4 Seeds

Chino Hills, CA | Have seeds will travel!

Awards & Nominations

4 Seeds has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!

Galactic Impact

The solution with the most potential to improve life on Earth or in the universe.

4 SEEDS: InfiniPod

High-Level Project Summary

Our product, Infinipod, is a compact in space design that employs aeroponics and a soil-free cultivation technique in which the roots hang in the air while a nutrient solution is delivered in the form of a fine mist (which saves water by 98%!). To ensure the best use of space, our grow pods can collapse into a shelf, it can also be expanded to accommodate the option for the growth area to be visible for the crew when desired. Users can also use the application we made that organizes the data we collect to find better methods to cultivate crops. Whether it’s growing in space or on earth, Infinipod can grow anywhere and everywhere.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://youtu.be/GCpAwDGWozY

Link to Final Project

https://youtu.be/RXSndjUjEXg

Detailed Project Description

How We Addressed This Challenge:

We developed a portable shelf that quickly and efficiently grows plants in a tight compact space while at the same time minimizing human interaction. This solution doesn’t just benefit space travel to Mars and beyond, but also the future of our agriculture. Making compact designs while also heightening crop growth rate and nutritional value is widely beneficial to all of society and makes food increasingly sustainable for the years to come. Our compact design offers space agriculture that is simplistic and effortless to sustain. We chose to plant our seeds in rock wool as it can be reused and produces immensely higher yields in less time. Plants are proven to grow while using fewer resources with the highly compressed nutrient mists from aeroponics. Our design includes 50-micron spray nozzles for the plant roots to absorb water in space, LED lights to simulate sunlight and warmth, a reverse osmosis filter for the purest water, and finally, a pressure release valve to prevent tank explosion. We hope InfiniPod can help everyone around the globe and in space sustainably produce crops and impact the cultivation world.

How We Developed Our Project:

The two main inspirations for the InfiniPod design are a collapsible shelf and soil-free cultivation techniques. Helen had previous experience with soil-free farming so we decided that soil-free cultivation will benefit our system. Next, we had to determine which type of soil-free technique matched our goals and design. There are aeroponics, hydroponics, and aquaponics. We then decided on aeroponics since it reduces water usage by 98% and fertilizer usage by 60 percent, which minimizes the resources and mass of this operation all while maximizing crop yields. Plants grown through aeroponics have also corroborated to uptake more minerals and vitamins, making the plants healthier and more nutritious.

Our team decided on lettuce since it is the easiest, fastest-growing crop, and it was grown in space before. Team members researched how much vegetables a crew of 6 needs a day to determine the size of our Infinipod (10 selves in each pod, 4 lettuce per shelf, 3+ cups of lettuce per day for each of the crew of 6) We then researched farming in space, water absorption/flow in space, and types of products suitable for our space system (different filters, spray nozzle size, pressure relief valve, and sensors) through the resources NASA provided.

The three main components:

Reverse Osmosis Filter:

The reverse osmosis filter provides InfiniPod with clean water that is recycled through the waste stream. The water is propelled through the reverse osmosis membrane, sediment filter (filter out debris), carbon filter (disinfection purposes), Post Activated Carbon (PAC) Filter (removes major contaminants from your water supply). This offers us the capability to reprocess nutrients from waste streams.

Spray Nozzle for water absorption:

In space, It is harder for plants to absorb water through their roots. We have to deliver water in the form of mist in order for the plants to take in the nutritious liquids. So our InfiniPods are supplied with 50 Micron spray nozzles that provide fine mist with the help of 80 psi centrifugal pumps.

Computerized Control Interface:

We developed our application for data collection and system control. Although the pods are fully self-operating, users have the utmost control over the environments. It allows you to control almost every aspect of your pod and it also displays data. Controls and displays include temperature (LED), fluid levels, Spray control, nutrient/water levels, and liquid refills. Our app allows users to share their planting experience and problems, then, we accumulate the data from around the world to find better ways to grow more nutritious plants for astronauts.

3D MODELS AND USER INTERFACE LINKS:

Script Doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DkeVn4IU2M4gE_Fi4hd0MNF25LbuY9H8OOthDM4jqjk/edit

3D-Shelf Final Link:

https://skfb.ly/o7EQz

3D-Box Final Link:

https://skfb.ly/o7EQY

UI Link:

https://preview.uxpin.com/53ad1af0ca98af3dc580b3d0f40ece52d99ff99b#/pages//simulate/no-panels?mode=v

UI for Phone:

https://preview.uxpin.com/ce51f0a96fa2b66013a9356e390077f81d338144#/pages/142580220

Space Agency Data

How we used space agency data in our project:

We utilized portions of data from NASA and the CSA to determine how much water and nutrients were needed, which soil-free cultivation method was most suitable for this occasion, and what type of plants will begrown. For example, when we researched how much resources aeroponics can save, we used NASA's soil-free research page which helped determine the type of soil-free cultivation technique we used. Also, we used NASA's previous projects such as Veggie and APH to select the main crop (LETTUCE!!!) we should grow. We researched existing plant habitats to improve our model, and currently implemented plants in outer space agriculture.

Hackathon Journey

Our Hackathon Journey:

We are a team of 5 that met through Magikid. Helen, Austin, and Zack, friends in Frisco, TX, agreed to form the team. In addition, Ray and Amos were added later from outside the states (Shanghai and Canada). We chose this challenge due to our passion for food and engineering. We have worked vigorously and applied all of our skills to complete this challenge. These skills include basic 3D modeling, video editing, script writing, graphic design, and engineering. At times, communication proved to be difficult due to having 2 long distance team members in addition to our in person meetings, but we pulled through and overcame the obstacles. We would like to thank our parents and Magikid for giving us this opportunity. This has been a very enjoyable and educating experience for all of us.