Search Results (137)

Efficient individual identification is essential for advancing precision broiler farming. In this study, we propose YOLO-IFSC, a high-precision and lightweight face recognition framework specifically designed for dense broiler farming environments. Building on the YOLOv11n architecture, the proposed model integrates four key modules to overcome the limitations of traditional methods and recent CNN-based approaches. The Inception-F module employs a dynamic multi-branch design to enhance multi-scale feature extraction, while the C2f-Faster module leverages partial convolution to reduce computational redundancy and parameter count. Furthermore, the SPPELANF module reinforces cross-layer spatial feature aggregation to alleviate the adverse effects of occlusion, and the CBAM module introduces a dual-domain attention mechanism to emphasize critical facial regions. Experimental evaluations on a self-constructed dataset demonstrate that YOLO-IFSC achieves a mAP@0.5 of 91.5%, alongside a 40.8% reduction in parameters and a 24.2% reduction in FLOPs compared to the baseline, with a consistent real-time inference speed of 36.6 FPS. The proposed framework offers a cost-effective, non-contact alternative for broiler face recognition, significantly advancing individual tracking and welfare monitoring in precision farming. Full article

Livestock farming has been identified as a significant contributor to atmospheric pollution, underscoring the necessity for the design and management of housing systems to adopt mitigation strategies. In the context of civil engineering, green wall systems are proving to be effective solutions for air filtration and purification. Nevertheless, research related to their application in livestock buildings is limited. This study focuses on the design, implementation, and performance evaluation of a modular, mobile green wall system that has been specifically developed to test PM2.5 concentrations’ reduction in naturally ventilated, free-stall dairy barns in the Mediterranean region. To this end, PM2.5 concentrations and climatic parameters have been measured before and after the application of the green wall system. Based on one-way analysis of variance, PM2.5 concentrations after the application were significantly lower (p < 0.001) than those before the mitigation strategy. The results of this study showed that the overall efficacy of the green wall reached 44%. The implementation of green wall systems offers a promising strategy to improve air quality in livestock facilities and to design aesthetically pleasing barns with a positive impact on the surrounding landscape. Full article

Countries worldwide have implemented regulations on the green coverage ratio of new buildings to address the urban heat island effect. For example, Taipei City mandates that the green coverage rate of new buildings must be between 40% and 70%, while Singapore requires a green coverage rate of 100% or higher. Consequently, building greening is now a regulatory requirement rather than a preference. This study focuses on developing an indoor light-emitting-diode (LED) hydroponic inverted planting system to utilize ceiling space for expanding green areas in buildings. The light source of this system is suitable for both plant growth and daily lighting, thereby reducing electricity costs. The watertight planting unit does not require replenishment of the nutrient solution during a planting cycle for small plants, which can reduce water consumption and prevent indoor humidity. The modular structure allows various combinations, enabling interior designers to create interior ceiling scapes. Additionally, it is possible to grow aromatic plants and edible vegetables, facilitating the creation of indoor farms. Consequently, this system is suitable for high-rise residential buildings, office buildings, underground shopping malls, and indoor areas with limited or no natural light. It is also applicable to hospitals, clinics, wards, and care centers, where indoor plants alleviate psychological stress and enhance mental and physical health. Full article

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is crucial for plant growth, influencing photosynthesis efficiency and crop yield. The increasing adoption of controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) necessitates precise PAR monitoring. The high cost of commercial PAR sensors, however, limits their accessibility and widespread use, creating a growing need for a low-cost alternative capable of reliable deployment in diverse agricultural environments. Building on recent advancements in PAR sensing using multi-channel spectral sensors such as the AS7341 and AS7265, this study develops the electronics for an AS7341-based, open-source, cost-effective (~USD 50) PAR sensor validated across a broad PPFD range and conditions, ensuring reliability and ease of replication. It uses a relatively simple multi-linear regression that offers real-time applications without energy intensive machine learning. The developed sensor is calibrated against the industry-standard Apogee SQ-500SS PAR sensor in four distinct farming environments: (i) horizontal grow lights, (ii) vertical agrotunnel lighting, (iii) agrivoltaics, and (iv) in greenhouses. A mean error ranging from 1 to 5% indicates its suitability for controlled environment farming and continuous data logging. The open-source hardware design and systematic installation guidelines enable users to replicate, calibrate, and integrate the sensor with minimal background in electronics and optics. Full article

