Patent Description:
The following discussion of the background to the invention is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. It should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge of the person skilled in the art in any jurisdiction as at the priority date of the invention.

Countries that are land-scarce face the challenge of traditional vegetable farming that is land intensive. Consequently, most of the demand for vegetables is met by import. However, overdependence on imports of vegetables is non-ideal as the volume and price of vegetables are susceptible to fluctuations. Being able to produce vegetables in a land-scarce country in a space efficient manner can act as a critical buffer against sudden supply disruptions.

Another challenge of traditional vegetable farming is low productivity due to uncontrollable environmental factors and pests. These include extended periods of heavy rain or drought and diseases which can spread from other countries through wind-carrying spores, and soil damage resulting from soil erosion or contamination. Additionally, exposure to pests such as insects can destroy the quality and yields of vegetable crops.

A further challenge of traditional vegetable farming is the labor-intensiveness. In advancing economies, fewer from the younger generation are interested in farming as a career which limits the scalability and productivity of farming. In particular, various stage of growth of the vegetables (e.g. seed to seedling, seedling to full grown) require manpower for transplanting, maintenance.

In view of the above, there exists a need for better management of farm systems to alleviate one or more of the aforementioned problems.

Reference document <CIT> relates to a plant cultivation device that includes a plurality of boxes, a connection unit, and an end section unit. Each box is provided in an inner space thereof with a cultivation chamber and a light source housing chamber. The plurality of boxes are arranged in a line. The connection unit mutually connects two adjacent boxes. The end section unit is mounted to an end section of a box which is arranged in an end of the line. The end section of the box is unconnected to the connection unit. Each box includes a ventilation opening for ventilating the cultivation chamber, and a ventilation port for air cooling the light source housing chamber. Each of the connection unit and the end section unit includes a first ventilation passage through which air flows into the ventilation opening, and a second ventilation passage through which air flows into the ventilation port.

The technical solution seeks to combine logistics management principles with farming solutions, and to provide a comprehensive farm management system for an indoor farm, and especially suited for indoor farms including but not limited to farms developed or contained in a green house, a warehouse or a building, for whatever purpose including for the growth of plants and vegetables, fruits, animals etc..

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided an indoor farming management system as defined in claim <NUM>.

Advantageously, the farming management system allows the indoor farming environment to be controlled precisely based on feedback from the sensor to allow optimal growth of the vegetables. It further allows spatial environmental conditions within the building <NUM> to be tuned precisely to cater to different plant varieties. Other aspects of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

It is to be appreciated that even though the invention is described with respect to plants and vegetables, the invention can be similarly used for farming of animals such as poultry farming or cattle farming. In some embodiments, the farm may be a vegetable farm leveraging on hydroponics agri-technology system, which in turn leverages on a concept of automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) for management of the farm. The ASRS system is useful for storage and retrieval of one or more farming modules on an automated level (thus minimizing manual labour) based on pre-defined conditions, for example, in accordance of the stage of growth of the particular plant. The farm management system operates to control key parameters such as lighting and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. In some embodiments, the farm may be a poultry farm for rearing chickens for meat and/or eggs. The ASRS system is useful for storage and retrieval of one or more farming modules (containing eggs) on an automated level (thus minimizing manual labour) based on pre-defined conditions. The farm management system operates to control key parameters such as temperature for the incubation of eggs.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention as shown in <FIG>, there is a vertical farming system <NUM> for growing vegetables in an automated manner. The vertical farming system <NUM> comprises a building or enclosure <NUM> which partitions or isolate the indoor farming environment from the outdoor environment. <FIG> illustrates simulated front, side and zoom views of a farming system where the invention management system can be applied to.

In a preferred embodiment, the farming system <NUM> includes the following elements:.

In various embodiments, the walls of the building or enclosure <NUM> may be opaque to prevent outdoor solar radiations from entering the building <NUM>. Further, the walls may also be well-insulated to minimize heat exchange with the outdoor environment. Advantageously, the foregoing partitioning features of the walls allow the indoor environment to be controlled more precisely. Additionally, the walls may form a barrier against pests, or may comprise the application of chemicals, equipment or the like to immobilize or kill pests.

