Smart Indoor Hydroponics, Run by sheenIoT + sheenbot
A soil-free indoor growing platform where sheenbot watches water quality, temperature, humidity, light and plant growth around the clock — and an automation & AI layer turns every reading into the right action.
Built for South Africa's Real Constraints
Indoor hydroponics isn't a luxury here — it's a direct answer to the pressures South African growers face every season.
Water Scarcity & Drought
After "Day Zero", every drop counts. A recirculating hydroponic system uses up to 90% less water than soil, and sheenbot accounts for every millilitre.
Load-Shedding
Rolling blackouts kill timers and pumps. A battery-backed, automated system rides through outages and resumes the schedule on its own.
Climate Volatility
Heat waves and erratic seasons wreck open-field crops. An indoor, controlled environment grows reliably all year, regardless of the weather outside.
Poor & Degraded Soil
Much local land is depleted or unsuitable. Soil-free growing sidesteps it entirely — even on a rooftop, in a container or a classroom.
Food Security & Cost
Fresh produce is expensive and travels far. Growing on-site near where people live cuts cost, waste and the supply-chain distance.
Skills & Youth Jobs
High youth unemployment meets a STEM gap. The same sheenbot platform teaches coding, IoT and agri-tech skills while it grows food.
A Complete Hydroponic Platform
From the growing structure to the sensors that watch it and the green power that keeps it running, every layer of the system is built around sheenbot — so students and growers can learn, monitor and automate from one controller.
Soil-Free Growing
Four hydroponic systems — from aeroponic towers to a desktop teaching kit — for every space and skill level.
sheenIoT + sheenbot Logic
The real product: an automation & AI layer that fuses every sensor into closed-loop decisions — not just dashboards.
Smart Clean Energy
Solar and wind charge a battery bank that switches power to pumps, cameras, lights and controllers on demand.
sheenbot · Live Dashboard
24.6°C
68%
412 µmol
6.2
1.8 mS
+3.4 cm
sheenbot Keeps Watch, Day and Night
A sheenbot controller reads the grow room's environment continuously and turns the numbers into action — dosing water, switching lights and alerting students when something drifts out of range.
- Temperature & humidity sensing for the canopy and root zone, with safe-range alerts.
- Light monitoring and scheduled grow-light control to hit a daily light target.
- Water level, pH and nutrient (EC) tracking for each reservoir.
- Plant-growth tracking with a camera — time-lapse capture and height logging.
- All data graphed on-device and synced to the cloud for classroom analysis.
Pick the Structure That Fits Your Space
Every system runs on the same sheenbot controller and sensor kit, so you can start on a desktop and scale up to a full vertical farm without relearning the platform.
Aeroponic Tower
Vertical column that mists nutrient solution directly onto bare roots — the highest yield per square metre, ideal for showcase installations and high-density greens.
- Roots suspended in air, fed by a timed misting pump
- Maximum oxygenation and fast growth
- Smallest footprint, tallest canopy
Standard Water Culture (Rack)
Classic shelf-style hydroponics where roots sit in continuously circulated nutrient solution (DWC / NFT) — the reliable workhorse for leafy greens.
- Multi-tier rack for steady commercial output
- Continuous-flow nutrient film or deep-water channels
- Simple to maintain and easy to scale
Ebb & Flow (Tidal Rack)
Rack beds are periodically flooded with nutrient solution, then drained back to the reservoir — the rhythmic 'tide' pulls fresh oxygen to the roots each cycle.
- sheenbot times the flood / drain cycle precisely
- Great for larger plants and media-based growing
- Resilient — roots stay healthy between cycles
Desktop Teaching Kit
A compact classroom unit that brings the whole platform to a single bench — perfect for teaching sensing, automation and plant science hands-on.
- Sized for a desk or lab bench
- Same sensors and sheenbot workflow, scaled down
- Safe, low-power, ideal for student projects
Sensors Are Just Inputs — the Logic Is the Product
No single probe is the "key" — the ultrasonic level sensor below is one input among many. What matters is that every reading feeds the same sheenIoT + sheenbot automation layer, which fuses them into real decisions.
Ultrasonic Water Level
UART / Analog · non-contact
Reads: Reservoir level to millimetre precision (small blind zone, temperature-compensated).
