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Revolutionizing Agriculture: Intravision Group Leading the Way in Vertical Farming Technology for Water Conservation

Water scarcity is a pressing global concern, urging us to explore innovative solutions for sustainable food production. Among the pioneers in this field is Intravision Group, a leading photobiology research and technology company that has revolutionized vertical farming. By harnessing cutting-edge technology, Intravision Group is not only addressing water conservation challenges but also pushing the boundaries of efficient and sustainable agriculture.

Intravision Group's expertise lies in developing advanced hydroponic systems that optimize water utilization within vertical farms. Their state-of-the-art technologies precisely deliver the required amount of nutrient-rich water directly to the roots of plants, significantly reducing water consumption compared to traditional agricultural practices. Moreover, Intravision Group has perfected recirculating systems, where water is continually recycled and reused, minimizing wastage and maximizing water conservation efforts.

Recognizing the environmental implications of conventional agriculture, Intravision Group is committed to minimizing the industry's impact on water resources. By implementing closed-loop systems and precisely controlling the growing environment, vertical farms developed by Intravision Group significantly reduce the risk of water pollution from synthetic pesticides and chemical runoff. These controlled environments also mitigate evaporation losses and prevent the depletion of groundwater resources, ensuring the preservation of ecosystems and water quality.

Intravision Group's cutting-edge vertical farming technology goes beyond water conservation; it also maximizes crop yields. By leveraging their expertise in photobiology research, they have developed innovative lighting solutions tailored to specific crop requirements. These precise lighting systems promote optimal plant growth, enabling year-round cultivation and significantly increasing crop yields. By stacking plants vertically, Intravision Group's technology optimizes space utilization and allows for higher crop densities, thereby ensuring food security while minimizing water usage.

Intravision Group stands at the forefront of vertical farming technology, spearheading the movement towards sustainable and water-conscious agriculture. By combining efficient water utilization, minimized environmental impact, and maximized crop yields, their groundbreaking solutions are revolutionizing the industry, paving the way for a more water-efficient and food-secure future.

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Partners in the News!

Elevate Farms, the Vertical Farming company rolling out Intravision Group's GravityFlow technology has completed capital funding to scale operations with Brightspark Ventures. The funding will be used to fuel the development of the Elevate Farms’ indoor farming facilities over the next year. The first two facilities will be located in New Jersey and Niagara and are each projected to produce more than one million pounds of leafy greens annually. 

“The funding will fuel our plans to scale the business, grow our team, build, and secure new and existing IP, prepare for business partnership opportunities, as well as finalize initial major orders and operational financing,” says Elevate Farms CEO Amin Jadavji. 

Elevate Farms will be the first business to commercially implement an automated climate-controlled environment for plant production that requires less labour than other indoor farms.

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Media City Bergen

Here is a sneak preview highlighting a media screen project our team has won. Intravision is proud to be apart of a larger collaborative bringing the first Media City to Scandinavia. Welcome to Bergen, Norway.

Media City Bergen is an architectural innovation for an industry that is radically changing.

Hardly any industry has noticed the challenges of the digital age as much as the media. From 2000 onwards, failed advertisement earnings, cutbacks and the decomposition of previously stable structures have been recurrent themes for both TV networks and newspapers.

Meeting this new reality and how industries can best be restructured - how the future will look for those living by conveying news and entertainment to Norwegian people - will be built allowing various industries to draw on each other’s expertise. It is possible to create a place where different stakeholders can work efficiently on their projects while contributing a positive energy to others.  

For greater insight into this project follow the source.

Source: http://www.mad.no/projects/media-city-bergen 

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The Power of Coloured Light

Here is a short video featuring Dr. Mike Dixon who spoke with Business News Network recently about the power of Intravision Group As multi-band variable LED Bio-Light technology. IVG systems are the preferred tool helping CESRF define controlled environment agriculture recipes, which enable their plant researchers to influence and control plant morphology, greatly impacting generation time, taste and nutrition. The mission may be enabling long-term manned space travel but "environmentally modified organisms" and the systems integration platforms being developed by Intravision Light Systems hold the key to achieving food security projects locally and beyond.

If you have a CEA project you would like to discuss with us we would like to hear from you. Intravision can offer consulting, systems integration and turnkey solutions so reach out and let us know how we can collaborate.

Source: Click Here 

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A Collaboration Developing Novel Technologies for Production of Biosimilars 

At Intravision we are always optimistic but particularly so when talking about our collaboration with PlantForm Corporation. The marriage of our unique plant production engineering -- featuring advanced multi-band spectrum variable LED lighting technology -- with PlantForm's patented plant made pharmaceutical biotech, is a huge step towards making life saving but expensive Pharmaceuticals widely accessible.  Together we are developing a cost effective production platform for biosimilars.

