Skip to content

TODO Find a nice ASCII plant to grow on this page :)

PlantPulse

My final project has been inspired by my Mum, and my own struggle with keeping house plants alive. The project manages the watering of a garden plot, each of the nodes can manage a zone of plants or a couple of pot plants. The hub then waters plants with a range of pumps and/or solenoids. These water controlling outputs could be used to refil a reservoir through a tap, or route water to the plants that need it most.

Sketch of the project

Who will use it?

The main use case would be small at home gardeners or even farmers with a full field of crops. My Mum also requested I make something like this for her plants in the back garden.

Current progress - 29/04

Node enclosure

Integration issues

  • Touching the Xiao antenna made it transmit consistently? Funny RF stuff ¯_(ツ)_/¯
  • My Ender 3 was being really annoying and wasnt printing - I got a bambulab a1 mini :D
  • Zinc coated bolts started rusting after a little bit, got some stainless screws
  • the enclosure got water in it, moved bolts outside of the seal

System Diagram

flowchart LR

    lipo[LiPo Battery]
    pwr_tim[Nano Power Timer]
    MCU_Node[Xiao ESP32-S3]
    soil[Soil Moisture Sensor]
    i2c[I2C Sensor - Atmo, UV, etc]
    MCU_Hub[UM ESP32-S3 Pro]
    lvl[Water Level Sensor]


    subgraph Node
    lipo --> pwr_tim --> MCU_Node
    MCU_Node -->|Analog| soil
    MCU_Node -->|4 Wires, I2C| i2c
    end

    subgraph Hub
    Wall_Plug(Wall Plug) --> MCU_Hub
    MCU_Hub -->|PWM| MOSFET -->|Uses 5V from wall| Pump
    MCU_Hub -->|SPI| Camera
    MCU_Hub -->|Digital| lvl
    end

    subgraph Dashboard
    mqtt[AdafruitIO - MQTT]
    end

    Node -->|ESP-NOW| Hub
    Hub -->|WiFi| Dashboard

Gantt

gantt
    title Project Gantt Chart
    dateFormat  DD-MM


    section Nodes
    Design Enclosures: 29-04, 4d
    Verify Enclosures: after des1, 1d
    Design Software: 05-05, 5d
    Verify Software: after des3, 5d
    Verify Hardware: after des2, 3d

    section Hub
    Design Software for Hub: 05-05, 5d
    Verify Software/Hardware Hub: after des2, 8d
    ESP-NOW and WiFi: after des5, 3d
    Send Photo via MQTT: after des6, 3d

    section System
    Misc Integration Hell: after des7, 10d
    Test at Home: 2024-05-17, 3d
    Complete Diorama: after des6, 3d

    Project Due: milestone, m1, 05-06, 2d

TODO:

Nodes

  • [ ] Enclosures - Design - Laser cut window and print gasket (1hr human, 3 hours machine)
  • [ ] Enclosures - Verify - Test fit of all components (1hr human)
  • [ ] Software - Design - Organise functions, build into classes (5hrs human)
  • [ ] Software - Verify - Test multiple nodes (1hr human)
  • [ ] Hardware - Verify - Assemble PCB, soak test (see how long battery lasts) (2hr human, waiting time (3days?))

Hub

  • [ ] Software - Design - Build dict to control watering of plants (2hr human)
  • [ ] Software/hardware - Verify - Connect multiple pumps and nodes (2hr human, 1 hours machine)
  • [ ] Software - Design - ESP-NOW and WiFi working at the same time (3hr human)
  • [ ] Software - Design - Send photo via MQTT (1hr human)

System

  • [ ] Test at home :D (1hr human, 3 hours machine)
  • [ ] Complete diorama (3hr human)

Deliverables

  • Create your own integrated design

Custom PCBs and code will be created for both the node and hub.

  • Demonstrate 2D & 3D modelling capabilities applied to your own designs

The enclosure for the node will be modelled in Onshape, a 3D modelling tool, and stickers made in Illustrator, a 2D vector based drawing suite.

  • Select and apply appropriate additive and subtractive techniques

The enclosure for the node will include a 3D printed shell and a laser cut window.

  • Demonstrate competence in design, fabrication and programming of your own fabbed microcontroller PCB, including an input & output

Custom PCB's will be designed for the node. Respective software for the Node and Hub. Input: The node will have I2C sensors (PiicoDev Atmospheric, UV sensor) and an analog soil moisture sensor. The Hub will include an camera (SPI) Output: The hub will control motors through PWM'd MOSFETs, and a WS2812 8x8 Matrix

  • Demonstrate competence in system integration

Through implementing the above systems I hope this demonstates competence :D

List of parts (BOM)

Node

Hub

Wishlists