Hydroponics with IoT

Project Title

Hydroponics with IoT

Project Area of Specialization Internet of ThingsProject Summary

Hydroponics offers some significant benefits over traditional farming. First, hydroponics offers people the ability to grow food in places where traditional agriculture simply isn't possible. In areas with arid climates, like Arizona and Israel, hydroponics has been in use for decades. This science allows the people of these areas to enjoy locally grown produce and to expand their food production. Similarly, hydroponics is useful in dense urban areas, where land is at a premium. In Tokoyo, hydroponics is used in lieu of traditional soil-based plant growth. Hydroponics is also useful in remotes locales, such as Bermuda. With so little space available for planting, Bermudians have turned to hydroponic systems, which take around 20 percent of the land usually required for crop growth. This allows the citizens of the island to enjoy year-round local produce without the expense and delay of importation. Finally, areas that don't receive consistent sunlight or warm weather can benefit from hydroponics. Places like Alaska and Russia, where growing seasons are shorter, use hydroponic greenhouses, where light and temperature can be controlled to produce higher crop yields. 

There's no mention of "soil" anywhere in there—and that's all the proof you need that plants can grow without it. What they do need is water and nutrients, both easily obtained from soil. But if they can get these things somewhere else—say, by standing with their roots in a nutrient-rich solution—they can do without soil altogether. That's the basic principle behind hydroponics. In theory, the word "hydroponics" means growing plants in water (from two Greek words meaning "water" and "toil"), but because you can grow plants without actually standing them in water, most people define the word to mean growing plants without using soil.

Our design aims to make it easy to grow produce locally within the bounds of one’s own home. By utilizing an automated hydroponic design with the adaptability to cater to a wide variety of different plants, the user is able to grow produce worry free. Our design provides the user with a fully automated way to grow plants with in their home. By using sensor readings from hygrometers, a temperature & humidity sensor, a pH electrode. along with information from a programmed plant database, our design can control all aspects of growing plants. This includes light watering cycles, giving the plants nutrients and controlling pH, all of which play an important role in a plants ability to grow effectively.

All of the sensor data is relayed to a Raspberry Pi, which acts as the brain and controls the operation of the greenhouse. A Raspberry Pi is a small bare bones computer containing a processor, peripherals such as USB, SD and HDMI. 

Project Objectives

Goal:

Design a cost-efficient hydroponics system that can be easily setup and managed by groups consisting of two to three families in rural areas.

Objectives:

• Demonstrate the potential productivity, efficiency, and associated costs.
• Integrate optimized components into a design.
• Can maximums the size of the layout.
• Supply the ideal, nutritional environment for optimum plant performance.
• Growing much healthier plants by giving them perfectly balanced diet.
• Easily controllable and manageable by individual personals.

Project Implementation Method

Agile Methodology

This method offers a light framework for assisting teams. It helps them function and maintain focus on rapid delivery. This focus assists capable organizations in reducing the overall risks associated with software development.

The Agile Method ensures that value is optimized throughout the development process. The use of iterative planning and feedback results in teams that can continuously align a delivered product that reflects the desired needs of a client.

A sprint is a period of time allocated for a particular phase of a project. Sprints are considered to be complete when the time period expires. The remaining phases of the project will continue to develop within their respective time frames.

Phase 1

1. Prepare the seedling tray.
2. Create the Model of the system.
3. Test the model.
4. Create the Liquid nutrition solution for Plants.

Phase 2

1. Develop Functionality 1:  Create a functional requirement of system components and arrangements. Like Temperature sensor, Humidity Sensor, Water Temperature, etc.
2. Test:  Test all the sensor’s functionality.
3. Develop Functionality 2: Plant the spurt in the model of Hydroponics. Set up an android app to receive the data of sensors.

Phase 3

1. Test: Plant the sprout in the model of Hydroponics.
2. Integrate and Test: Test the pH level of solutions in Hydroponics container and measure it.
3. Develop Functionality 3: Integrate sensor information on mobile app software.
4. Integrate and Test: Test and review all the sensor information and receive it all on the mobile app.

The first block is the sensors. It consists of interfacing the hygrometers, pH electrode, temperature/humidity sensor and float sensors with the Raspberry Pi and using them to control various other pieces. The hygrometer ensures that the plants are getting sufficient amounts of water and will increase watering cycles if the growing medium is dry. The pH sensor ensures that the pH of the nutrient-rich solution stays within a specified range.

The temperature/humidity sensor will tell the user the conditions of the greenhouse. The water level sensors notify the user when basins need to be refilled and control the amount that pumps will fill given reservoirs. The sensors control and adjust what is delivered to the plants based on the plants needs and conditions.

The second block is the android application. It is made up of development of an android application, establishing communication between the Raspberry Pi and a phone via Wi-Fi, and compiling a plant database that will adjust lighting and watering cycles based on plant type. The application must be intuitive and easy for anyone to use. This block also consists of the control unit, which is the Raspberry Pi.

Right side block is made up of pump control for watering plants, the nutrient dispersal system and pH regulation system. The pumps must be able to be controlled by the Raspberry Pi to turn on and off. 

Benefits of the Project

1. Save 95% of our water consumption.
2. Less expensive of pesticides.
3. Grow crops 50% faster than traditional faming.
4. Can grow in closed spaces.
5. Setting up the facilities in uncultivated lands of barren lands we can use that to grow crops.
6. We can do the plantation 365 days a year.
7. If we grow in complete controlled environment, we can grow whatever we want, irrespective to the weather and seasonality.
8. Provide healthiest nutrient we can give to the plants equally.
9. We can grow more responsible and sustainable way.
10. Use the deserted area for the cultivation and growth.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

• Mobile App
• Planted Crops System
• Hygrometer Information
• pH Information
• Temperature Information
• Water Level Information
• Plant Database
• Electrical conductivity Information.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemType of Industry IT , Agriculture , Food , Health Technologies Internet of Things (IoT)Sustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate ActionRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	69650
Raspberry Pi 3 B+	Equipment	1	5900	5900
pH Sensor	Equipment	1	4500	4500
blynk.io	Equipment	1	24250	24250
Peristaltic Liquid Pump with Silicone Tubing - 12V DC Power	Equipment	2	3700	7400
Temperature sensor	Equipment	2	1600	3200
Waterproof DS18B20 Digital temperature sensor	Equipment	1	1700	1700
Ds3234 real time clock	Equipment	1	3000	3000
Misc.	Miscellaneous	1	10000	10000
Analog Electrical Conductivity Sensor	Equipment	1	8000	8000
Air Pump	Equipment	1	700	700
Ceramic hydroponic plants medium nutrient soil permeability and draina	Equipment	1	1000	1000