"In the past, the human eye was the maintenance system"
Source: VFD.com
At the facilities of Infinite Acres, a Dutch‑American subsidiary of the vertical farming company 80 Acres Farms, agriculture becomes an engineering project: Biology, climate technology, automation, and data analytics all interlock. This is where SICK's Multi Physics Box MPB10 comes into play.
The condition-monitoring sensor can be mounted directly on motors, pumps, conveyors, or fans – using either a magnetic plate or a screw connection. Michele Savino introduced the Multi Physics Box MPB10 – and was met with open ears.
Sensor technology, AI-supported software, lighting, nutrient and climate control form an integrated system. In addition, machine vision solutions such as the Inspector83x for AI based quality control, as well as track and trace systems like the RFU61x, monitor the entire farm-to-fork journey of the products – from seed to the consumer's table.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
