Patent ID: 7617057

Claim:
A system for optimizing plant growth within an enclosed growth chamber, comprising: illumination means for controlling spatial, temporal and spectral characteristics of illumination within the growth chamber, said illumination means comprising an array of individually actuable light sources arranged in a grid cell pattern within the growth chamber, and having differing wavelengths, and means for individual control and modulation of said light sources within each cell of said cell pattern; biomass detection means comprising at least one imaging device which can identify and map location and quantity of plants in a growth medium within the growth chamber; plant stress detection means for acquiring spatially distributed image data which characterize plant vigor and stress within the growth chamber, according to said grid cell pattern, said plant stress detection means comprising at least one imaging device selected from the group consisting of multispectral imagers, hyperspectral imagers, RAMAN, thermal luminescence imagers and photo acoustic devices; environmental monitoring means for monitoring a plurality of environmental parameters that affect plant growth within the growth chamber; environmental control means for controlling each of said environmental parameters; and an expert system coupled to receive data generated by said biomass detecting means, said plant stress detection means, said root zone imager and said environmental monitoring means, and coupled to control said illumination means and said environmental control means; wherein said expert system contains a knowledge base that includes heuristic information, a plant data base containing cultivation and diagnostic information for plants growing within the growth chamber, and plant biomass and stress detection algorithms; and said expert system is trained to regulate said illumination and environmental parameters within the growth chamber, so as to achieve optimized uniform plant growth with minimized consumption of energy and materials, to diagnose deviations from optimal growth conditions, and to determine and implement remedial actions by adjustment of said illumination and environmental parameters.