Development of an economic smart aquaponic system based on IoT

Aquaponics is a sustainable farming practice that combines aquaculture and hydroponics in a recirculating system. The nutrients from the fish waste are used by the plants to grow, and the plants filter the water for the fish. This process is self-sustaining and requires little human intervention. The monitoring and control of aquaponic systems is a complex task. In this research, the Internet of Things (IoT) is utilized to monitor and control the proposed system. In addition, a digital twin (DT) is deployed to digitize the physical system. The results explore that IoT and DT can improve aquaponic systems by collecting data about environmental conditions that is used to regulate plant growth, monitor fish health, optimize crop production, and optimize nutrient recycling. This decreased the need for and cost of human monitoring and improved the system's economics.