Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | LeafLink |
Hannah Pushparaj Hassan Shafi Praveen Natarajan |
Aniket Chatterjee | design_document1.pdf proposal1.pdf |
|
| LeafLink Team Members: Praveen Natarajan (pn17) Hassan Shafi(hashafi2) Hannah Pushparaj(hsp5) PROBLEM Plants need to be watered constantly for them to stay alive. Depending on certain scenarios, this might not always be possible for people to do (ex: going on vacation, forgetting to water, etc). We want a way to automatically water these indoor plants to make them stay alive. SOLUTION A standalone device that automatically senses the moisture level of the soil, and deploys a pump that supplies the plant with just the right amount of water to survive. It uses an onboard soil moisture sensor along with a water pump to supply the plant with water. The device is designed to be reliable and easy to understand. A simple light shows what it’s doing (normal, watering, or needs attention). It also includes basic safety limits so it can’t keep running forever if something goes wrong, and it can warn the user if the water container is empty or if the device isn’t able to pump water properly. The device can store a basic history of when it watered the plant so the user can see that it’s working. If we have time, we can add a simple companion app. The app would let the user see the current soil moisture, and it would show a log of recent watering. It would also allow the user to trigger a quick manual watering from their phone if needed (for example, after repotting or during a very hot week). The app is optional as the device should work on its own even without it. Solution Components Subsystem 1: Control & Processing This subsystem serves as the central controller. An ESP32 on our custom-designed PCB reads soil moisture sensor data, executes watering logic, and controls the relay module. The PCB integrates power regulation and some basic status indication. Components: - ESP32 - Our Custom PCB - 3.3 V voltage regulator - Some LEDs and resistors Subsystem 2: Soil Moisture Sensing This subsystem measures soil moisture and provides an analog voltage to the ESP32 ADC pin to drive the water delivery system. Components: - Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensor Subsystem 3: Water Delivery & Relay Control This subsystem allows the ESP32 microcontroller to turn the water pump on and off by using a relay, acting as a switch between the ESP32 and higher voltage water pump. So essentially the ESP32 GPIO will drive the relay input which will switch pump power on and off. Components: - 6-12 V DC Water pump - 5 V single-channel relay module - External 5 V power supply - Tubing and water reservoir Subsystem 4: User Feedback & Safety This subsystem provides basic visual feedback based on the current state of the Leaflink system and an emergency stop button Components: - Status LEDs (different colors for idle, watering, error). - Red push button (emergency stop, kills power) Subsystem 5: Wireless Monitoring We will also have a remote monitoring feature using the ESP32’s built-in Wi-Fi. In this remote monitoring system we will display the real-time soil moisture readings (maybe even keep track of old readings over a time period), history of recent watering events, and a manual watering trigger button. Components: - ESP32 Wi-Fi (already part of chip) - Simple mobile or web interface CRITERION FOR SUCCESS - The ESP32 on our custom PCB correctly reads soil moisture data and determines when watering is required independently (requiring no supervision) - Ensure proper functionality of the soil moisture sensor by ensuring moisture readings are accurate (for example if we add water the moisture percentage should get higher) - The ESP32 reliably controls the relay to turn the water pump on and off based on soil moisture thresholds. - The water pump operates only through the relay and correctly distributes the required amount of water - The multiple LEDs correctly indicate the current system states, including idle, watering, and error. - Pressing the emergency stop button immediately cuts power to the water pump and halts any ongoing operation - Remote monitoring system displays accurate real-time soil moisture data, logs watering events, and allows manual watering control. |
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