The reduction of harmful emissions is shaping trends across many industries, including architecture and building. With rising ecological awareness and the threat of climate change, architects, construction engineers, and developers are focusing on innovative solutions to minimize the construction sector’s environmental impact. This paper presents a technical and management approach system using renewable energy sources, based on an existing single-family house with known energy consumption. The aim is to achieve energy independence by relying solely on on-site electricity generation and storage, while remaining connected to water and sewage infrastructure. Utilizing renewable energy sources enhances self-sufficiency and investment profitability. The study evaluates the house’s energy consumption to optimally select electricity supply solutions, including a small wind farm and photovoltaic installation integrated with appropriate electricity storage. This is crucial due to the air heat pump used for heating and domestic hot water, which requires electricity. An hourly simulation of the system’s operation over a year verified the adequacy of the selected devices. Additionally, two different locations were analyzed to assess how varying climate and wind conditions influence the design and performance of off-grid energy systems. The analysis showed that solar and wind systems can meet annual energy demand, but limited storage capacity prevents full autonomy. Replacing the heat pump with a biomass boiler reduces electricity use by about 25% and battery needs by 40%, though seasonal energy surpluses remain a challenge. This concept aligns with the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Full article

Urban agriculture is considered by many scientists and policymakers as a key strategy to build climate change-resilient communities within cities by strengthening food systems, with positive food security, biodiversity, nutrition and health outcomes. The estimated potential of urban agriculture to provide between 15 and 20% of the global food supply can be enhanced by applying agroecological principles and practices that revitalize urban agriculture cropping systems, thus leading to the design of highly diversified, productive and resilient urban farms on a planet in polycrisis. Two pillars are used in agroecology: (a) restoring spatial and temporal crop combinations that deter pests by enhancing biological control with natural enemies, and (b) increasing soil organic matter through green manures, compost and other organic practices that enhance soil fertility and beneficial microorganisms. In addition to technical and environmental obstacles, there are a series of social, economic and political barriers that limit the scaling-up of urban agriculture. For this reason, it is important to launch policies that establish mechanisms for cities to provide incentives for urban agriculture, including access to land, water, seeds and technical knowledge. The creation of producer–consumer networks around markets with solidarity is critical for local equitable food provision and consumption. Full article

Energy generated from wind (in the form of wind farms (WFs)) is expected to help alleviate rising energy demand in Saudi Arabia, driven by industrial development and population growth. However, before implementing wind farms, conducting a comprehensive wind resource assessment (WRA) study is of paramount importance. This paper presents the analysis of the wind resource potential of a site in Yanbu city, which is located on the western coastal area of Saudi Arabia, using a comprehensive study. The hourly data on wind speed and direction over a one-year period was used in the presented analysis. The plant capacity factor (CF) and annual energy production (AEP) are evaluated for more than 100 commercial wind turbines (WTs). The highest AEP was achieved by the ‘Enercon E126/7.5 MW’ turbine, generating 14.49 GWh, with a corresponding CF of 21.82%. In contrast, the lowest AEP was observed for the ‘Northern Power d’ turbine, producing only 0.13 GWh, with a CF of 14.89%. The highest CF was recorded for the ‘Leitwind LTW104/2.0 MW’ turbine at 40.67%, corresponding to an AEP of 7.12 GWh. The results obtained are very valuable for designers in selecting the appropriate WT to obtain the predicted AEP and CF with the appropriate turbine class. Furthermore, this study applied the K-means clustering algorithm to classify WTs into three distinct categories. Building on this classification, synthetic datasets representing tailored WT configurations were generated—a novel methodology that enables the simulation of site-specific designs not yet available in existing market offerings. These datasets equip wind farm developers with the ability to define WT specifications for manufacturers, guided by two key criteria: the site’s wind resource profile and the target performance metrics of the WT. Full article

In Europe, renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic panels and wind power plants are developing dynamically. The growth of renewable energy is driven by rising energy prices, greenhouse gas emission restrictions, the European Union’s Green Deal policy, and decarbonization efforts. Photovoltaic farms generate energy intermittently, depending on weather conditions. Given the increasing number of new installations, ensuring the power balance and transmission capacity of the electrical grid has become a major challenge. To address this issue, the authors propose a technical solution that allows the energy generated by photovoltaic systems to be stored in the form of heat. Thermal energy from solar power and wind energy offers significant potential for energy storage. It can be accumulated during summer in specially designed sand-based heat storage systems and then used for heating purposes in winter. This approach not only reduces heating costs but also decreases greenhouse gas emissions and helps balance the power grid during sunny periods. Post-industrial areas, often located near city centers, are suitable locations for large-scale heat storage facilities supplying, among others, public utility buildings. Therefore, this article presents a concept for utilizing high-temperature sand-based heat storage systems built in decommissioned underground mining excavations. Full article

