Greenhouses and Technology: Two Peas in a Pod

Domestic and industrial agriculture both employ the use of greenhouses. Greenhouses are yet another aspect of agriculture that is becoming connected. This year, Postscapes is releasing its solution for a smarter greenhouse, involving a large variety of different sensors and automations for what were previously manual actions.

The sensors that are used in connecting a greenhouse collect data on the humidity, temperature, leaf moisture, light levers, and carbon dioxide levels in the greenhouse, too. The technology can also use these readings to determine whether or not specific actions need to take place within the environment of the greenhouse, like a light source being turned on or a window opened. Like most of the solutions available in the agricultural space, the information gathered is then transmitted to an application for the user to view, allowing them to make informed decisions if required and allowing them to see what is happening inside their growing environment.

Smart greenhouses were designed to minimize the upkeep of the gardening process and reduce the manual interaction and water usage of the growing processes. They also push for less waste on produce that is grown and ensure fresh and healthy growth. They are flexible and can offer different levels of automation that can be catered to each individual’s needs.

Several startup companies have clocked onto the market opportunity that the ability to make greenhouses more efficient by making them smarter presents. Postscapes, myfood, and Greenie are all examples of those who are getting involved with the initiative. It appears that many of these startup companies have only made

Orange collaborated with French start up myfood to help support the making of the best decisions for myfood’s solutions technologically. Orange and Myfood’s connected greenhouse hosts several sensors that are connected either by LoRa or the 2G network infrastructures, depending on what is best available. Through their Pioneer Citizen program, myfood installed twenty greenhouses and used the data accumulated to make constant improvements. Currently, myfood has thirty greenhouses connected over several countries, one of which is set up on the Orange Gardens site. Not only has myfood actually deployed its solution, it also has three different variations so that users are not limited to the standard greenhouse.

Greenie’s solution doesn’t offer as many insights into information available inside the greenhouse or offer automation of the actions that take place, but it does offer data collection on soil moisture and pH and the temperature of the greenhouse. Greenie doesn’t actually have any stand in the market to date, however, as it is waiting for enough interest to start creating the prototypes of the solution.

With the pressures of increasing levels of production, it is useful to be involved in a market that releases those pressures from the agricultural industry by allowing for the efficient home growing of food. Some states in North America already have hundreds of acres covered in greenhouses that are being used to help increase the amount of food that is being produced. This is a prime example of the size of the market available for vendors to grow into.

The greenhouse market, though niche, offers a lot of room for growth with the overall increased adoption of technology in the agricultural market as a whole. Having larger companies sponsor and support these startup companies in such a niche market really helps them grow and find their feet. From the perspective of joining this market, though it is early days, the myfood team was able to deploy twenty units of their solution in one year, which then increased by 50% the year that followed. Though this market is immature, it is just one example that indicates how the agricultural space is moving forward with digitalization and automation with the use of IoT.

Greenhouses are used globally, which means this solution opens a global market for vendors with a large scope for growth, specifically in regions such as the United Kingdom, North America, and Oceania, where the use of greenhouses is relatively higher. Orange and myfood’s collaboration is the perfect example of how two vendors can work together to supply customers with well-connected solutions. Orange’s knowledge in the connectivity area is a key contribution to myfood’s success with their solution, proving that connectivity companies can successfully collaborate with smaller startup vendors to create an important piece of technology that will revolutionize how both domestic and industrial greenhouse farming is practiced overall.