[Author] Chen Zhexu
[Institution] Jinhua Binhong Primary School
[Project Idea]
To enhance the quality of modern life, many families plant or pot green plants and flowers at home or in their yards. However, we often encounter the awkward situation of leaving our plants unattended while traveling for business or vacation. For drought-resistant flowers, sometimes not watering for a week is not a problem, but for moisture-loving flowers or during high summer temperatures, we sometimes need to water them daily. In such cases, we often find ourselves helplessly allowing our beloved plants to fend for themselves, hoping they can survive these harsh water shortages.
According to surveys, this situation has become a shared pain among many flower enthusiasts. Therefore, I began to think about whether, with the advancement of network technology, we could invent a device that can connect to the internet and allow us to monitor the growth environment of our plants in real-time via a smartphone, and control it. If this device could also automatically water and ventilate the plants based on detected data, we could completely escape the previous predicament. After researching various materials, my invention “Smart Plant Care” began to be implemented under the guidance of my teachers and parents.
[Innovation]
The “Smart Plant Care” device system is centered around a microcontroller, using a Wi-Fi module as a network bridge, combined with sensors for temperature and humidity, soil moisture, and light to achieve automated and networked control. Currently, there are no devices or systems on the market with the same functionality.
[Practicality]
The “Smart Plant Care” device system has undergone more than six months of testing. After testing various functions and stability, users reported that the device is intelligent, convenient, and easy to use, making it very suitable for managing household potted plants and garden greenery, including fruit and vegetable cultivation. The device is cost-effective, with a high market demand and potential for mass production.
[Innovative Points]
“Smart Plant Care” is a new device based on IoT technology that can monitor and upload environmental conditions such as light, temperature, humidity, and soil moisture of plants in homes or gardens in real-time. It can also be remotely controlled via smartphones, tablets, or computers. In automatic mode, it can open an electromagnetic valve to water the plants when the soil moisture is below a set value, or turn on a ventilator when the temperature exceeds a certain threshold. It can also be set to manual mode for remote management of plants through an app. We have developed an Android control program and a WeChat mini-program for mobile control, satisfying the need for remote management of green plants on all mobile devices.
[Materials Needed]
Core Materials:
1. Small relay for controlling the electromagnetic valve and fan
2. Wi-Fi module that can connect to the internet
3. Photoresistor, resistors, LEDs, buzzers, and buttons
4. One Arduino Nano (microcontroller)
5. DHT11 for collecting environmental temperature and humidity
6. Soil moisture detection module
7. Photoresistor for detecting ambient light
Essential Tools:
1. Soldering iron, 2. Craft knife, 3. Rosin, 4. Solder wire, 5. Computer, 6. Relevant data cables
[Production Process]
1. Allocate microcontroller pins based on functional principles and solder the components;
2. Use the MIDEA programming software to write the pre-prepared program into the microcontroller (Arduino Nano) according to the functions and requirements.
3. Debug the program, opening the drip irrigation automatically when soil moisture is below 10% in automatic mode.
4. Use App Inventor to write the Android control software.
5. To enhance the experience on Apple systems, we also developed a WeChat mini-program.
6. Improve and beautify the appearance of the device.
Design the device panel based on the layout of circuit components and install it on a general component case.
[Function Description]
1. Install the APP on the mobile end. Android users can search for “Smart Plant Care” in the Anzhi software market and install it, while Apple users can scan the QR code to access the WeChat mini-program (which is also compatible with Android systems);
2. Open the APP, go to the settings page, and enter the device ID and serial number to bind the device for operation and control;