The building <NUM> houses a plurality of growth racks or shelves <NUM> which may be used to store farming modules <NUM> that are used for growing crops such as vegetables and/or fruit. In various embodiments, each growth rack <NUM> is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the building <NUM> and capable of storing farming modules <NUM> along the vertical and longitudinal directions as shown in the side view of the farm layout in <FIG>. In various embodiments, a plurality of growth racks <NUM> may be arranged laterally to define a <NUM>-dimensional (3D) array of cells along the lateral, vertical and longitudinal directions. Each cell within the 3D array may receive and store a farming module <NUM>.

In various embodiments, individual farming modules <NUM> are transported and loaded or stacked onto the growth racks <NUM> using devices/machines <NUM>. The device <NUM> can be configured to switch between an operative state and a non-operative state. When in an operative state, the device <NUM> can considered to be in an "on" mode and can be operated in a manner so as to carry, hold, move, store and perform various other actions on the cell. When it is in a non-operative state, the device <NUM> can be considered to be in an "off mode"/"stand-by mode" (in which case, the device <NUM> is not operated to, for example, carry, hold, move, store and perform various other actions on the cell). As shown in <FIG>, the farming modules <NUM> may be transported vertically and along the longitudinal direction of the building <NUM> by the machines <NUM> for loading or stacking onto various cells in the <NUM>-D array of the growth racks <NUM>.

In various embodiments as shown in region A of <FIG>, one machine <NUM> may be used to load or stack one or more farming modules <NUM> onto cells in two opposing growth racks <NUM>. In this case as shown in region A of <FIG>, the machine <NUM> is moveable along an aisle separating the two opposing growth racks <NUM>. The farming modules <NUM> may then be loaded sideways <NUM> into either one of the growth racks <NUM> (see double arrow on <FIG>). To further enhance space efficiency as shown in region B of <FIG>, two adjacent growth racks are stacked abutting each other so that each growth rack is not serviced by two machines <NUM>. Advantageously, the foregoing arrangement allows the farming modules <NUM> to be closely packed or stacked and accessible at the same time. Fig. <NUM> is an example of an overview of the machine operation system when automated.

In various embodiments, each aisle (and hence two growth racks <NUM>) may be equipped with one machine <NUM>. In other embodiments, one machine <NUM> may simultaneously be used for more than one aisles. In various embodiments, each machine <NUM> may be guided to move along the longitudinal direction of the building <NUM> by a bottom track <NUM> and a top track <NUM> respectively mounted on the floor and ceiling of the building <NUM> along the respective aisle.

In various embodiments as shown in <FIG>, the growth racks <NUM> may be divided into at least two different regions, nursery region <NUM> and growth region <NUM>. In this regard, the nursery region <NUM> is used for cultivating the seeds to sprouts and/or from sprouts to seedlings. As the sprouts and seedlings are relatively smaller in size as compared to a fully grown vegetable, a smaller area per plant is required during the initial germination and seedling stage. As such, the nursery region is relatively smaller than the growth region. Thereafter, the germinated seeds and seedlings are further transplanted in the next stage to growth farming trays in which they are spaced further apart to facilitate further growth. By de-coupling the germination, seedling and growth stages, productivity is be enhanced because space is optimally allocated depending on the growth stage of the vegetable. This is in contrast to traditional farming in which the seeds are initially sowed with a large inter-seed spacing in anticipation of the size of the vegetable during maturity.

In various embodiments, there may also be a third region <NUM> for the preparation of farming trays <NUM> used in various stages of the growth cycle such as during nursery or growth stage. In various embodiments, the preparation of farming trays <NUM> may include the soaking of foams with nutrients and placing or arranging the nutrients impregnated foams into the farming trays. Advantageously, preparing the farming trays in advance reduces the processing time required for transplanting the plants to the as-prepared farming trays <NUM> during the different stages of farming.

The vertical farming system <NUM> may further comprise a sorting transport vehicle (STV) loop <NUM> that is coupled with the respective loading platform <NUM> of the machines <NUM> for serving as a loading and unloading bay for the 3D array of growth racks. In various embodiments, the STV loop <NUM> may receive farming modules <NUM> at loading points <NUM> after seedlings in the nursery are transplanted and transport the same along the lateral direction of the building <NUM> to the machine <NUM> of their respective designated growth rack <NUM> in the growth region for loading. In various embodiments, the STV loop <NUM> may also transport farming modules <NUM> unloaded from the 3D array of growth racks to a harvesting point <NUM> wherein farming modules <NUM> containing mature vegetables may be transported from the growth racks and harvested. Thereafter, the harvested vegetables may be packaged and directly loaded onto cargo trucks <NUM> for distribution.

