Information technology controlled greenhouse: A system architecture

The technological level of greenhouse cultivation, especially in the Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Turkey, Greece and Spain, is low, despite protected crops are of considerable importance both for extension and for the production of fresh foodstuffs and for exported ornamental plants. The project "HouseGarden High Tech" intends to increase the technologies of greenhouse cultures by the creation of an integrated network of sensors and automation technologies, controlled by an ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) approach, for the agronomic development of horticultural crops. In the High Tech greenhouse, innovative technologies will be tested, in order to stimulate the growth and development of plants with optimized use of chemical products. In particular, High Tech greenhouse is designed to manage, in a controlled and efficient way, different types of crops with different cultivation needs. The High Tech greenhouse is a versatile and multifunctional environment, equipped with sensors and monitoring systems that allow the acquisition of data and information processed by a specially designed "computer brain", to perform effective active controls (e.g. in retro-action), thus optimizing crop management and providing a useful decision support tool. In this High-Tech greenhouse, an innovative technology is used, the Non-Thermal Plasma technology (NTP), to generate ionized gas streams, to treat plants and irrigation water with sanitizing and stimulating properties of growth and vegetative development. The ICT based control and management of data automates the cultivation of crops and nursery products in a short and controlled time, using specific mathematical yield models that are developed throughout the project.