Automated Garden Monitoring System

Transcription

1 Automated Garden Monitoring System Project Proposal Proposed by Stacy Mar, Brandon Meyers, and Devin Mullins

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 2 Project Description... 2 Background and Competition... 2 Innovations... 3 Impact... 3 Project Plan... 4 Tasks... 4 Schedule... 4 Metrics of Progress... 6 Costs... 6 Development Costs... 6 Component Costs

3 Executive Summary This proposed project consists of developing an automated garden monitoring system that will benefit a wide range of users from small-scale gardens for enthusiasts to large-scale greenhouse systems for larger corporations. Currently, there are separate professional and open source products available. However, none of these systems currently provide remote access and control through a wireless interface, which this project intends to accomplish. Furthermore, the Raspberry Pi will provide a customizable and cost-efficient platform to house the system. Finally, this project will keep the garden industry relevant by incorporating a custom Android application that allows users to monitor their gardens in real time while also analyzing past statistics for future growth and improvement. Project Description The objective of this project is to develop and implement an automated garden monitoring system that can be scaled down to improve the conditions of indoor gardens as small as household garden boxes for garden enthusiasts or as big as greenhouses for the agriculture industry. A Raspberry Pi will be the power behind this project as it provides an interface between the analog sensors, database, and Android application while also performing calculations and other functions for manipulating the components. Real time data will be collected by employing several analog and digital sensors, such as light, temperature, humidity, and soil moisture sensors. These sensors will then be integrated with a Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi will then insert the data into a remote MySQL database at every second with the use of a Wi-Fi adapter. This data can then be accessed through a web application or our custom Android application. To promote nonstop surveillance, a custom Android application connected to the Raspberry Pi will be built. This will allow users to monitor and even control their gardens or greenhouses from any remote location. The application will also display historical data and statistics available for analysis so that users may adjust the conditions of the garden accordingly, improving the health of the user s plants. Currently, the project relies on three main resources: Brandon Meyers, Devin Mullins, and Stacy Mar to develop this system. The time span of this project is estimated at approximately 33 weeks, or 165 hours total. While the cost for these resources combined with the cost of the components for this system will be discussed further in the Project Plan section of this proposal, the overall benefit to users will greatly ou tweigh the short-term costs for developing this prototype. Background and Competition As of the time of this proposal, Cellular Machines and Monnit Corporation provide similar functionality in the form of professional greenhouse monitoring software integrated with various circuits. In addition to these two providers, various gardeners, 2

4 farmers, and hobbyists have attempted similar products mostly making use of the Arduino system, many of which are currently in the functional prototype state of development. Currently, there are a few solutions to the autonomous greenhouse problem which are primarily divided into two camps: the professional product and the open source project. The professional products make use of proprietary integrated circuits connected to various wireless sensors that monitor a greenhouse and report abnormalities via a web application or SMS alerts. Also, the professional products currently on the market require both an upfront purchase of the monitor system as well as a monthly subscription fee. The open source world, on the other hand, consists of several unrelated projects, many at the functional prototype stage of development. Arduino is the preferred platform, and wireless sensors are used to communicate. Metrics and alerts are available via a web application. Several limitations exist in the current market, the most glaring of which is the lack of remote control capability. While both the professional and open source products provide monitoring and alert capabilities via SMS message and web applications, none of the available products appear to offer any support for scheduled and manual control of the sprinkler and lighting system. In addition, current products seemed to be limited to web applications for viewing collected data but provide no support specifically for mobile devices. Innovations Our iteration of the autonomous garden monitoring system offers several desirable additions to the current solutions. This includes the concurrent development of an Android application capable of reporting important metrics, pushing alerts to the user of the Android device, and perhaps most importantly the ability to schedule and control the sprinkling and lighting system remotely from within the application. In addition, the Raspberry Pi development platform will be used, which is incredibly affordable and customizable. This product is being developed at a time where over one billion Android devices have been activated. The development of an Android application will help increase interest in the hobbyist and gardener demographic as well as increase the ease of use. In addition, the ability to control personal gardens and greenhouses in a world where many individuals are traveling for work and school is very appealing. Impact If this project were to be implemented and available for everyone, it would optimize the greenhouse gardening and management process. As of now, the most common method of monitoring and regulating an irrigation system is to be personally available to oversee the growth and progress of the plants and adjusting accordingly. Because of its innovative approach, this project allows the owner to monitor their system 3

5 without being physically present. The use of multiple sensors allows data to be collected as little or as often as desired. Furthermore, through an easy to use application, remote access is simple. With this new system, labor costs will be minimized while productivity will increase drastically. A web interface will also allow the user to interact with the system from anywhere increasing accessibility and streamlining the monitoring process. As society becomes more and more reliant on mobile application this project will allow the user to be on the cutting edge and give them a technological advantage over their competitors. Project Plan Tasks Completed Tasks: Rapid Prototype - An initial demonstration of what the project will entail and what features are intended to be implemented o Android Application GUI o Sample Garden Metrics/Statistics Database o Hardware Implementation Design Raspberry Pi OS setup The microsd card has been successfully installed and initial OS environment setup is complete Establishing a network connection to system - The Raspberry Pi is now connected to the local network and makes a strong Ethernet connection Remaining Tasks: Finish and Link GUI Interface - GUI will consist of all controlling elements within the system and will interact with the Raspberry Pi and database Web Based Interface for Debugging - In addition to the GUI, there will be a Web interface that will mainly be used to test/debug application functionality Linking the Database - Data collection will be performed once sensors are integrated and able to perform accurate readings Hardware Implementation - The sensors along with any additional Arduino connections will be integrated and controlled through the Android and web applications Scalability - As a small project, the irrigation system will need to be scaled to a much larger platform in order to apply to industrial sized greenhouses Schedule The timeline for this project is attached on the following page. This project will take approximately 33 weeks to complete. According to the timeline, the first iteration is expected to be completed in 15 weeks, with the remaining 18 weeks dedicated to the second iteration and scalability exploration. 4

6 5

7 Metrics of Progress Progress will be measured via the delivery of prototypes and the completion of subtasks. Milestones will be broken down into subtasks that will be assigned values proportional to the estimated time of completion, these subtasks will then be assigned to the engineering team. Overall progress will then be judged on a weekly basis by dividing the sum of the completed tasks value over the sum of the total task value. A plot can be generated from this data to help track progress. Costs Development Costs Man Hours o Estimated total hours: 495 hours o Number of resources: 3 o Rate: $25.00/hour Total Development Cost: $12,375 Component Costs Raspberry Pi: $35.00 Soil Moisture Sensor: $4.50 Humidity/Temperature Sensor: $ Light Sensor: $0.95 Water Pump: $50.00 Sprinkler System:$10.00 Wifi Adapter: $10.00 A to D Converter: $3.75 Planting Pots/Containers: $25.00 Plants/Soil: $25.00 Total Component Cost: $