Week 16: Applications and Implications¶

This week outlines information about my Final Project.

What skills does my project use that we’ve learned?¶

Week 2: Computer Aided Design

Design of the Units (3D)
Design of Acrylic Panels (2D)
Design of PCB & Schematics
Design of a Mold for Rubber Stoppers

Week 3: Computer Controlled Cutting

Laser Cutting Acrylic Panels
Milling Boards via Milling Machine
Milling Molds via Milling Machine

Week 4: Electronics Production

Milling Custom Input/Output Combined Board

Week 5: 3D Scanning & Printing

Printing Shells (Outside Framing) of the Different Units Shown at the Top of the Page

Week 6: Electronics Design

Design of Custom PCB Board for Sensors & Chip

Week 8: Embedded Programming

Programming the Chip on the Custom Milled Board

Week 9: Molding & Casting

Molding & Casting Rubber Stoppers for Piping

Week 10: Output Devices

Relay Component Controlled Via ATTiny412
DC Motor (Functioning as a Pump) Controlled Via Relay
Heartbeat LED Controlled Via ATTiny412 (Blinks at constant rate to test if code is pushed and for debugging)
Power Indicator LED Controlled Via Powersource

Week 12: Input Devices

Soil Moisture Sensor Read Via ATTiny412
Water Level Sensor Read Via ATTiny412

Week 14: Interface & Application Programming

Unity Application to Display Sensor Values & to Log Said Values over Time for Research Purposes

Week 15: Wildcard Week

Embroidered Logo (Designed & Embroidered Patch to go on the Front of the Master Unit)

Final Project Questions¶

What does it do?

Maintain plants
Retrieve data from the soil in which the plants sit
Interpret and display said data to the user

Who’s done what beforehand?

No one that I know of, this is my own idea, though I wouldn’t doubt something similarly being done before

What did you design?

3D models for the initial concept of the units
All used boards (Essentially electronics in project)
2D laser cutting files for designs (all)
Unity Enginer user interface
All code in project

What materials and components were used?

Wood
FR1 PCB
PLA Filiment
Embroidery Materials
Electronic Components
- Raspberry Pi
- Raspberry Pi Touchscreen
- ATTiny 412
- DC Relay
- DC Pump
- Soil Moisture Sensor
- Water Level Sensor
- Resistors
- Capacitors
- LEDs
- Pin Headers

Where did they come from?

Digikey (Electronic Components)
Amazon (RasPi & RasPi Touchscreen, Water & Soil Moisture Sensors)
Lab Provided Materials (Embroidery Materials, PCB, Wood)

How much did they cost?

Rasberry Pi and it’s touchscreen are the most expensive materials in this project, totaling together to around $50, while most of the smaller electronics cost <$10 and general materials (such as 1/8 inch wood) are also rather cheap

What parts and systems were made?

Input System
Output System
Sensor Interpratation/Math/Display in Unity
Entire Framework/Construction of Physical Units made Via Laser Cutter/3D Printer

What processes were used?

CAD
Laser Cutting
3D Printing
Molding & Casting
Interfacing
Electronics Design (Milling)

What questions were answered?

How power is to be distributed amongst the components/boards correctly from a singular source
How to read Serial Data into Unity

What worked? What didn’t?

My sensors and relay worked well which really surprised me, as they were one of the most complicated part
The initial serial reading program did not at all work for me and gave me weird chars from my serial port

How was it evaluated?

I evaluated a lot of my issues by doing tons of research on problems I would have, documenting such, and finding workarounds or solutions to any issues I was having.

What are the implications?

Gardens can be built to any size or shape wanted and additionally this entire concept as a whole can be GREATLY expanded and worked on down the line to potentially network the units and greatly expand the number of sensors and values that can be retrieved.

Week Summary¶

Overall this week was helpful to me as it helped me outline all of my ideas, thoughts, and plans for my final project.

Last update: May 31, 2022