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We have a plan to transform conventional agriculture from one of the top polluting activities on Earth to zero-footprint, autonomous food production. Imagine friendly robots growing and raising organic, non-gmo food for you, your family and community.
The first step towards that vision is an integrated suite of sensors and controls. We call it an automation platform. Once this first stage of the vision is complete, we’ll begin adding “sustainable appliances”; equipment that integrates with the automation platform and fulfills key aspects of food production from generating heat from sunlight, to cleaning recycled water, to dehydrating produce. The design of these appliances is focused on minimizing the energy, water and labor inputs for food production.
With a constant stream of data flowing from indoor farms and a diverse array of sustainable appliances, we’ll unleash true food system transformation by developing the intelligent algorithms that will maximize production while minimizing cost.
[MARKED TO BE REVIEWED] People live in diverse locations and are faced with different resource constraints. For instance, access to clean water could be a challenge in Ghana whereas access to energy could be a challenge in Greenland. So alongside the automation platform, we’re also developing equipment to help people overcome those challenges. The multi-stage water filter and the solar thermal air heater are results of this effort.
HAPI is an open project, meaning anyone and everyone can participate to the best of their ability. While many aspects of the project are highly technical, there are also areas where non-technical expertise is needed. If you would like to see what’s going on currently and what cool stuff we’ll be working on next, visit our project management board. Check for more information: http://hapihq.com/join-us-2/
HAPI is an evolution in community-driven food production technology. Originally focused on hydroponics (hence Hydroponic Automation Platform Initiative), the program has branched out and now incorporates other food production scenarios such as hoop houses and controlled environments. A guiding principal is that HAPI is not a strictly defined system in a technical sense. The HAPI research and development process is on-going, extending in technical scope and definition as required, in order to most effectively resolve challenges and integrate with other emerging technologies and best practices. In other words, just because a given technology or technique is not part of the current platform does not mean it is an excluded possibility. With regards to other guiding principles: scalability, flexibility, fault-tolerance and security, these should be concisely and precisely defined for every facet of the program. HAPI is also an accessible technology platform as it strives to keep capital investment and operational costs as low as possible. There is little value in being technical elitist and simplicity tends to scale well. Each HAPI implementation will produce food using different forms of lighting, nutrient delivery systems, substrate materials, structural designs and operational practices. We will eventually have the ability to simulate diverse environmental scenarios such as deserts, underwater, cold weather and space. Materials and construction processes will be tailored towards the resources and capabilities of the typical maker space or home workshop. In the area of urban food production, HAPI will introduce low cost, manageable systems that can be easily scaled for typical constraints (space, expertise, money and energy) and optimally configurable for quantity, nutritional profile and climatic diversity.