Drives: Top-up to fight EC spike, dry-run pump cut-off, leak / flood detection, and the whole drain-and-refill cycle.
EC / TDS Probe
Analog / I2C
Reads: Nutrient strength (Electrical Conductivity) of the solution.
Drives: Peristaltic dosing of A/B concentrate; flags the EC spike that follows fast transpiration.
pH Probe
Analog / I2C
Reads: Acidity of the nutrient solution (target ≈ 5.8–6.3).
Drives: Automatic pH-up / pH-down dosing so nutrients stay available to the roots.
Water Temperature
1-Wire (DS18B20)
Reads: Root-zone reservoir temperature.
Drives: Dissolved-oxygen and root-rot risk management; switches a chiller, heater or extra aeration.
Air Temp & Humidity
I2C (SHT-class)
Reads: Canopy temperature and humidity → vapour-pressure deficit (VPD).
Drives: Fan, vent and humidifier control to keep transpiration in the healthy band.
Light / PAR
I2C (lux / PAR)
Reads: Photosynthetically active light and the daily light integral (DLI).
Drives: Grow-light scheduling so every crop hits its daily light target.
Dissolved Oxygen (opt.)
Analog
Reads: Oxygen available to submerged roots.
Drives: Air-pump / air-stone control — critical for DWC and ebb-and-flow beds.
Flow / Leak
Pulse / Digital
Reads: Whether solution is actually moving through the loop.
Drives: Confirms the pump is really running and raises a leak alarm on an abnormal drop.
Growth Camera
Camera module
Reads: Plant height, leaf area and a time-lapse of the canopy.
Drives: Growth-rate modelling and harvest-date prediction, synced to the cloud.
The key isn't any one sensor — it's the logic that cross-references them. Level alone is just a number; level plus EC, transpiration and the growth curve is what lets sheenIoT + sheenbot decide whether to top up with pure water, dose nutrient, or raise a leak alarm.
The Automation & AI Logic Is the Real Product
Sensors and pumps are commodities — anyone can buy them. The value is the layer between them: sheenbot at the edge for real-time control and safety, and sheenIoT in the cloud for AI modelling, fleet dashboards and closed-loop decisions. That intelligence is what scales from a desktop kit to a vertical farm.
Sense
- Ultrasonic level · EC · pH
- Water temp · air temp & humidity
- Light / PAR · dissolved O₂
- Flow / leak · growth camera
Decide · sheenbot + sheenIoT
- sheenbot (edge): real-time threshold + schedule logic
- Hardware watchdog: dry-run & leak cut-off in ms
- sheenIoT (cloud): dashboards, alarms & fleet over MQTT
- AI logic: EC-drift compensation, VPD tuning, growth & harvest prediction
Act
- Relays: circulation pump · air pump · grow lights
- Solenoids: fresh-water valve · drain valve
- Peristaltic pumps: nutrient A · B · pH adjust
- Switched by the smart-energy battery bank
Closed-Loop Nutrient Recirculation
Drained solution is never poured straight back — plants feed selectively and roots shed pathogens. sheenbot runs it through a regeneration line first, so "waste" becomes fresh nutrient again.
No UV rig yet? Down-cycle instead.
If you haven't built the sterilisation and dosing line, route the drain valve to irrigate soil-grown plants — landscaping, trees or potted greens. Soil's microbial life breaks down root toxins and buffers the nutrient imbalance, so you use 100% of your water safely and at zero cost. The spent, low-EC solution is also ideal for seedlings.
pH
6.1
EC
1.7
Temp
23°
One Dashboard, Total Remote Control
Everything lives in the sheenIoT dashboard — open it on a phone or a browser and you have full remote control of your grow room, from your desk or the other side of the country. (Go on — tap the switches.)
- Switch water pumps, valves and lights on or off remotely — anytime, anywhere.
- Check water quality and environment parameters live (pH, EC, temperature, humidity, light).
- Deploy and edit automation routines over the air, no site visit required.
- Track each plant’s growth progress with the camera and time-lapse history.
- Let AI learn from your data and recommend — then auto-apply — the optimal grow plan per crop.
