Systems and methods for managing a weight of a plant in a grow pod

Abstract

An assembly line grow pod includes a seeding region, a harvesting region, a track that extends between the seeding region and the harvesting region, a cart including a tray for holding plant matter, and a wheel coupled to the tray, where the wheel is engaged with the track, and a weight sensor positioned on the cart or the track, where the weight sensor is positioned to detect a weight of the plant matter positioned within the cart.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An assembly line grow pod comprising:
 a cart that includes a tray having a plurality of sections for holding plant matter and a wheel coupled to the tray;   a track including an ascending portion that causes the cart to move upward in a vertical direction and a descending portion that causes the cart to move downward in the vertical direction;   an environmental affecter that provides sustenance to the plant matter, as the cart traverses the track;   a plurality of weight sensors coupled to respective sections of the plurality of sections of the tray, where the plurality of weight sensors are positioned to detect a weight of the plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the tray; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of weight sensors, the controller comprising a processor and a computer readable and executable instruction set, which when executed, causes the processor to perform at least the following:
 retrieve a recipe for the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray, the recipe including instructions for providing water, nutrient, lighting, and temperature adjustment to grow the plant matter to a to a preferred weight in the respective sections of the tray; 
 actuate the environmental affecter to provide the sustenance to the plant matter; 
 receive data from the plurality of weight sensors; 
 determine, from the data, the weight of the plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the tray; 
 compare the weight of the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray with the preferred weight of the plant matter; 
 determine whether the weight of the plant matter in the respective sections is within a predetermined tolerance of the preferred weight; and 
 in response to determining that the weight of the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray is not within the predetermined tolerance of the preferred weight, alter the recipe for the plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the tray, wherein altering the recipe includes altering planned operation of the environmental affecter prior to harvesting the plant matter. 
   
     
     
         2 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of sections of the tray includes a different type of plant matter. 
     
     
         3 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 1 , wherein the executable instruction set, when executed, further causes the processor to, in response to determining that the weight of the plant matter is within the predetermined tolerance of the preferred weight, change the recipe for the plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the tray to maintain the weight of the plant matter for harvesting. 
     
     
         4 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 1 , further comprising an environmental sensor coupled to the tray of the cart, wherein the environmental sensor detects a level of water in the tray of the cart and the processor determines the weight of the plant matter based at least in part on a weight of the water in the cart. 
     
     
         5 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 1 , further comprising a harvester that is positioned along the track, such that when the weight of the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray is within the predetermined tolerance of the preferred weight, the cart is directed to the harvester for harvesting the plant matter. 
     
     
         6 . An assembly line grow pod, comprising:
 a cart that includes a tray having a plurality of sections for holding plant matter and a wheel coupled to the tray;   a harvester configured to harvest plant matter from the cart;   a track including an ascending portion that causes the cart to move upward in a vertical direction and a descending portion that causes the cart to move downward in the vertical direction;   a plurality of weight sensors coupled to respective sections of the plurality of sections of the tray, where the plurality of weight sensors are positioned to detect a weight of the plant matter positioned within each of the respective sections of the tray;   a watering component for dispensing a water solution to the plant matter positioned within each of the plurality of sections of the tray of the cart; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of weight sensors, the controller comprising a processor and a computer readable and executable instruction set, which when executed, causes the processor to:
 retrieve a recipe for the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray, the recipe including instructions for providing water to grow the plant matter to a to a preferred weight in the respective sections of the tray; 
 receive data from the plurality of weight sensors; 
 determine, from the data, the weight of the plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the tray; 
 determine whether the weight of the plant matter in the respective sections is within a predetermined tolerance of the preferred weight; and 
 in response to determining that the weight of the plant matter is not within the predetermined tolerance of the preferred weight, the recipe for the plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the tray, wherein altering the recipe includes altering a planned operation of the watering component prior to harvesting, 
 wherein the cart is sent to the harvester via the track when the weight of the plant matter is within the predetermined tolerance of the preferred weight; 
   
     
     
         7 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 6 , wherein the respective sections of the tray include a different type of plant matter. 
     