PlantForm and Intravision are developing an innovative automated controlled environment pilot manufacturing facility featuring advanced LED lights. The pilot facility will be used to produce biosimilar trastuzumab for Phase 3 human clinical trials as well as biodefense drug candidates being developed under government contracts.

Intravision’s novel LED lighting system will integrate optimal light spectrum variations and photoperiods for plant-based pharmaceutical production – research supported by a $20,000 grant from Ontario Agri-Food Technologies.

Intravision will integrate this lighting technology and research into a new low-cost, space-efficient, automated vertical farming system called GravityFlow™ that is being designed for the PlantForm pilot manufacturing facility and other applications. A prototype of the GravityFlow™ system will be installed at CERSF in Guelph in the fall of 2016.

Source: http://eepurl.com/b6v3yL

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IVS Systems Integration - A Holistic Approach

Some day we will grow a plant on the surface of the moon, or perhaps Mars. But until then we will continue to push the boundaries of innovation here on earth, transferring our advanced life support agriculture research to our commercial systems; servicing our partners leading the development of controlled environment agriculture today.

Horticultural production in controlled environments is trendy fodder these days attracting significant support both within the investment realm and urban citizenship, however; the challenge of growing food crops in controlled environments efficiently, and profitably, is not a trivial task.  Securing an intimate knowledge of plant biology - understanding the influence of light quality and quantity must work in concert with the environment - is paramount to the success of any integration of controlled horticulture and artificial light.  Furthermore, optimizing the environment to achieve nutritious, tasty and sustainable options, equivalent to what one should expect from their food choices requires even further understanding of the environmental interrelationships driving photosynthesis.

Taking what we have learned and continue to learn through our collaboration with the world’s leading controlled environment systems research facility at the University of Guelph, Intravision is able to strictly homogenize our plants environment within our turnkey production platforms.  Optimizing spectral composition with aerial management and CO2 balance.  Our research tools are one of a kind in this regard providing Intravision an acute understanding of what makes a plant tick, and allows us to further understand how to optimize growth systems to specific crops to achieve productive controlled environment agricultural.

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NASA May Put a Greenhouse on the Red Planet

Meanwhile back on earth...

Scientists have come up with a host of innovations that would help plants thrive elsewhere in our solar system, many of which are proving useful on our home planet.

Intravision 9-band spectrum variable Aurora STAR LED at Univertisy of Guelph’s CESRF

At the University of Guelph in Ontario, the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility is developing automated food-growing boxes: Seeds go in the box and several weeks later ripe vegetables come out. Because water, minerals and electricity will be scarce in space, the boxes must use these resources as economically as possible. The team has developed sensors that can determine which minerals the plants have absorbed, allowing the system to specifically replace those rather than using fertilizer indiscriminately. The team is now developing a lighting system that works on the same logic: “We’ve got a nine-band LED system where you can tweak individual wavelengths across the rainbow and look at how different light recipes promote growth,” says researcher Cody Thompson. “It’s precision agriculture.”

This precision has obvious applications on Earth: Agribusiness giant Syngenta plans to use the technology to develop climate change resistant plants, says team director Michael Dixon; researchers in the medical marijuana industry hope it can help them develop ailment-specific strains. “Up until now, people have sorted out these questions in their backyard or in their basement, without any real science attached to it,” Dixon says. “Now they want science, and they have the profit margins to assume the risks.”

The technology could also provide food security in isolated or extreme environments. The Kuwaiti government has invested in prototype demonstrations to explore whether these systems could help their oil-rich but agriculture-poor nation become more food-independent. The Canadian government has funded a feasibility study exploring the viability of sending these “space gardens” to isolated mining and aboriginal communities in its arctic regions, where it’s common to pay $10 for a green pepper “that’s already half squishy when you get it,” Thompson says. Space garden technology would yield better veggies and lessen dependency on imports.

These earthly uses will, in turn, help scientists understand better how space agriculture could work, says Dixon: “After the surface of the moon or Mars, the next-worse place in the universe to grow plants is a snow bank in the Northwest Territories.”

SOURCE

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Biological Life Support Systems

Canada began research on biological life support systems (i.e. plants for food, water and atmosphere management) with applications in space in the early 1990s. Since that time Canada has evolved as a worldwide leader in biological life support system research and technology development. The rapid growth of Canadian expertise should not surprise the average Canadian.