The layout of the farming system, not depicted, may comprise of a hall that may be partitioned into different segments. In a preferred embodiment, additionally, the hall may include a plurality of floors in which each floor is preferably connected/ positioned adjacent to a growth area. For example, there may be two floors, wherein one floor could be for the nursery, seeding and transplantation, serving materials to growth racks and various growth stages of the plants and vegetables to take place; while the other floor could be for harvesting and the packing of vegetables into boxes. Naturally, the invention includes other activities that could take place on these floors. This is advantageous as it optimises the space available for the farming system. In various embodiments as shown in <FIG>, the farming modules <NUM> may comprise of a 3D frame <NUM> for supporting a plurality of farming trays <NUM> which are spaced vertically apart. The vertical spacing allows sufficient space for vegetables to grow vertically. In various embodiments, LED lightings <NUM> may be installed above each farming tray <NUM> to provide artificial sunlight to aid the growth of the plants. In various embodiments, the distance between the LED lightings <NUM> and the farming tray <NUM> may be adjustable for controlling the intensity of light. In order to power the LED lightings <NUM> when loaded into the growth racks <NUM>, each farming module <NUM> may be installed with a first central electrical fitting that is electrically connected to the arrays of LED lightings <NUM>. Correspondingly, the cells in the growth racks <NUM> are installed with a second electrical fitting for coupling with the first central electrical fitting when the farming modules <NUM> are loaded or mounted onto the growth racks <NUM> for the provision of electrical power to the farming modules <NUM>. The first central electrical fitting and second electrical fitting may be shaped and adapted/aligned such that when a farming module <NUM> is inserted into the growth racks <NUM> for storage, the LED lightings <NUM> are switched on upon insertion. In various embodiments, removing or unmounting the farming modules <NUM> from the growth racks <NUM> un-couples the first central electrical fitting from the second electrical fitting and the LED lightings <NUM> are switched off upon unmounting.

Advantageously, the use of LED lightings <NUM> is energy efficient as compared to other types of light source such as fluorescent or incandescent light bulbs. Furthermore, the narrow band emission of LEDs <NUM> allow the spectrum of the artificial sunlight to be tuned more precisely for optimal growth of different vegetable or plant varieties. Additionally, artificial sunlight may be provided to the vegetables in a consistent manner (by pre-defining cycles of illumination) as compared to traditional sunlight which tend to varies. Advantageously, the growth rate of the plant or vegetable is increased, allowing quicker harvesting.

In various embodiments, the farming trays <NUM> are hydroponic-based (soil-less) which eradicates the problems associated with soil-based farming. In various embodiments as shown at least in <FIG> and <FIG>, each farming tray <NUM> may be self-contained without the need of water circulation as plants or vegetables are grown on growth medium impregnated with nutrients that are held in place within the farming tray <NUM> through the holes of a planting board, wherein the planting board is fitted and held in place within the main recess of the farming tray <NUM>. Advantageously, the self-contained nature of the farming trays <NUM> eradicates the need for the installation of water piping for water circulation, allowing the growth racks <NUM> to be scaled vertically. In various embodiments, the growth medium may be a foam. In various embodiments, the foam may be Polyurethane based. The density or porosity of the foam may be optimized or tuned for adjusting the amount of nutrients absorbed in the foam. Advantageously, the foregoing allows the foam be catered to different plant varieties. In various embodiments as described above, there may be at least two types of farming trays <NUM> for nursery and growth. The hole cutouts in the lids or planting boards fitted in the main recess of the nursery farming trays <NUM> for holding the seeds may be spaced relatively closer as compared to the hole cutouts in the lids or planting boards for the growth stage farming trays <NUM>.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, there is an automated retrieval system for automated storage and retrieval of farming modules <NUM> in the 3D array of growth racks <NUM> comprising a central processing unit (CPU) in communication with at least one machines <NUM> and STV <NUM>. In various embodiments, the CPU keeps track of the status of every farming modules <NUM> including the growth stage and the location within the 3D array of growth racks <NUM>. When a certain milestone is reached (for e.g. after <NUM> days) for a farming module <NUM>, the automated retrieval system transmits a control signal to the corresponding machine <NUM> to retrieve the farming module <NUM> from the growth racks <NUM> for advancement to the next production stage (for e.g. harvesting stage). The CPU may comprise one or more processor servers and/or cloud servers.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention and as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, there is a farm operating management system (FOMS) comprising of the CPU that is in data communication with a plurality of sensors such as carbon dioxide sensors, light sensors, thermometers and image capturing devices. Based on the feedback information from the different sensors, the FOMS enables control of environmental factors that influence the growth of the vegetables including light intensity, temperature, humidity and/or carbon dioxide levels. In various embodiments, the sensors are distributed spatially across the building <NUM> forming a network, allowing spatial variations in environment parameters or conditions be captured and monitored. Following which, FOMS may then control environmental parameters spatially to cater to different plant varieties that are growing at different regions of the building <NUM>. As mentioned above, the FOMS can be used in horticulture activities such as the farming of plants, which may include plants grown for ornamental purpose, or high-value floral grown for profits. The FOMS can also be used in agriculture farming like the growing of plants, vegetables and animals. The FOMS works in conjunction with the device/machine <NUM> to store or retrieve farming modules for storage in the growth racks and is not restricted to the farming of any particular floral or fauna or animals.