     
         8 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 6 , wherein determining the weight of the plant matter includes determining a cart weight of the cart with the plant matter and a known weight of the cart without the plant matter. 
     
     
         9 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 6 , wherein the executable instruction set, when executed, further causes the processor to:
 detect a water level in the cart with an environmental sensor; and   determine the weight of the plant matter within the respective sections of the tray of the based at least in part on the water level in the cart.   
     
     
         10 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 6 , wherein the executable instruction set, when executed, further causes the processor to perform at least the following:
 determine when the cart is at a first position on the track;   determine a first weight of the plant matter within the respective sections of the tray when the cart is at the first position on the track;   determine when the cart is at a second position on the track that is different than the first position;   determine a second weight of the plant matter within the respective sections of the tray at the second position; and   determine whether the second weight of the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray is sufficiently higher than the first weight of the plant matter in the respective sections to justify harvesting.   
     
     
         11 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 6 , wherein the executable instruction set, when executed, further causes the processor to perform at least the following:
 store determined weights of the plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the tray;   determine a trend of determined weights of the plant matter; and   change the recipe for the plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the tray based at least in part on the trend of determined weights.   
     
     
         12 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 6 , further comprising a seeder, wherein the seeder provides seed to the respective sections of the tray, and wherein in response to determining that the weight of the respective sections of the tray is not within the predetermined tolerance, the cart is returned to the seeder to add seed to the respective sections of the tray. 
     
     
         13 . The assembly line grow pod of  claim 6 , further comprising at least one of the following: a lighting component and a temperature component. 
     
     
         14 . A method for managing growth of plant matter in an assembly line grow pod, the method comprising:
 retrieving a recipe for the plant matter in the respective sections of a tray in a cart, the recipe including instructions for moving the cart along a track of the assembly line grow pod, instructions for providing water, nutrients, lighting, and temperature adjustment to grow the plant matter to a to a preferred weight in the respective sections of the tray;   causing the cart to move along the track between a seeder and a harvester, the cart comprising the tray having a plurality of sections for holding plant matter and a wheel coupled to the tray, wherein the wheel is engaged with the track;   receiving data from a plurality of weight sensors that are coupled to the cart,   determining, from the data, a weight of plant matter positioned within the respective sections of the plurality of sections of the tray;   comparing a weight of the of the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray with the preferred weight of the plant matter for the respective sections of the tray;   changing the recipe for the plant matter positioned in the respective sections of the tray based at least in part on comparing the weight with the preferred weight;   causing an environmental affecter to actuate, based on changes to the recipe; and   harvesting the plant matter with the harvester when the weight of the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray is within a predetermined tolerance of the preferred weight.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein detecting the weight of the plant matter in the respective sections of the tray comprises detecting a cart weight with the plant matter and determining an empty cart weight. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising
 detecting a water level in the cart with an environmental sensor; and   determining the weight of the plant matter within the respective sections of the tray based at least in part on the water level in the cart.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the preferred weight of the plant matter is based at least in part on an elapsed grow time of the plant matter within the cart. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising detecting a distance traveled by the cart along the track and determining the elapsed grow time based at least in part on the distance traveled by the cart. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 depositing a plurality of seeds into each of the plurality of sections of the tray;   detecting a seed weight of the plurality of seeds within the respective sections of the tray; and   determining an amount of seeds positioned in the respective sections of the cart based at least in part on the seed weight of the plurality of seeds and a known average weight of a seed of the plurality of seeds.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising
 determining when the cart is at a first position on the track;   determining the weight of the plant matter within the respective sections of the tray of the cart when the cart is at the first position on the track;   determining when the cart is at a second position on the track that is different than the first position; and   determining the weight of the plant matter within the respective sections of the tray at the second position.