La plante connectée : an intuitive low-cost phenotyping station

Details

Supervisors

Pelsser, Cristel

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences informatiques, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

The objective of teaching plant physiology is to provide students with an understanding of the biological processes that regulate plant development. It is crucial to offer students practical experience involving direct interaction with developing plants, so that they can observe the processes for themselves using indicators that are visible to the naked eye or measured by sensors. However, the resources and equipment required to enable students to participate actively in the various practical tasks are not always available. Last year, Louis Lemaire and Martin Lallemand endeavoured to introduce an innovative, interactive methodology to these practical sessions through the development of a low-cost phenotyping system. The system was designed to facilitate the observation and measurement of specific characteristics of an individual plant and to be deployed in multiple units and utilised by groups of students. The objective of this thesis is to analyse this prototype and to subsequently enhance it with the intention of improving its maintainability, reliability and overall robustness. This should provide a robust foundation for future improvements that could potentially result in the development of a final product that is fit for purpose in practical work.