In some embodiments, the FOMs may be utilized for different types of farms based on pre-defined programs or templates. Such pre-defined programs or templates include programs or templates for growth of a specific plant from germination to full-growth; growth of a type of poultry from hatching to full grown etc..

The FOMS is operable to control at least one indoor environmental parameter of a farming system based on data received from one or more sensor to send a control signal to the device to operate the machine <NUM> between its operative state and its non-operative state.

In various embodiments as shown in <FIG>, FOMS may also enable "Intelligent Farming" by integrating the value chain or production chain of vegetable or plant farming or production, allowing farming to be managed dynamically depending on consumer demand. <FIG> illustrates the overall FOMS architecture and system /modules. It is to be appreciated that the system may have more or less components. The FOMS is capable in at least the following ways:.

The knowledge management aspect of the FOMS comprises the following system modules:.

<FIG> illustrates an example of the overall system architecture of the climate control and management module. The climate control and management module provides functions for the monitoring, automated alert services, and automated execution of relevant devices to maintain the set climate parameters in the growth chamber. As can be seen from <FIG>, this module continuously monitors four climate parameters in real-time room: air temperature (°C), room air relative humidity (%RH), lighting strength (Lux), and CO<NUM> level (ppm). It is to be appreciated that the invention includes monitoring of more or less parameters as described.

The parameter data are collected through sensors positioned at different positions or locations of the farms as mentioned above. The value of the parameters are monitored. When the value is outside the pre-defined range, an alert is sent via email or SMS to a user, such as an operator-in-charge. The switching of the lighting between an on and off state may be operated automatically based on the pre-determined photosynthetic period. The air ventilation is automatically activated or stopped based on pre-determined room temperature. All the sensor data are automatically captured and archived in the FOMS. These data are also part of the data being collected and being used for the FOMS machine to constantly learn and evolve, thereby building a smart farming system making use of artificial intelligence, machine learning or deep learning principles. These may include for example via the use of artificial neural networks.

<FIG> is an example system architecture of the production monitoring and management module of the FOMS. In this preferred example, five mobile software applications are developed to provide needed functions for the end-to-end production monitoring and management throughout the entire product life cycle starting from Customer Order, through Process Tasks and Execution, Raw Materials Management to Product Delivery. The Production Dashboard software application enables real-time monitor, alerts, and execution of production tasks. The Cost Report software application provides information on the cost elements and total/unit costs of produces for each production batch. This module links customer orders with manufacturing and process visualization, enabling customised mixed vegetables orders and same day harvest and delivery. The production plan is dynamically generated and executed based on the latest customer demand.

<FIG> is a workflow of the production monitoring and management system of a preferred embodiment of the FOMS.

What customer order is entered, the system checks (<NUM>) if the germination and production capacity is still available (i.e. any pre-orders); and (<NUM>) if the materials for the order are available. Available materials are reserved, and unavailable materials are marked for procurement and also checked if the existing suppliers can meet the requirements. When an order is confirmed, the system automatically prepares the production materials, generates the production plans, and prepares costs sheets. When production plans are confirmed, the system (production execution) automatically generates work orders for each process (workstations) and automatically queues and prioritise the orders for timely execution.

