Aurora Smart Light System
At a glance
- Project leader : Prof. Dr. Ranka Junge
- Deputy of project leader : Remo Oberholzer
- Project team : Florentina Gartmann, Christoph Koller, Philipp Osterwalder
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : Foundation (Gebert Rüf Stiftung First Ventures)
- Contact person : Ranka Junge
Description
AURORA is the working title for a highly efficient smart plant
cultivation lamp system. The self-engineered electronics and state
of the art software allow for fully adaptive and reproduceable
light spectrum ranging from deep UVC to far infrared. The
individually configurable app allows precise customization of the
light spectrum over a daily cycle or simulation of different
climate and vegetation zones. Therefore, the exact light
requirement of each plant species according to the life cycle stage
can be met.
The lamp on its own is smart. It will connect itself with a central
broker and the right web application for further configuration by
the costumer. This connection will provide real-time information
about the lamp status and offer the possibility of immediate
adjustments.
A few pre-installed light profiles optimized for individual plant
species will be available in the app. Own profiles can be created
and shared in the community.
This high adaptability makes the Aurora Lamp suitable for both,
research and application. AURORA can be deployed wherever an exact
designed light profile is required: the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries, as well as vertical farms.
The proof of concept of Aurora with the functional V0.4 prototype
was achieved in July 2020 within the framework of the ESA_Lab@CH
IGLUNA, an international student competition initiated by the Swiss
Space Center (SSC) and supported by the European Space Agency
(ESA). Currently, the first minimum viable product version is about
to be installed into a plant research climate chamber at ZHAW in
Wädenswil.
The control web application with an initial configuration app will
be implemented by the 1st of August 2021. For this purpose, a
cloud-based control system, which allows remote configuration of
the lamp system(s) and simple over-the-air updates, will be
developed.
By the 31st of December 2021, the prototype for the minimum viable
product (MVP) will be finalized. Hardware and software will be
improved based on the consumer feedback.
The foundation of the company is planned as a spin-off of the
ZHAW.