Soil Solutions

Overview

• For our project, we will be designing a method of watering various plants autonomously. We will do this by using a raspberry pi to monitor the moisture level in the soil and determine how much water should be added to the different types of plants. This will be done with a moisture level sensor designed for the arduino but that should work with the pi as well (we will need an analog to digital convertor for this). If water must be added, a solenoid also controlled by the pi will be opened and water will flow from the the water source to the plant until a sufficient level of moisture is detected by our moisture sensor in the soil. In order to water various plants and respect the differing needs of water for each plant we will 3D print a spigot for the water source that splits the water path into two directions. Each path will have its own solenoid that will open and close based on the specific plants needs. connected to the solenoids and the spigot will be drip irrigation tubing with button drippers attached to the sides of the tubing. We will also be using the raspberry pi to create a web based application (using Amazon AWS and PyCharm) for our system that will record logs of amount of water used, when water was used and moisture level in the soil. This application will solely be used for viewing results that will be updated every time the plant is watered. It will also be updated when the water level is critically low.

SoilSolutions Log

Team Members

• Matt Wilson
• Sean Rogers
• Natalie Ng (TA)

Objectives

1. We would like to make a system that is both cost and water efficient.
2. We would like to build on our understanding of coding and learn new techniques that will be useful to us as engineers.
3. We want this system be compact enough so that it would be easy to install.
4. Make a system that would be secure from any kind outsider.
5. Overall make everything run smoothly and give ourselves plenty of time to test out our project.
6. Allow for the system to detect water level in the water source.

Challenges

• Learning how to design a web based app with the raspberry pi.
• Learning how to code in python and interfacing with the pi.
• Designing a mechanical component that does not take up too much space.
• Using the time we have efficiently and not digging ourselves into a hole.

Gantt Chart

Budget

• 4 FC-28-D Soil Moisture Sensor - 19.98
  • Soil Moisture Sensor
• ADC for Raspberry Pi (MCP3008 - 8 Channel 10-Bit ADC with SPI interface) - $3.75
  • | Analog to Digital Convertor
• Drip Irrigation Tubing (50ft) - $7.66
  • | Tubing
• 1.25 Gallon Plastic Water Bottle - 7.26
  • (Bought at Walmart)
• Drip Irrigation Button Dripper - 7.37
  • | Button Drippers
• Potting Mix - $4.89
  • (Bought at Home Depot)
• Two Pots - $2.52
  • (Bought at Home Depot)
• 2 Plastic Water Solenoid Valves - $13.90
  • Solenoids
• Water Level Sensors - $39.95
  • Water Level Sensor
• 12V Power Source -
• Plants -
  • (Bought at Home Depot)
• Raspberry Pi - Provided
• Breadboard - Provided
• Power Source - Provided
• 12V to 3V Relay - Provided by a friend
• Home Depot Sales Tax - $0.75
• Adafruit Shipping - $7.17
• Amazon Shipping - Free
• Total - $115.20