“We have rewritten the software several times to strengthen its algorithms and give the system a very flexible and scalable framework for both hardware and software improvements. This means that clients will seamlessly receive new software updates and can expand their existing hardware with future modules,” says Alex Babich, CEO of Nuravine. Nuravine is an agtech company based in the state of New York and specializes in hydroponic nutrient dosing systems.
Nuravine’s main product is the Alchemist, an automated nutrient doser designed to optimize the performance of recirculating systems in vertical farms and greenhouses. A unique aspect of the system is its wide variety of use cases. It's flexible enough to be used in a small farm with tight space constraints and powerful enough to manage farms that are thousands of square feet. Using multiple sensors, combined with cloud connectivity, growers can monitor real-time conditions of the plants and control the system remotely.
Alex Babich
Meet the Alchemist
Nuravine’s nutrient dosing system includes a smart controller, peristaltic pump modules and a suite of reservoir sensors. Alchemist is the system’s monitor and controller. It consists of a capacitive touch screen, cloud connectivity and an intuitive menu system.j
The Alchemist is able to control Elixir 3-pump modules through its proprietary bus system which supports up to 127 unique devices, inducing future modules. Sensors are integrated to measure the pH, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of the water in which the plants are living in.
“Nuravine’s platform is designed to continually improve and will eventually become a full automation platform to control lights, HVAC, cameras, etc. This system will talk to the whole farm and make decisions based on multiple variables simultaneously. We started with water monitoring and dosing because it’s the most challenging part and has the greatest need for innovation,” says Alex.
Why precision dosing in hydroponics?
Without automated nutrient dosing, fertilizer mixing and reservoir management is a manual job that requires weight scales, time-consuming mixing processes and hand-done calculations. Once you add in a reliable and accurate dosing system this task will take almost no time - significantly reducing labor costs, increasing yields and overall plant health.
“By automating nutrient dosing, cultivators significantly reduce the amount of time spent on reservoir maintenance and can divert their resources to more mentally stimulating tasks such as finding ways to increase plant health and performance. In fact, one of our earliest clients was able to save 2-3 hours per day on nutrient maintenance after adopting the Nuravine system, his yield increased by 15% due to consistent and optimized dosing, and he used the extra time to find other ways to improve his facilities processes ” Alex says.
Work remotely
As Alex describes, there are two main components to the Nuravine dosing system. The first is dosing the nutrient solution and automating the nutrient delivery process. The second is the data collection and analysis portion. Having access to reservoir data combined with cloud connectivity allows users to have a much deeper insight into how their plants are eating, drinking and what the conditions of their reservoir are. By having this insight and a system that allows users to make fine-tuned adjustments, they can continue to increase yields over time.
For more information:
Nuravine
Alex Babich, CEO
www.nuravine.com