Since the 1990s, Polish energy companies have been using new technologies to build wind farms, consisting of large devices. Over the years, the power and the size of installations have increased, and it continues to do so. In Poland, as well as in other countries, a problem with the post-use management of wind turbine blades has appeared. The recycling of wind turbine blades has remained challenging hitherto. The utilization of many different materials and changes in the dimensions cause multi-material waste. Since there are no economically viable recycling technologies available for such large-scale composite products, other treatment strategies for disposed WTBs have to be considered. This study explores the repurposing of WTBs as a pro-environmental alternative approach from a technological and architectural point of view. For this purpose, the study is guided by an analysis of wind turbine locations in reference to the impending need for waste management of wind blades in Poland. Well-profiled blades help transfer a large portion of wind energy to turbine rotors, which is why their construction is a challenge when it comes to designing new objects or elements thereof from decommissioned blades. They have a continuous curvature, where both the cross-section and thickness change, which is why, in the design of architectural or engineering objects, they are cut into smaller parts. This solution makes it possible to optimize the load-bearing properties of individual segments, ensuring a more stable system. Smaller elements also provide greater freedom in shaping architectural forms, which is associated with better control of the final effect from the aesthetic side. The potential of repurposing WTBs is shown, for example, in the design concept for the Archery Centre in Poznan (Poland). Full article

Irrational use of antimicrobials in humans, livestock, and poultry is often cited as the key driver of the accelerated emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans and animals. In Pakistan, the use of antimicrobials in livestock and poultry is not well-regulated, owing to limited and/or ineffective implementation of existing legislations and lack of coordination amongst the key stakeholders. To gather data and information pertinent to the supply chain mapping and the usage of antibiotics in the livestock and poultry sectors of Pakistan, a national workshop for selected influential stakeholders was held in Islamabad, Pakistan during March 2020 to map the supply chain and the usage of antibiotics in the country. Participants from all relevant organizations identified the supply chain and discussed the status, challenges, and the way forward to enhance data collection and monitoring of antimicrobial usage (AMU) in livestock and poultry sectors to contain the emergence of AMR. The pre-workshop questionnaire was designed to gather relevant information on AMU and its distribution among diverse markets and users from the workshop participants, utilizing open-ended questions. A chart depicting the relative magnitude of an antimicrobial use (AMU) supply chain was constructed to illustrate the flow of antimicrobials from import and production to end-use at the farm level. This chart was shared with participants to gather their professional opinions and potential corrections. It also presented a list of agencies and their roles in regulating AMU, along with the types of AMU data available at each level. Specific recommendations were made at the end of the workshop to review and update legislation to cover the entire AMU supply chain, enhance regulations to restrict the use of antimicrobial growth promoters, build an integrated national AMU database system, and raise awareness about the responsible use of antimicrobials in the livestock and poultry sectors. It was concluded that the AMU supply chain in the veterinary sector of Pakistan is fragmented and is co-regulated by various federal and provincial stakeholders. There are some drugs, such as antibiotic growth promoters, which are not regulated at all. The approach and findings from this study can serve as a model to validate the use and management of antibiotics in other, similar countries currently grappling with serious antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crises. Full article

This research proposes a ground-breaking technique for protecting agricultural fields against animal invasion, addressing a key challenge in the agriculture industry. The suggested system guarantees real-time intrusion detection and quick reactions by combining cutting-edge sensor technologies, image processing capabilities, and the Internet of Things (IoT), successfully safeguarding crops and reducing agricultural losses. This study involves a thorough examination of five models—Inception, Xception, VGG16, AlexNet, and YoloV8—against three different datasets. The YoloV8 model emerged as the most promising, with exceptional accuracy and precision, exceeding 99% in both categories. Following that, the YoloV8 model’s performance was compared to previous study findings, confirming its excellent capabilities in terms of intrusion detection in agricultural settings. Using the capabilities of the YoloV8 model, an IoT device was designed to provide real-time intrusion alarms on farms. The ESP32cam module was used to build this gadget, which smoothly integrated this cutting-edge model to enable efficient farm security measures. The incorporation of this technology has the potential to transform farm monitoring by providing farmers with timely, actionable knowledge to prevent possible threats and protect agricultural production. Full article

