User Interface for an Immersive Virtual Reality Greenhouse for Training Precision Agriculture

In the past 50 years, farm producers have increased use of electronic control systems for controlled environment agriculture in greenhouses and animal production. These systems use environmental sensors to automate environmental management of greenhouses and can lead to significantly larger yields. However, mismanagement of a CEA system can also lead to loss of entire crops. Due to the sensitivity of crops in CEA and potential losses, students are rarely allowed to work directly with CEA systems. In order to increase opportunities for students to interact with CEA systems, an immersive virtual greenhouse simulation was created. Implementing realistic interfaces for physical tasks and for the CEA system provides students with ‘hands-on’ training in the virtual greenhouse. However, there are challenges that limit implementation of physical actions and realistic interfaces in virtual reality. We consider interfaces for three types of interactions: system interactions, physical greenhouse interactions, and interactions with the CEA system. Potential interface designs are presented with a discussion of the benefits and costs associated with each design.