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My Experience
I Interned at Dream Harvest part time during my second semester at the University of Houston where I partook in the day to day tasks of hydroponics farming while looking for opportunities to improve processes. I spent 4 weeks learning about germination, water circulation, seeding, and harvesting before providing my engineering problem solving skills to integrate a commercial automated nutrient and water re-circulation system to supply the necessary nutrients and minerals to support plant growth. I constructed a water reservoir with depth and pH sensors to monitor the nutrient rich water to be circulated among the trays
My main internship project was the design and prototype of a hand drill powered crop harvester. I noticed that to harvest, the plants were manually cut using ceramic scissors, taking a lot of time and effort. I pitched my idea of designing a device that would be powered by an electric hand drill and drive a reciprocating blade to cut the crops as well as a sweeper to push the greens into a collection bag. I spent 4 weeks designing and receiving user input from the employees after which I prototyped the device using off the self parts and SLA 3D printing. I ran into many challenges while fabricating the prototype such as preventing friction, keeping the device food safe, and machining parts with limited equipment. However, at the end of my semester and 5 month internship, I had a working prototype that lived up to the requirements.
Skills Developed:
Autodesk Inventor
SLA 3D Printing
Rapid Prototyping
Hydroponics Farming
Float Valve, pH, Temperature, & Humidity Sensor Calibration
About the Dream Harvest
Dream Harvest Farms is one of the first hydroponics startups in Texas to sustainably farm in the heart of Houston, Texas. Their indoor farm uses 95% less water than traditional farms without any pesticides. Additionally, Dream With only one farm, Dream Harvest is able to cultivate up to 12 different types of produce and supply grocery stores including Kroger and Whole Foods in Texas and surrounding states
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