It all started with a request from Netled to include RFID tags on gutters. Primo produces the most advanced plastic profiles in the world, including gutters for controlled environment agriculture. In close collaboration with Netled, they have developed an RFID-tagged gutter that comes ready for use on Vera vertical farming industrial systems.
The gutters come with specifically spaced pre-drilled holes for pots, an ultrasound welded end cover, a drip nose, a green co-extrusion layer that reduces algae growth, the Netled logo, and production date, and a pre-attached RFID tag.
Ready-to-use gutters
The gutters are designed according to Netled’s specific requirements and specifications, and the RFID tag will allow growers to track individual gutters as they move through the Vera vertical farming system.
“The gutters are the most intelligent in the world, and we are thrilled to be able to showcase them at Greentech Amsterdam alongside Netled. It is one thing to be innovative, but it is another to be able to show actual use cases at an industrial scale. Netled’s Vera vertical farming systems are a great example of how RFID technology can be implemented into gutters for production facilities.” says Janne Mäkisalo, Business Development Manager at Inter Primo.
A simple idea with big benefits
The RFID tags will allow growers to track the gutters and subsequently the plants in them as they move through the Vera system.
“The RFID tag is a really simple idea, actually,” says Toni Ryhänen, Chief Technology Officer at Netled.
“The tags contain information about the type and number of plants and the amount of time they spend in the Vera system. Thanks to the tags, customers will be able to recognize individual gutters in the Vera vertical farming system and gather the above information about the plants. This will allow the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to collect this data as the gutters pass over the buffer table. This is very useful information for customers in fine-tuning their own growth processes.
It’s a simple idea, but at an industrial scale, when you have thousands of gutters in the system and millions of plants being grown, the ability to automatically track gutters and gather information from the system is a big leap forward with significant benefits for customers.
Netled and Primo will both be exhibiting at Greentech Amsterdam on June 14th to 16th. You can find Netled at Stand 02.402 and Primo at Stand 02.319
For more information:
Netled
netled.fi