A lighting system for an assembly line grow pod includes a fixture, an actuator coupled to the fixture, one or more electromagnetic sources positioned at least partially within the fixture, a distance sensor, and a controller communicatively coupled to the actuator and the distance sensor, the controller including a processor and a computer readable and executable instruction set, which when executed, causes the processor to receive a signal from the distance sensor indicative of a detected distance between the distance sensor and plant matter positioned below the one or more electromagnetic sources, determine whether the detected distance is less than a configurable threshold, and in response to determining that the detected distance is less than the configurable threshold, direct the actuator to move the fixture upward in a vertical direction.
