Together they presented the Smart City project "Public Transport" (ÖPNV): L. to r.: Yannick Niehues, Prof. Dr. Dirk Prüfer (both University of Münster), Dieter Dirkes (codecentric), Dr. Simone Schehka (Allwetterzoo Münster), Robin Denstorff (City Building Director) and Dr. André Wolf (Smart City Münster). Photo: Meike Wocken
How does the ÖPNV greenhouse work?
The warm air from the district heating pipe, which previously simply dissipated unused, is now drawn in by a fan and directed into the greenhouse. The latter is equipped with various sensors. For each plant channel, the weight, pH value and conductivity of the nutrient solution, temperatures and brightness are measured. Monitoring of plant growth via computer vision and artificial intelligence is also possible. The data from the digital greenhouse will in future be fed into, among other things, the City of Münster's open data portal. The University of Münster will also use the greenhouse and its data for research projects and theses. codecentric sponsors the project and contributes its expertise in the areas of Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence and cloud.
Lettuce cultivation above the subway shaft
The idea for a digital greenhouse in the city that uses residual heat comes from Nuremberg: "There, the residual heat from subway shafts was used to grow lettuce in a greenhouse located above the heat shaft – ÖPNV in the double sense of the word", says Dieter Dirkes, site manager of the codecentric Münster location and co-initiator of the project.
Update from 18/01/2023
News from Nuremberg: In the city where the idea for the urban greenhouse originated, a new edition of the ÖPNV greenhouse has been standing at Hefnersplatz since this week. The Nuremberg Urban Lab is responsible for the local project. The project was launched in 2018 in cooperation with the architecture firm "Büro für Bauform". The impetus for it was given by the City of Nuremberg's call for ideas as part of the 2025 European Capital of Culture bid, from which the project emerged in first place.
More information about the ÖPNV Nuremberg can be found at https://www.urbanlab-nuernberg.de/projekt/oeffentlicherpflanzennahverzehr/ .