1. Canada has a climate which provides challenges for plant production

2. The greenhouse industry has evolved to supply some of our needs

3. The "connections" between the academic world and industry are strong in Canada, resulting in quality technology transfers between the sectors

SOURCE

So what is the point of bringing this article link to the blog?  Aside from advertising our position at CESRF?  It is the third point of course: technology transfer.  In 2010 Intravision Group (IVG) established a cooperation with CESRF to engineer and support the adaptation of narrow bandwidth light technology -- specifically light emitting diode (LED) technology -- to the facilities sealed environment and variable pressure chambers. Ever since studies on plant growth and development including; measuring photosynthetic gas exchange, air quality, nutrient uptake and control technologies, under hypobaric conditions, have developed a range of CEA recipes placing Intravision at the forefront of biological lighting technology and development. 

It is from the knowledge we gain studying plants in the chambers that we are able to integrate Intravision technologies commercially and advance controlled environment agriculture towards viability -- from a biological and energy perspective -- marrying biology, applied physics and innovative engineering expertise to deliver leading solutions to our sector partners.   

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“Light Recipes”

The pursuit of the holy grail within hydroponics – “light recipes” – starts by measuring carbon uptake during photosynthesis in the hypobaric chambers at CESRF. These chambers, equipped with advanced online sensors, monitor and detect changes in gas composition at 1ppm.

With this level of accuracy we are able to understand how plants respond to selected narrow bandwidth light spectrum’s, as well as to a range of spectral combinations during the active growth and morphology stages. Stages controlled by two photoreceptive hormones: (1) Cryptochrome (UVA to Blue Light), and (2) Phytochrome (Red to Far Red light). We know these hormones respond to available light quantity and spectral composition to optimize plant growth according to available light resources, e.g., stretch growth during low light conditions, the trick is understand everything else!

The use of narrow bandwidth LED light allows for a radically new approach to plant growth. By triggering the photoreceptive responses it is possible to promote increased yield and shorten generation times in production. The LED research lights developed by Intravision for the CESRF chambers are made in 9 and 5 LED band versions, both arranged with computer controlled electronics that deliver light intensities scaling from 0 to over 7000 µmol photons m²s¹. This enables high light intensity studies to be conducted on selected parts of the spectrum - a critical first step en route to the ‘holy grail’.

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Guelph scientist learning to grow crops on Mars

Dixon is no ordinary agriculturist. The University of Guelph professor studies how to grow plants on other planets — a crucial resource for the long-distance space travel required to send humans to Mars.

SOURCE

Advanced life support agriculture research has selection of practical “terrestrial” benefits as well. The initial space question was whether or not food producing plants could efficiently yield in low atmospheric pressure. To answer this question hypobaric chambers are required and the unique plant growth chambers at CESRF ("Blue Boxes") are one of a kind in this regard. The bonus feature from a plant research point of view, is that these controlled vacuum environments supply unique and instant insight into how plants respond under various environmental changes. For example, photosynthetic responses change in correlation to light spectrum and/or intensity adjustments and the computer monitoring system used in the chambers provide real time feedback to help us develop an understanding of how the plants adapt to these changes.

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Canadian LED research looks to grow strawberries on Mars

If Mike Dixon's dreams come to fruition, Canadian science will spawn the first strawberry or cherry tomato that sprouts on the moon or a planet in our solar system. 

SOURCE

Making dreams come true. When Intravision partnered with CESRF back in 2010 to develop advanced high output spectrum variable LED arrays for the institutes biological life support research, we had no idea (well maybe we had an inclination) what a distinct advantage it would provide Intravision in the bio-LED marketplace. 

Understanding how to use precise wavelengths to target specific responses in plants represents only a part of the controlled environment plant production puzzle. The interrelationships going on during photosynthesis - nutrient uptake, respiration, transpiration, water stress - are of paramount importance to understand how to develop a viable systems integration. CESRF is quite literally the only place in the world with the tools required to monitor and record these variables in real time under virtually any simulated environmental stress and that is a clear differential.  For more information about CESRF visit http://ces.uoguelph.ca or to check in on Intravision head to http://intravisiongroup.com

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High Intensity, Variable Spectra LED Array for Plant Production in Challenging Environments

The aim of our collaboration with CESRF was to provide high powered LED systems to the facilities advanced life support agriculture infrastructure. What resulted was the development of computer controlled spectrum variable LED arrays ranging from UVA through the visual spectrum to IR light. The array has since been used to design high resolution light “recipes” for eliciting targeted responses in specific high value plants.  

The Aurora Star Research Light has been in operation since 2010 at CESRF with tests on a multitude of crops experimenting with germination, photosynthesis, vegetative growth and adaptation studies. Today we have an acute understanding and library on what makes a plant tick and this knowhow has contributed significantly to our understanding of tech-transfer applications including supplemental light for greenhouses, single source lighting for controlled environment horticulture, as well as the development of turnkey phytopharmaceutical plant production platforms.  

