 Background
Biosphere II was constructed as a demonstration/test site for prototyping sealed life support systems to support future space colonization, and to better model how earth’s ecosystems actually work. As a large glass building resembling a giant terrarium in the Arizona desert, it’s HVAC systems would have severe problems maintaining the tight control of temperature and humidity levels required for repeatable experimentation, and running the analyzer systems that monitored the environment for numerous chemical levels. HP was the prime contractor in providing computer systems, but they needed help in developing the custom software.
 Business Problem
The customer needed a computer system to monitor and control the environment despite very tight control limits, and to do this from computers both inside and outside the structure. They also needed a flexible, graphics-oriented user interface.
Solution
We built software to control temperatures and humidities, to control the analyzer sampling systems, and to provide the graphical user interface for all monitoring activities. We also built simulation models to predict critical variables such as CO2 levels.
Results
The software was installed and worked as needed for the project.
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