents optimization algorithms such as an enhanced version of Simulated Annealing that can be used to find and give guidelines for those parameters. We also present work on how real-time control algorithms such as Actor-Critic methods can be made to perform better through more efficient exploration by taking into account epistemic uncertainty during action selection which can also benefit control systems made for vertical farming. We show that our work is able to outperform some algorithms used for optimization and continuous control.

[pt] À medida que a população cresce, mais alimentos precisarão ser produzidos nas próximas quatro décadas do que nos últimos 10.000 anos. No entanto, o mundo moderno ainda depende da produção de monoculturas de alto rendimento, cada vez mais ameaçada por condições climáticas incomuns, escassez de água e terra insuficiente. A fim de superar esses problemas e alimentar o mundo, é necessário um caminho prático para fornecer alimentos frescos, com qualidade e em escala, com mínima dependência do clima e com uso de água e pegada de carbono reduzidos. Uma abordagem razoável é construir fazendas verticais dentro das cidades em um ambiente fechado repleto de sensores e iluminação artificial controlada por software para uma produção e gestão eficiente do plantio de alimentos. Esta tese propõe a instanciação de um modelo, chamado Ciclo do Software dos Lugares (SoPC), que é capaz de responder a estímulos ambientais em um sistema fechado de produção de plantas com iluminação artificial que possibilite a criação de ambientes com auto-aprendizagem. Esta tese descreve o SoPC, as abordagens e processos de implementação de uma mini fábrica de plantas com iluminação artificial com base na discussão em cinco ciclos de pesquisa-ação. / [en] As the population grows, more food will need to be produced in the next four decades than has been in the past 10,000 years. However, the modern world still depends on high yield monoculture production which is increasingly threatened by unusual weather, water shortages, and insufficient land. In order to overcome these problems and feed the world, a practical path to provide quality fresh healthy food at scale with minimal weather dependency, water usage and reduced carbon footprint is necessary. One reasonable approach is to build vertical farms inside the cities in a close environment full of sensors and artificial lighting controlled by software for efficient production of food crops. This thesis proposes a model, entitled Software of Places Cycle (SoPC), that should be able to answer to environmental stimuli in a closed plant production system using artificial lighting in order to create a self-learning environment. This thesis describes the SoPC, the approaches and processes of implementing a mini Plant Factory using Artificial Lighting based on the discussion on five action-research cycles. The thesis main contribution is a conceptual model to guide the development and maintenance of a mini-PFAL (m-PFAL), a minor contribution is the deployment of the SoP, i.e., the very notion of having software dedicated to a specific place.