1. Brian Ly, Steven Bennett, Jose Vega, Freddy Lara
Department of Computer Science and Engineering Technology
www.uhd.edu/academics/sciences/computer-science-engineering-technology/Pages/cset-index.aspx
Introduction
Sustainable gardening is becoming a higher
priority in many agricultural processes.
These methods are based on ideas that
conservation and sustainability are
necessary for the continuation of efficient
crop development that is safe for the
environment and the consumers. The ideas
behind these efforts are based on past
experiences and predicted future needs.
Water conservation and energy consumption
are some of the more important issues that
must be addressed
In this UHD Sustainable Garden Project,
solar panels are used to power all electronic
components necessary to control the
automated watering process. The Arduino
platform of programmable controllers is
used as the control system.
The project significance and impact is to
support the UHD Community Garden which
will provide vegetables and fruits that will
be prioritized for UHD community members
in need. This project will allow our team the
opportunity to present our knowledge
gained in the courses of the CIET Program.
Results – Physical System
Figure 7 (Clockwise from top) – Solar panel assembly, control panel layout, view
from remote monitoring lab, microcontroller LCD, battery enclosure with charge
controller.
Conclusion
This project allowed the students to focus
on many of the topics discussed and
practiced throughout our learning
experience. There are several components
involved in the design of the system
focusing on the optimization and
sustainability of the UHD Community
Garden. This system controls the soil
moisture content for several different zones
independently and provides instantaneous
readability as well as archiving all of the
measurement data for future review and
analysis. This system operates on
renewable energy sources with zero carbon
emissions while substantially reducing
water consumption.
Methods and Materials
Problem formulation The control strategy will be a two
position control utilizing hysteresis or dead band to produce
a range above and below set point. Below is a diagram of a
feedback loop that represents the control sequence for this
project.
Figure 2 – Function block diagram of control sequence.
Components Layout of Control System
Figure 3 – Component diagram of control system
Irrigation Water Pipe and Electrical Conduit Layout
Figure 4 – Garden piping and conduit construction drawing.
Objective
The objective of this project is to implement
a system that can measure soil moisture and
temperature from the garden, analyze the
obtained data, and apply the required
amount of water needed for plants in the
garden. Our system will be self-sustained
and environmentally friendly.
Testing
Figure 5(L) and 6(R) – Arduino code and bench testing
We used LEDs as indicators to represent the
microcontroller energizing the outputs under
predetermined conditions.
Results
•The solar system performs flawlessly,
providing power for the UHD garden
components with additional energy for any
future needs.
•We are able to read temperature and
humidity from all required 8 zones.
•Irrigation valves opened and closed
properly according to the predetermined
condition
•We are able to monitor the system from
the remote location in N703.
•We are able to save data for future
analysis.
Figure 8 – Arduino IDE serial print of data.
Acknowledgements
•We sincerely thank Mr. Bruce Hunter
and Mr. Minh Le for their generous help
over the duration of the project.
• A very special thanks to our Professor
Dr. Vassilios Tzouanas for his
encouragement, guidance, and great
leadership for the CIET program.
Initial UHD Sustainable Garden Layout
Figure 1 – Location of garden