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We attempted to make a prototype of a machine that rolls reemay over greenhouse crops on cold nights and unrolls the reemay on warm mornings. The arduino based control unit works well, and it is documented below. The physical part of the machine did not work, and is documented as well.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number SARE ONE-24-466 , Arduino For Small Farms.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number SARE ONE-24-466 , Arduino For Small Farms.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
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The model for the physical machine is the already existing product that rolls up the plastic sides of a greenhouse to ventilate the inside on hot days. Here is an example:
The concept for the Reemay Robot was to create a similar device that rolled a 50’ x 30’ reemay sheet over crops inside a greenhouse. While the original side roll-up vent device uses gravity to maintain tension on the roller as the motor ascends and descends, our device uses tension supplied by a winding rope as the motor traverses the level greenhouse.