## 1 Introduction  
The problems associated with food production due to the growing population, changing climate, reduced ground water resources, and increased transportation costs could be solved using concepts such as vertical farming [1], urban agriculture, and plant factories with artificial lights (PFAL) [2]. These modern food production techniques prove to be effective in increasing the biomass throughput per volume of water used per growing area, in comparison to the conventional farming techniques. These methods however, require a significant amount of energy for generating the artificial micro-climate necessary for the plants growing in them [3]. Several studies have been undertaken to evaluate the economic feasibility of a typical vertical farm and how these farms could be made profitable by combining different organisms (e.g., plants and fishes) and exploiting the symbiotic behavior between them. Such investigations are noticeable in the area of space research and exploration projects for designing bio-regenerative life-support systems: MELSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) [4], ACLS (Advanced Closed Loop System) [5], CELSS (Controlled Ecological Life Support System) [6], and CAB (Controllo AmbientaleBiorigenerativo) [7]. Improved biomass output was shown when plants and mushrooms are grown in symbiosis [8]. Studies performed on farms with plant-fish integrated production have also shown reduced operation cost [9]. The economic feasibility analysis of the vertical farm performed by the German Aerospace Center DLR has shown that, on combining production of different organisms, the overall cost in such farms are reduced [10]. Quantification of mass and resource fluxes between organisms is important for performing simulation studies, designing experiments, and developing automation and farm infrastructure. CUBES Circle is another project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aiming on the study of mass and energy fluxes among plants, fishes, and insects connected together [11]. The above discussed works highlight some of the research potential and shortfalls in the area of optimized food production in controlled and connected environments. This requires, firstly, a quantitative study of growth processes of individual organisms and its environmental factors; secondly, study of resource fluxes and symbiosis between organisms and its environment; and, finally, development of mathematical models that adequately describe them. The fundamental step of such studies is the development of a controlled environment suitable for different organisms. Plants (_Lactuca sativa_ and _Ocimum basilicum_), fungi (_Agaricus bisporus_, _Lentinula edodes_, etc. ), and insect larvae (_Hermetic illucens_ and _Tenebrio molitor_) are some of the candidates considered for developing the controlled environment proposed in this work. A preliminary analysis of the requirements for developing such system highlights the need for a sophisticated setup with actuators to generate the necessary micro-climate, sensors to measure various variables (e.g., O\({}_{2}\), CO\({}_{2}\), humidity, etc. ), and interface to exchange resources (e.g., water, air, and nutrients). Some modern commercial growth chambers support CO\({}_{2}\) concentration regulation and inlet for additional sensors through instrument port, but infrastructure for resource exchange and test automation is either limited or non-existent [12]. Modification of these growth chambers for incorporating necessary infrastructure is theoretically possible but adds to the cost and complexity. The literature [13; 14] also indicates the need for custom devices irrespective of the availability of commercial growth chambers for studying and phenotyping biological organisms. This is primarily due to a very high equipment cost (\(>\)6000 EUR for growth chamber and additional cost for control software), proprietary hardware/software, and requirements very specific to the nature of studies performed.