ChE Capstone Project AUTOMATO: Will Chauvin, Phaethon Philbrook, & Paul Berry
The project started with a simple question after a summer vacation: "Why do the tomatoes taste better in Greece?" After returning to Boston, Paul Berry was surprised to learn that fruits and vegetables were being driven thousands of miles – mostly from California, Mexico, and Canada – before reaching Boston dinner tables. Determined to grow food in his apartment, the team decided to combine their skills and build a fully automated gardening system.
Will Chauvin handled the process control and economic viability, helping with the system design. Phaethon Philbrook, a recent Biology graduate here at Northeastern, architected the nutrient dosing system and established the optimal growing environment for our plants. Paul Berry tied it all together writing the software and building the hardware.
The result was a series of web-connected sensors and actuators that regulated all aspects of plant growth including the lighting, temperature, humidity, watering cycle, and nutrient dosing. They used a soil-free irrigation technique known as aeroponics, where an atomized nu-trient-rich mist is sprayed on the plant roots suspended in open air. Despite their lack of previous agriculture knowledge, the project was a success and cherry tomato plants were sustained. The team thoroughly enjoyed working together on an interdisciplinary capstone project and are continuing to iterate on their system design to build a new home appliance that will allow anyone to grow fresh food right in their homes. Will graduated in May from Chemical Engineering. Paul graduated in May from Computer Science. Phaethon graduated a year ago and works as a biologist in an immunology lab at Northeastern.