A survey of smart hydroponic systems

The explosion in human population has left researchers scrambling for solutions on how to feed the world. Furthermore, rural-urban immigration has on the one hand left the farms in the rural areas devoid of farmers and on the other hand has left the urban areas over-populated. Hydroponics is a form of agriculture where crops are grown without soil. This technique allows the farms to follow the farmers to the urban area. In addition, the fact that no soil is needed, allows hydroponic system to be stacked vertically (also known as vertical farming) to save space. The final frontier in hydroponics is automation. It will allow one farmer to work more than one job and cultivate more than one farm simultaneously. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on smart hydroponic system developed to date.