Background Story
Hello friends, all you Arduino enthusiasts and Makers! We are a group of 15-year-old students from Belgium who embarked on a challenging adventure in the world of technology with our teacher (@the_dragon) to create something that would transform classroom learning.
Our main goal is to build an "Automated Mini-Greenhouse" intended to serve as a tool for scientific research within the school. Future generations of students will be able to use this system to accurately study various factors affecting plant growth, such as measuring Temperature, Humidity, Soil Moisture, and Light Intensity.
By applying IoT (Internet of Things) technology and Data Logging, we can display data in easy-to-understand graphs and charts, helping us statistically analyze how dry, wet, cold, hot, bright, or dark environmental conditions affect different types of plants.
The Making Of
To successfully develop this project, we had to start from scratch, from engineering design to material selection. We had to study the properties of various types of wood to ensure resistance to moisture inside the greenhouse, as well as use CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software to simulate the 3D structure before actual construction.
However, the biggest challenge was the "electronics and automation system," as we started from zero with no prior experience in Arduino programming. Initially, it seemed very difficult, with failed experiments and some sensors being damaged (Frying some sensors) due to incorrect wiring. But with our teacher's guidance, who pointed us to excellent resources like Arduino.cc and Arduino Project Hub, we gradually learned and understood how it works.
Technical Insights
The key factor that propelled this project forward was the arrival of the Arduino Oplà IoT Kit, an all-in-one set of essential components, featuring the following main engineering parts:
- Arduino MKR WiFi 1010: Serves as the main brain (Microcontroller) with a built-in WiFi module, enabling stable connection to the Cloud system.
- MKR IoT Carrier: An expansion board featuring an OLED screen for Real-time status display, Capacitive Touch Buttons, and Relays for controlling water pumps or fans.
- Sensors Integration: The kit includes pre-installed temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure sensors, plus the soil moisture sensor we added.
Software Operation Logic (Code Logic): The system is designed to operate in conjunction between the device and the Arduino IoT Cloud with the following principles:
- Data Acquisition: The program will Read values from various sensors at specified intervals (Sampling Rate).
- Threshold Control: We wrote control conditions such as “If Soil Moisture is below the set value, activate the Relay to automatically turn on the water pump” until the moisture returns to an appropriate level.
- Cloud Synchronization: All data will be transmitted via MQTT protocol to the Arduino IoT Cloud for database logging and display on the Dashboard.
We are very impressed with the Arduino IoT Cloud's Dashboard system, as it allows us to monitor the greenhouse's status from anywhere via smartphone!
Watch the Unboxing video:
The Future
Although the greenhouse now fulfills its basic objectives, it is far from perfect. We have plans to upgrade it with many new features, such as:
- Smart Lighting: Install Full Spectrum LED lights and a light sensor to study the effect of light periods on growth.
- Advanced Data Logging: Develop a long-term data storage system to compare experimental results year-on-year.
- Time-lapse Monitoring: Install a camera to continuously capture plant growth, to create Time-lapse videos for presentations.
We are very excited to see this project continue to grow! Please follow our progress and show your support on Instagram: bt_makerspace!