Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered, answering:
This week's assigment was actually very helpful because it was all about answering questions related to the my final project which helped me think about more details and hence do a deeper research and the questions were like my guidelines.
My initial idea was a system that will consist of a container for farming with a controlled environment with its parameters such as temperature, CO2 level, humidity displayed for the user on a screen. However, I simplified the idea further into a planting pot that will help the user take care of their plants by displaying the plant status, notifying the user when the plant needs water and automatically turn on growth lights when there's no sun available.
Smart or tech-based indoor planting/growing solutions are not something new. A lot of different products already exist in the market and they range in terms of size and price. Some of the solutions that I came across while doing my research are:
This product is devoloped by Click and Grow and actually a pretty impressive and innovative product because of what it offers and how easy to use and friendly it is. The internet describes it to be as simple as a coffee machine because it works by add in a capsule or "pod" of the desired plant into the soil, adding water and plugging in the device and that's it the garden will take care of itself until the plants are ready to be harvested by the user.
This is a product that is not just helpful but also fun and will cheer you up. It is a cute planting pot that monitors your plant and displays the condition of the plant using a range of animated emoticons. You can tell whether your plant is thursty, sick or needs more sun by just looking at it!
My plan is to design and fabricate all the parts of the project (Except the electronic components such as ICs and other ) including:
Component | Quantity | Unit Cost | Total Cost |
---|---|---|---|
LCD Screen | 1 | $8.99 | $8.99 |
Atmega328-p Microcontroller | 2 | $1.90 | $3.80 |
Soil Moisture Sensor | 2 | $9.95 | $19.90 |
LDR (Photocell) | 1 | $0.87 | $0.87 |
Plant Grow LED Strip | 1 | $19.95 | $19.95 |
MDF Wood Sheet 6mm | 1 | $7.00 | $7.00 |
Acrylic 3mm | 1 | - | - |
All the materials and components needed for this project are available at QBIC Fablab.
I will be desigining and building the following parts:
I will be using different techniques with this project including:
I think at this stage, the most important question that needs an answer is "Will the time be enough for me to finish the project" because we're at the last weeks and I'm running a little bit behind.
It will be evaluated based on multiple items: