Hydroponics System based on IoT

A hydroponics system based on the Internet of things is a system in which we use chemicals as nutrients for the growth of plants. Plants are grown without soil. This technology includes a water-driven agriculture system which will help in the elimination of the need for soil. Feedback is taken from

Project Title

Hydroponics System based on IoT

Project Area of Specialization

Internet of Things

Project Summary

A hydroponics system based on the Internet of things is a system in which we use chemicals as nutrients for the growth of plants. Plants are grown without soil. This technology includes a water-driven agriculture system which will help in the elimination of the need for soil. Feedback is taken from sensors like DHT 11, pH, dissolved oxygen level, water level sensors, EC circuits, and pyranometer (a solar radiation sensor). All these sensors are interfaced to an open-source single-board computer which will act as a microcontroller. We used raspberry pi as a single-board computer. Fan, Valves, aerator, shutters, and pumps are being controlled by the raspberry pi for efficient working of the system. All this information is being sent to an IoT server via the cloud. This is known as IoT communication. The controlling of the whole system is automated using raspberry pi (Controller) and IoT. The valves are used to mix the nutrients with the water. The water containing nutrients is passed to the pipes with help of pumps. The water which is not absorbed by the crops is reused by adding nutrients according to the reading from the sensor and again passed to the pipes.  Depending on the feedback, nutrients are being supplied to crops and actuators. When the internet connection is poor, manual controlling is done with the help of local area network connection by using the Mobile application.

Project Objectives

Smart Hydroponics based on the Internet of Things has the following objectives:
•    To supply higher yields than traditional, soil-based agriculture.
•    To eliminate the use of soil.
•    To allow food to be grown and consumed in areas of the planet that cannot support crops within the soil.
•    To maintain the growth of plants despite climate changes.
•    To provide pesticide-free products, eliminating the necessity for enormous pesticide use (considering most pests live in the soil), effectively making our food cleaner.
•    To reuse nutrient solutions by recycling.
•    To less the usage of up to 90% in comparison to traditional farming.
•    Requirement of less space, therefore, allowing a high density of plants within the same location.
•    Ability to grow year-round.
•    Allowance of closed recirculation system thus to take control of the nutrient solution and thus exactly what nutrients the plants receive.
•    To provide variation in nutrients to different plants.
•     To automate the controlling of the whole system by using the Internet of Things.

Project Implementation Method

Hydroponics System based on Internet of Things has been implemented in modules. The details of the modules are given below.
•    The first module includes the coding in python for the integration of sensors with the microcontroller for automated controlling of sensors and actuators.
•    The second module comprises the calculation and designing of 3D structure for hydroponics system on AutoCAD thus to have an overview of the actual structural framework required for implementation.  Following are  chosen measurements
o    height of the whole structure=81 inches
o    leg's angle with ground=60 inches
o    radius for each leg  =4 inches
o    distance of 3rd  support from ground= 14.5 inches 
o    distance of 2nd support from 3rd support = 23.25 inches
o    distance of 1st support from 2nd support  = 43.5 inches
•    The third module includes the actual building of the AutoCAD designed structure. In which structural framework is being built. On the setup of the framework,  solenoid valves, pipes, pumps, and all other actuators are being set.
•    The fourth milestone involves the drawing of schematic and circuit diagram of all integrated sensors and actuators with single-board computers (SBC) circuit using Fritzing, Proteus, and KiCAD software in order to have an actual overview of the connection to be implemented in Hydroponics system.
•    The fifth module includes the testing of all the sensors and actuators which are integrated with a single-board computer.
o    One of the integrated sensors in our project is a pyranometer. It is used to measure Solar Irradiance. The output of this sensor is current in milli-amperes.
It is tested in the presence and absence of sunlight for better results.
•    The sixth and the final module is an amalgam of all the modules explained above. In which an automated water-driven agriculture system has been finalized. Crops are supplied with water and nutrients depending on the feedback of all the sensors. Provision of manual controlling is being done through  App with the help of LAN connection in case of absence of internet connection. All the information from sensors is being sent to an IoT server via the cloud. The solenoid valves are used to mix the nutrients with the water. The containing nutrients are passed to the pipes with help of pumps. The water which is not absorbed by the crops is reused by adding nutrients according to the sensor and again passed to the pipes.

Benefits of the Project

Hydroponic methods have certain inherent advantages. The hydroponic method of farming has the benefit of reducing the impact on the environment. Hydroponic Farming uses a fraction of the water consumption compared to traditional farming, aiding in water conservation. In its most efficient and ideal form, the Hydroponics system uses 10% of soil farming water requirement. Additionally Hydroponics systems can be built vertically, increasing the amount of crop per acre. Another benefit is cleaner food by providing Pesticide-free products. Hydroponics eliminates the need for pesticides as most crop infesting insects live in the soil. This also meets the demand for greater crops as Hydroponic systems allows for plants grown in a nutrient solution to mature up to 25 percent faster and deliver for two to ten times the amount yielded compared to regular soil growing. It allows food to be grown and consumed in areas of the planet that cannot support crops within the soil.
Hydroponic system requires periodic labor. The issue with this system is that it is manual and need constant monitoring and supervision to get the desired results and requires frequent human aided maintenance, which leaves room for human error and subsequently leading to the damage to the yield of the crops. Hydroponic growing depends on control. As an indoor growing method, hydroponics requires fine management of environmental factors such as heat and humidity. This soilless style of growing depends on careful control of nutrient dosing and water flow. To alleviate the problem we intend to work on the implementation of Hydroponics based on an IoT (Internet of Things) framework.
Previous vertical wireless IoT systems requires a high degree of control from the user. A system of alerts is established to automatically signal the user if conditions need to be adjusted. In the case a user is unavailable, unable to heed the warning or over compensates in terms of adjusting any of the perimeters, this can seriously negatively impact the growth of the plants and is not viable for commercial or industrial use.
Our proposed IoT based Hydroponics system makes it possible for a grower to implement the necessary levels of control without having to be constantly on site. Automation drives productivity in the hydroponic grow, and wireless connectivity is what enables automation, giving the grower the ability to set schedules, receive up-to-the-minute information on grow conditions, and have remote control capabilities. Additionally the system requires minimal involvement from the user in terms of correcting parameter deviations (temperature, humidity, pH level, nutrient content etc). It automatically adjusts and fixes deviation from the optimal values of growth with its automated actuators. Moreover, our hydroponics system provides the option to choose the plant the user wishes to grow from its menu.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The project will consist of a metal structure with a length of 96 inches and height of 81 inches. Sensors will be fitted to the Hydroponics Structure (figure 1) which will gather the required perimeters (pH level, nutrient content, temperature, humidity, water oxygen level, solar radiation). Raspberry pi 3b+ (or higher model) will be used to receive the data from the sensors from where the data will be uploaded to the Internet (cloud server) and will be available for monitoring by the user on a phone. The system will regulate the specifications required for ideal plant growth by sending commands to the actuators through the single board computer (raspberry pi) based on the data received from the sensors. Data retrieved from the Hydroponic Systems will be sent over the communications system to a companion website for the user to view through establishing wireless communication between SBC and mobile phone app and IOT server. The system has 10 pipes with five plantation points on each pipe, allowing for 50 plants of the same species to begrown at a time.

Figure1: Hydroponics 3D structures designed for FYP

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Agriculture

Other Industries

Core Technology

Internet of Things (IoT)

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Zero Hunger, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com