One Platform, a Different Strategy per Crop
Local conditions — summer heat, water scarcity and load-shedding — make every crop its own automation problem. Here are mainstream hydroponic crops for South Africa, each with the challenge it brings and the sheenIoT + sheenbot strategy that solves it.
Lettuce
LeafyChallenge: Heat spikes EC and scorches leaf tips (tip burn) on hot afternoons.
Strategy: Level-triggered pure-water top-up plus a midday EC setpoint dip keep the solution gentle.
Baby Spinach
LeafyChallenge: Bolts to seed once the root zone climbs past ~22 °C.
Strategy: Reservoir chiller and DLI-capped lighting hold the canopy cool through summer.
Swiss Chard
LeafyChallenge: Heavy feeder that pulls potassium faster than other elements, skewing the mix.
Strategy: Separate A/B dosing with a weekly EC reset rebalances the reservoir.
Basil
HerbChallenge: Loves warmth, but trapped humidity invites downy mildew.
Strategy: VPD-driven extraction fans and a night-time humidity cap keep leaves dry.
Rocket / Arugula
LeafyChallenge: Tiny, fast roots are easy to over- or under-water.
Strategy: Short, frequent ebb-and-flow pulses tuned to the small root mass.
Kale
LeafyChallenge: Big leaves attract aphids and demand a steady calcium supply.
Strategy: Camera pest-spotting alerts plus calcium dosing on a growth-stage curve.
Tomato
FruitingChallenge: Huge transpiration and blossom-end rot when calcium transport stalls.
Strategy: High-frequency irrigation with a stage-ramped EC and a tight Ca:K ratio.
Cucumber
FruitingChallenge: Drinks so fast the reservoir can empty and strand the pump.
Strategy: Dual level sensors trigger auto top-up and a hard dry-run lockout.
Chilli / Pepper
FruitingChallenge: Wants a long, warm season; cool wet roots rot it.
Strategy: Root-zone heating plus a dry-back schedule between irrigations.
Strawberry
FruitingChallenge: Iron lockout the moment pH drifts, and warm roots stop fruiting.
Strategy: Tight pH-band dosing and a reservoir chiller hold the sweet spot.
Coriander
HerbChallenge: Bolts in heat and sulks at any root disturbance.
Strategy: Cool deep-water culture with a rock-steady level — no sudden top-ups.
Pak Choi
LeafyChallenge: Inner-leaf tip burn when airflow is low and calcium cannot move.
Strategy: Gentle canopy airflow plus calcium dosing prevent the burn.
Celery
LeafyChallenge: A 16-week cycle risks "black heart" from calcium deficiency.
Strategy: Continuous EC logging and steady calcium dosing across the long run.
Spring Onion
LeafyChallenge: Shallow roots dry out and stress quickly.
Strategy: Frequent short flood cycles keep the thin root zone constantly moist.
Microgreens
MicrogreenChallenge: A 7-day cycle where high humidity breeds damping-off mould.
Strategy: Humidity and airflow control with clean, UV-treated water stop the rot.
Watercress
LeafyChallenge: Needs constantly flowing, oxygen-rich water or it stalls.
Strategy: Continuous-flow NFT with a dissolved-oxygen sensor and a flow watchdog.
Cabbage
LeafyChallenge: A long heading cycle and a heavy, pest-prone feeder.
Strategy: Scheduled EC ramps and camera scouting flag trouble early.
Mint
HerbChallenge: Aggressive roots clog channels and starve themselves of oxygen.
Strategy: Higher aeration and routine flow-rate checks keep channels clear.
Off-Grid, Self-Powered Farming
Solar panels and a vertical wind turbine feed their own charge controllers, which top up a shared battery bank. From there, sheenbot switches power to each load only when it's needed — so the farm can run far from the grid.
- Photovoltaic (solar) array with a dedicated PV charge controller.
- Vertical-axis wind turbine with its own wind controller for low-light days.
- Battery bank stores energy and rides through cloudy or still weather.
- Switched relay outputs deliver on-demand power to water pumps, cameras, grow lights and sheenbot.
- sheenbot meters and load-sheds intelligently to stretch every watt.
Bring Indoor Hydroponics to Your Classroom or Site
Tell us your space, your power situation and whether this is for teaching or production — we'll put together a hydroponic and energy package that fits.
Get in touch →