"Food Computer" – A Demo Platform for Internet of Things Education

The aim of the study was to develop a computer system for plant replication in a controlled environment. The technology was based on the Internet of Things platform which includes: an automated system for remote monitoring and controlling climate, energy, and plant growth within specialized, isolated growth chamber.The remotely monitored and controlled climate variables were: air temperature, humidity, potential of hydrogen (pH), electrical conductivity, root zone temperature, carbon dioxide level, dissolved oxygen in the substrate, and many other variables that could be digitally monitored and/or controlled within the growth chamber, in order to obtain different plant phenotype expressions.Records of cultivated plants are stored in the form of so-called "climate recipes" for future replication and the computer system got the popular name"food computer".We hypothesized that the system could be used in elementary and high schools as an engaging demonstration platform for STEM popularization and IoT education and research.