During the production, the system provides real-time indicators on the major production status and issues arising at each lift cycle stage as depicted in <FIG>. The system is designed in a way that all product/production information is recorded or associated by the RFID at each tray (basic product unit). At each process/workstation, the ID (RFID) for each tray is taken and processed by the system. The current system is fully integrated with the indoor vegetable farming germination/growth and harvesting machines for automated execution of production plans. The invention includes dashboards that are designed differently and include different parameters from that as illustrated.

Vegetable growth requires certain temperature and humidity conditions. A computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis was carried out to establish the relationships between the inlet air temperature and the stable room temperature of the invention. The CDF analysis is performed at inlet air temperature of <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> and the steady state temperature for the room is achieved at around <NUM> minutes. The temperature distribution in the room at stable state is illustrated in <FIG>. The high temperature zones are in the top areas and inside the cells (the heat sources). The relationship between inlet air temperature and minimum/maximum room temperature is depicted in <FIG>. As can be seen from the charts, when the inlet temperature is at <NUM>, the temperature range in the chamber is between <NUM> and <NUM>. When the inlet temperature is at <NUM>, the highest temperature in the chamber can reach <NUM>. It is clear to the person of skill in the art that the foregoing numerals are only examples of the analysis that was carried out and that other values, for example for the inlet air temperature and chamber temperature, are included in the scope of the invention.

<FIG> shows a layout of a chamber used to enclose the growth of a certain plant and the thermo-conditions involved. In the well thermos-insulated chamber, the heat source is primarily from LED lighting. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the total power of LED is <NUM><NUM>,000w. The air inlet is from an electrical fan of <NUM> diameter with airflow rate at <NUM>/second. The above analysis outlines the conditions of a microclimate for vegetable growth. The invention also includes being able to control other conditions for create other microclimates.

In various embodiments as shown in <FIG>, FOMS may interface or communicate with a platform for consumers or customers to place order for a plant or vegetable in advance. The consumer may provide order information such as, but not limited to, the type of plant, the quantity required and delivery date. Thereafter, FOMS is operable to process the order information and verify with at least one inventory stored in a database if sufficient farming resources (for e.g. the number of farming trays <NUM> and raw materials required) are available to fulfil the order. Subsequently, FOMS may allocate and reserve farming resources by generating a work order and initiate farming on a pre-determined day so that the plant may be harvested at or near the delivery date. In various embodiments, FOMS may update the at least one inventory in the database once farming resources are allocated to prevent over-subscribing of farming resources. In various embodiments, the pre-determined day to initiate farming for an order may be calculated based on at least the delivery date and growth cycle of the type of plant ordered. In various embodiments, the pre-determined day may also factor in the time taken for delivering the plant to the consumer. Once the farming or production process is completed, the plant or vegetable may be harvest at or near the delivery date and subsequently packaged and delivered to the consumer. Advantageously, it at least allows the farm to manage seasonal fluctuations in demand for plants while at the same time ensuring the quality of the delivery while maintaining a low cost.

In various embodiments, FOMS may utilize artificial intelligence to analyse historical order information from consumers for predicting future demand for plants. Advantageously, it at least enables raw materials such as seeds, nutrients and foams to be procured in anticipation of seasonal changes so that the probability of rejecting an order due to insufficient farming resources is reduced.

FOMS may function as a holistic platform that fully integrates the entire value or production chain of farming, from order taking to delivery. FOMS may be in charge of plant capacity management by updating at least one inventory in the database for allocating of farming resources. In various embodiments, a user interface, which may be in the form of a dashboard, may be provided to allow an operator to visualize and monitor important parameters in the entire value chain of farming so that abnormalities may be rectified quickly. These parameters may include, but not limited to, raw materials inventory, order information from consumers, information from the network of sensors and delivery statuses.

In various embodiments, FOMS may also be programmed to detect for abnormalities and issue an alert to the operator. In various embodiments, FOMS may provide the operator with a corrective measure to rectify the abnormalities. For example, when there is a surge in demand for a particular type of plants which is depleting raw materials for growing that particular type of plant, FOMS may issue an alert to the operator and recommend a corrective action such as "Please purchase more Tomato seeds". In various embodiments as shown in <FIG>, FOMS may also integrate with suppliers for raw materials so that procurement of raw materials may be automated and managed dynamically according to consumer demand. For example when there is a surge in demand for a Tomatoes, FOMS may automatically place order with the relevant suppliers for Tomato seeds and the growth medium and nutrients suitable for growing Tomatoes.

