Inspiration
Named after the Greek God of Agriculture and Harvest, Demeter was conceived with the desire to create an interactive medium between a user and raising their plant(s). With our team's expertise ranging from Embedded Cyber-Physical Systems, Software Engineering, to Web-Development, we decided to employ our full technical abilities in creating a more engaging experience, that not only encourages users to learn about and take care of their beloved plant, but also also integrates cutting-edge technology to monitor and optimize plant growth in real-time. By leveraging sensors to track key environmental factors, Demeter provides personalized care recommendations and alerts to ensure each plant thrives in its unique conditions.
What it does
Demeter is designed as an intelligent plant care system that employs a suite of sensors and actuators to create an optimal environment for plant growth. At its core, Demeter consists of a custom Arduino board that uses sensors to accurately measure temperature, humidity, light intensity, and proximity to both the user and potential threats, such as pests. This data is crucial for assessing the immediate conditions surrounding the plant, ensuring that it receives the right amount of warmth, moisture, and light.
To interact with the user, Demeter features an OLED display that presents vital information in an easily digestible format, allowing for quick checks on the plant's environment. For immediate threats, such as pests coming too close, Demeter is equipped with a bright LED and a loud buzzer. These actuators serve a dual purpose: deterring pests with sudden light and sound, and alerting the user to potential issues that need their attention.
What sets Demeter apart is its integration with a custom-made website, designed for comprehensive monitoring and management of plant care data. Through this website, users can gain insights into their plant's needs, and adjust care routines based on empirical data, making Demeter an invaluable tool for both novice and experienced gardeners alike.
How we built it
Demeter is a custom Arduino Uno board connected to a variety of sensors and actuators connected via I2C and UART digital communication protocols and analog input. The board and sensors were configured using embedded C via the Arduino IDE. Sensors were gradually added to verify compatibility and function, as we also slowly decided which sensors were worth keeping. We connected an OLED screen to display the data as a method of debugging and confirming that our sensors were working as intended, and by consequence, our actuators were as well.
To collect the raw data from Demeter, we developed a Python script to gain access to the Serial Communication port connected between the computer USB port and the Arduino's Com port. The data was produced at a fixed baud rate, and the Python script was developed as such to sample the data at the appropriate baud rate to collect data efficiently and accurately.
In parallel, we designed the website using CSS, HTML, Javascript, and other web development tools, to represent the collected data in a more visually appealing manner, showcasing beautiful artwork, our hand-drawn logo, while also displaying crucial data about our plant.
Challenges we ran into
Our biggest technical challenge was compatibility between the sensors and generations of boards. Starting out, we used two Arduino Uno Boards of differing generations to find the tradeoff between performance, energy efficiency, sensor modularity and compatibility. One team member worked on the older board with gradually adding sensor modules to test the board and the code, and another team member worked with a newer board, which came pre-fitted with test sensor modules for demonstration purposes. When the time finally came to merge our work, we decided to migrate all code and sensors to the newer gen board, but we ran into a lot of conflicts due to generational compatibility issues, wherein the drivers for some sensors were not compatible with the newer generation board, and vice versa. Thankfully, after an arduous process of physical rewiring and a lot of re-typing of code, we managed to make it work.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
What we're most proud of is having a fully functional product that performs exactly as intended. Given the disparity in our expertise- an Electrical Engineer, a Computer Engineer, and a Computer Science Engineer, we managed to overcome our gaps in knowledge and worked together to produce a compact, simple, yet highly capable machine, that has a lot of potential for growth and expansion.
What we learned
We learnt a lot about using custom Arduino boards with a variety of sensors of varying compatibility, a lot about communication protocols, designing basic circuitry, using web development tools and APIs, and most of all, combining varying skillsets to create a culmination of different fields of computer science and engineering that work together with the utmost synergy.
What's next for Demeter
Given the modular nature of the Demeter Arduino board, there is a lot of potential of expansion in terms of adding more sensors and actuators. More sensors mean measuring different environmental factors, such as air purity, UV index, soil moisture, pH levels, and so on- the possibilities are practically endless. Measuring more environmental metrics can give a far better insight into the conditions that our plants, and even crops, are growing in, while ensuring its health and safety.
As for the Website, the potential is limitless. Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Connectivity can be implemented into the Arduino board to remotely monitor the plant with regularly updated data readings. The website can be hosted locally, on a cloud server, or even your own local dedicated server, all while being able to remotely measure the status of your plant.
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