Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS)

Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) is an Edinburgh-headquartered agritech business developing vertical farming technology for growers across the world, combining engineering, agronomy and crop science expertise to deliver Total Controlled Environment Agriculture.

Environmental elements such as lighting, water, airflow and nutrient delivery are automatically applied to crops according to tailored Growth Recipes, helping to create the perfect growing environment, year-round.

In order to allow its customers to efficiently operate commercial-scale vertical farms capable of delivering high volumes of sustainably grown, high-quality and nutritious produce to consumers, the business identified an opportunity to deliver an automation solution covering the full crop growth cycle from seed to harvest.

The solution was required to reliably move a 6m2 Growth Tray (weighing up to 500kg) between vertical farming Growth Towers and customer harvesting lines.

The IGS team’s solution is framed around connecting an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) to a custom-designed transportation trolley, while also enabling the AMR to rotate independently of the trolley to which it is attached.

The system has been designed to deliver increased productivity by driving efficiencies, reducing labour costs, and allowing for 24-hour year-round crop production.