In various embodiments, a portion or the whole FOMS may be implemented across a distributed network or on a mobile phone, in the form of a dedicated software 'app'. As an example, an application made available for download by a mobile device may comprise a user interface for a user to control certain farming parameters. The present invention will now be described in greater technical detail relating to the process of operating the vertical farming system <NUM> for growing a plant. In various embodiments, there is an indoor vertical farming process <NUM> for growing plants. The vertical farming process <NUM> comprises the initial stage of germination <NUM> which involves the preparation of growth mediums and adding water and/or nutrients to the growth medium. Following which, a seeding machine sows seeds into the mediums and the seeds are soaked without lighting and nutrients. In this case, the seeds may sprout after a pre-determined number of days. The next stage is the seedling stage <NUM> in which the growth mediums together with the sprouted seeds are transferred into farming trays <NUM> which contain further nutrients. The farming trays <NUM> are subsequently mounted on the farming modules <NUM>. The farming modules <NUM> containing the farming trays <NUM> with the sprouted seeds are then transported by the machines <NUM> to the 3D array of growth racks <NUM> for storage in which the sprouts are illuminated with LED lightings <NUM> for further growth into seedlings. The farming modules <NUM> may then be retrieved after a pre-determined number of days via the machines <NUM> for the next stage.

The next stage following the seedling stage may be the growth stage <NUM> in which the seedlings are transferred to growth farming trays <NUM> in which water and nutrients are added again. The automated retrieval system re-transports the farming modules <NUM> loaded with the growth farming trays <NUM> into the growth racks <NUM>. The seedlings are further illuminated with LED lightings <NUM> that are installed on the farming modules <NUM> for further growth. After a pre-determined number of days, the vegetables that grow in the growth trays are ready for harvesting.

The next stage is the harvesting and packing stage <NUM> in which the automated retrieval system transports the growth farming trays <NUM> to the harvesting area via the machines <NUM> and the vegetables are checked for quality and the healthiest are selected, weighed and transported to the packing area. The packing machine then collects the vegetable before storing them in a cold room. The last stage is the delivery stage <NUM> in which the packed vegetables are loaded into trucks and delivered to retailers.

In various embodiments and as described above, the vertical farming process <NUM> may integrate upstream and is triggered when an order for a plant or vegetable is received from consumers via an order platform in communication with FOMS. In various embodiments, the vertical farming process <NUM> may integrate downstream taking into account the preference of the retailers or end consumers. For example, the harvesting process may be planned to take place near to the preferred delivery time of the retailers, ensuring that quality or freshness of the delivered plants or vegetables. In various embodiments as shown in <FIG>, FOMS may also keep track of each delivery order and alert the operator if any delivery is delayed or is unsuccessful. Thereafter, the operator may rectify the unsuccessful delivery accordingly, either with or without suggestions provided by FOMS. In various embodiments, FOMS may also update the inventory as soon as the delivery is signed off and successful.

It should be further appreciated by the person skilled in the art that variations and combinations of features described above, not being alternatives or substitutes, may be combined to form yet further embodiments falling within the intended scope of the invention. In particular,.

Thereafter, the research project may be executed and the progress may be automatically monitored by FOMS and the research results may be recorded in FOMS. In various embodiments, FOMS may be programmed to self-learn from the R&D results and continuously update the most optimal growth recipe for each plant variety for use in the next farming or production cycle.

Claim 1:
An indoor farming management system associated with a farming system (<NUM>) located within an indoor environment, the indoor farming management system comprising:
at least one sensor;
a central processing unit arranged in signal communication with the at least one sensor;
a device (<NUM>) in one of an operative state and a non-operative state;
wherein the central processing unit is operable to control the at least one indoor environmental parameter, based on data received from the sensor;
wherein the central processing unit is operable to send a control signal to the device (<NUM>),
wherein the device (<NUM>) is configurable to switch between the operative state and the non-operative state based on the control signal,
the farming system (<NUM>) further comprises a plurality of farming modules (<NUM>), wherein each farming module (<NUM>) is configured to grow at least one type of plant,
wherein switching of the device (<NUM>) between the operative state and the non-operative state is based at least on a stage of growth of the type of plant,
the farming system (<NUM>) further comprises a growth rack (<NUM>) adapted to store the plurality of farming modules (<NUM>), wherein the device (<NUM>) is adapted to store or retrieve at least one farming module (<NUM>).