The offshore wind power sector has witnessed exponential growth over the past decade, with large-scale offshore wind farms grappling with the challenge of elevated construction and maintenance expenses. Given that the collector system constitutes a substantial part of the investment cost in wind farms, the design and optimization of this system are pivotal to enhancing the economic viability of offshore wind farms. A thorough examination of collector system design and optimization methodologies is essential to elucidate the critical aspects of collector system design and to assess the comparative merits and drawbacks of various optimization techniques, thereby facilitating the development of collector systems that offer superior economic performance and heightened reliability. This paper conducts a review of the evolving trends in collector system research, with a particular emphasis on topology optimization models and algorithms. It juxtaposes the economic and reliability aspects of collector systems with varying topologies and voltage levels. Building on this foundation, the paper delves into the optimization objectives and variables within optimization models. Furthermore, it provides a comprehensive overview and synthesis of AI-driven optimization algorithms employed to address the optimization challenges inherent in offshore wind farm collector systems. The paper concludes by summarizing the existing research limitations pertaining to offshore wind farm collector systems and proposes innovative directions for future investigative endeavors. The overarching goal of this paper is to enhance the comprehension of offshore wind farm collector system design and optimization through a systematic analysis, thereby fostering the continued advancement of offshore wind power technology. Full article

The surging global population and urbanization trends present new challenges to food production systems and energy, especially in resource-limited urban environments. Vertical farming on façades (VFOF) is an innovative strategy to address this challenge by growing crops on building skins, efficiently using urban space, increasing food self-sufficiency, and reducing the environmental impact of carbon emissions. This article is a comprehensive review of VFOF and closely related topics based on 166 journal articles. It covers the latest research advances in design, technology, social impact, and environmental benefits. In addition to enhancing the autonomy of urban food supply and improving residents’ quality of life, VFOF also has the potential to optimize the thermal performance of buildings and promote energy conservation by having some of the qualities of vertical greening systems (VGS). The planting system design and technical support factors for different façade locations are explained in detail. The symbiotic relationship between VFOF and architecture is examined to enhance sustainability. The popularity of VFOF is increasing in terms of social acceptance, and the government, together with the private sector and communities, play a vital role in promoting its development. In addition, this review also collates the cases of VFOF implementation in recent years. Research shows that the implementation of VFOF has many advantages, especially when considering future urban challenges under climate change scenarios and the need to provide solutions to achieve carbon neutral buildings and cities. Still, high initial investment, operating costs, technical complexity, security issue, policy and regulatory constraints, and public acceptance are all challenges to overcome. Further research should be carried out in the above fields. Full article

As cities confront multiple challenges such as climate change, urbanization, and food security, growing attention has been given to sustainable vertical farming and renewable energy solutions. Building facades, typically underutilized in high-density urban environments, present an opportunity for multifunctional buildings composed of both photovoltaic (PV) systems and vertical farming modules. However, on vertical surfaces, these two systems often compete for space. This research focuses on the development of a multifunctional agrivoltaics building envelope (ABE) system, combining building-integrated PV (BIPV) technology with hydroponic vertical farming. This ABE system adopts a modular design approach, where each unit can be prefabricated independently and assembled through an interlocking connection design and bolted fastening to ensure ease of construction and scalability. The design process includes the development of 2D cross-sectional technical design, assembly sequences, and an analysis of key design parameters through 3D modeling. The research adopts a combined Research through Design (RtD) and Research for Design (RfD) approach to bridge prototyping, testing, and performance optimization. This research highlights the potential of integrating renewable energy with agricultural production in building envelope systems. By addressing space optimization and multifunctionality, the research provides a practical framework for future applications in urban sustainability. Full article

As animal welfare becomes more active in livestock industry, research is being conducted on ways to improve poor housing environments, reduce stress, and meet welfare standards. Among these, environmental enrichment methods are effective in reducing stress and creating a welfare-friendly rearing environment, but there are few cases of actual application to farms. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of providing pecking materials (grain blocks), known as one of the environmental enrichment methods, to commercial broiler farms. This study used two facilities that could accommodate 32,000 one-day-old broilers (Arbor acres) per building, and two groups (control and treatment groups) were designed after creating two identical areas within each building (total two treatments, two replicates, 16,000 birds per replicate). Two identical zones within the house were created by installing a partition in the center; one side was provided with grain blocks (one grain block per 1000 birds), and the other side was not. Analysis items included productivity (body weight, uniformity), environmental variables (litter and air), welfare indicators (leg, gait score, feather cleanliness score), and serum corticosterone levels. Analysis of all items was conducted twice, on the 19th and 27th, taking into account the farm’s feed change date and slaughter schedule. Other environmental conditions (density, lighting, ventilation, temperature, humidity, feed, and water) were the same. As a result, no difference in productivity was observed according to enrichment, and the quality of litter and air was similar. Also, there was no significant difference in welfare indicators. Interestingly, however, provision of the environment enrichment lowered serum corticosterone levels (p < 0.05). The implications of our study are that grain blocks as a pecking material are an effective way to reduce stress without adversely affecting broiler performance and rearing environment. However, it is still necessary to explore optimal enrichment materials that can help not only the welfare level but also the broiler performance. Full article