For more information on Intravision please visit us at www.intravisiongroup.com 

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This Month in History: Tunnel of Light

This month in history saw the Tunnel of Light located at the Nydalen Metro Station in Oslo, Norway, open to the public in 2012. Stepping onto the escalator connecting to the station platform offered a 30 second break in the day. The experience featured a compliment of rainbow colors shifting constantly with sound patterns ("music") playing in unison. The station was designed by architect Kristin Jarmund and the interactive installations were created by Per Aage Lysaa, the founder of Intravision Light Systems.

SOURCE

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Video: Carbon Sun

Finally managed to paste together a short video of the Carbon Sun in action.

CarbonSun-Bergen-v1.0 from Intravision Group on Vimeo.

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The Carbon Sun

The Carbon Sun is a unique blend of space research technology and visual art. This computer controlled LED integrated sculpture, installed at the USF Verftet Cultural House in Bergen, Norway, was completed in 2015.  It is comprised of 20 "star" arrays each containing 84 LEDs across seven visual colours for a total of 1680 LEDs.  

The “star” when functioning as a research tool produces up to 7000 µmol m² s¹ across 0.5 m² at a 60cm distance for the purposes of conducting studies on plants and specifically, food plants. The point in this regard is to establish biological life support systems for long term space travel while also developing tech-transfer systems capable of addressing practical “terrestrial“ challenges as well; namely food security for harsh environments.

Beyond research

It also makes for a cool sculpture, in this case, bringing sunlight to the very rainy west coast city of Bergen.  As a company whose principal focus is research and development using narrow bandwidth light technology in biology, art seems like an odd outlet.  But within the group are some individual backgrounds that live to explore and express visually and electronic art has been a subcategory of the company since 2002. In that time Intravision has been apart of 20+ large commissions of computer controlled art installations and participated in a number of exhibitions in both Norway and China. For more on the art end of things check out http://lysaa.no  

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Horticulture Standards for LED

In recent years, LED lighting for horticulture applications, in particular plant-growth research and production in controlled environments has dramatically increased. The benefits of using LEDs for energy savings and performance improvement have been quickly recognized by researchers, plant growers, and greenhouse or controlled-environmental-chamber manufacturers, as well as government and energy savings experts. LED horticultural lighting is a fast-growing market, yet there are uncertainties as to how LED lighting products should be measured, compared, and qualified in regard to energy savings, performance, and safety.

SOURCE

Intravision Joins ASABE Steering Committee on Horticultural Lighting Standards

Staying ahead of the field within the arena of Controlled Environment Agriculture, in particular within the field of our core competency, Biological Lighting Technology, is at the core of our mandate as an organization. So in the wake of recent industry progress towards defining standards around horticultural lighting solutions, Intravision joined the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) as an observing member of ES-310 Agricultural Lighting and ES-311 Electromagnetic Radiation Application for Plants Committee.  This group is tasked the responsibility of both defining terms of reference and administration of the eventual standards and testing protocols. We are enthusiastic about contributing to this conversation and leveraging our 16 year history working with narrow bandwidth lighting technology to advance the development of bio-lighting in horticulture. In parallel Intravision is tuning our own products to suit as we both engage in the development of the pending standards and ensure our systems meet or exceed industry expectations for our customers moving forward.

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Lumigreen Rotolus 

Over the years, turfgrass research programs have focused on providing optimal playing surfaces through a variety of means including cultivar improvement, water management, subsurface structure optimization, fertilization and pest management; however the single most important limiting factor to plant productivity is light (Bugbee and Monje, 1992).

In sport turf applications solving lower rates of photosynthesis in shaded areas has long been an issue without a viable solution.  When plants do not have enough sunlight, photosynthesis is limited and therefore carbohydrates, or energy (the product of photosynthesis) is restricted – particularly in the root zone – leaving plants susceptible to drought and disease.

The turf grass light system, Lumigreen Rotulus, was made to evaluate turf response to LED light under different wavelengths, intensities and blue/ red ratio in order to optimize lighting requirements for commercial applications of LED turf remediation.

The biological research and field testing supporting Lumigreen was completed in cooperation with Dr. Andy McNitt, Ph.D., Penn State University (US) and Dr. Mike Dixon, Ph.D., University of Guelph (CAN). The system in its current format is a complete growth system for turf grass, combining fine-tuned light-spectrum and intensity with controlled temperature and airflow – a microclimate for productive growth. The LEDs project both light and heat towards the turf grass, allowing optimum growth in ambient temperature conditions that normally would not promote turf grass growth.

Literature Cited:

Bugbee, B and O Monje. 1992. The Limits of Crop Productivity. BioScience. Vol. 42:494-502