BotanIQ - A smart planting pot

Motivation

Plants bring beauty and fresh air into our homes and offices, but keeping them healthy requires consistent care—something that often slips through our busy schedules. Many plant lovers start with enthusiasm, only to see their greenery fade due to forgotten watering or poor lighting.

We believe that technology can transform plant care from a burden into an effortless and rewarding experience. Our project is designed to provide smart, real-time plant monitoring, ensuring that every plant receives the right amount of water, light, and care.

With this solution, we aim to break the cycle of plant failure, restoring confidence and joy in plant ownership. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a forgetful plant parent, our project ensures that your plants thrive.

Solution

BotanIQ offers the perfect solution to this widespread problem, revolutionizing plant care with its innovative, automated system. Imagine a system that continuously monitors the most crucial environmental parameters—humidity, light intensity, and temperature—ensuring that your plant thrives in the most favorable conditions, day in and day out. With BotanIQ, there’s no need to worry about under or over-watering, or providing inadequate light. The system intelligently analyzes these environmental factors in real-time and automatically adjusts watering and lighting, taking the guesswork and stress out of plant care.

But that's not all. BotanIQ goes a step further by offering a sophisticated web server, giving users the ability to track all the collected data in real time. Whether you're at home, in the office, or on vacation, you can always monitor your plant's health with ease. The web interface features interactive charts that visualize trends in moisture levels, light exposure, and temperature, offering a comprehensive view of how your plant is performing over time. With this clear and intuitive dashboard, you can adjust settings to fine-tune the environment and ensure your plant receives the perfect care, no matter the circumstances.

Through this seamless integration of technology, BotanIQ not only makes plant care easier but also transforms it into an interactive, data-driven experience that guarantees your plant receives the right amount of attention, ensuring optimal growth and vitality.

Who we are

Alina is responsible for developing and executing the project's marketing plan, managing social media creating engaging content and ensuring clear communication with stakeholders.

Dominik oversees the development and implementation of the project's technical aspects, including hardware, software, and system integration. Ensures functionality, troubleshooting, and optimization while coordinating with the team to achieve project goals.

Jakob manages the project’s budget, tracks expenses, and ensures efficient allocation of resources. Responsible for securing funding, handling sponsorships or grants, and maintaining financial transparency for the team.

Together: 3.5 years of successful cooperation in student projects and labs in Esslingen University, Computer Engineering department.

Project Features

Automatic IrrigationBotanIQ continuously monitors soil moisture using a YL-69 sensor. When the moisture level falls below a predefined threshold, a water pump is automatically activated to water the plant.

Environmental MonitoringThe system measures temperature and humidity with the DHT22 sensor. An additional ultrasonic sensor (HC-SR04) measures the water level in a tank to ensure that the water pump doesn't run dry.

Display of Measured ValuesThe current measurements are displayed in real-time on a 16x2 LCD screen with an I2C interface. This allows you to always have an overview of the environmental conditions of your plant.

WiFi FunctionalityThe system is equipped with WiFi, meaning you can monitor it remotely. This lets you keep an eye on your plant care at any time, from anywhere.

Web Server for Remote MonitoringWith a web server developed using Flask and Python, you can view your measurement data in charts and check the current system status at any time. The user interface is simple to use and provides a clear overview of important parameters such as temperature, humidity, soil moisture, and water level.

User AuthenticationThe web server includes email and password authentication, ensuring that only authorized users can access the web application.

Database IntegrationThe collected data is stored in a MySQL database, allowing you to access and analyze a history of the measured values at any time.

Required Components

To build BotanIQ, you will need the following components:

Sensors:

• YL-69 Soil Moisture Sensor
• DHT22 Temperature and Humidity Sensor
• HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor
• Photoresistor (Light Sensor)

Actuators:

• Water Pump
• Servo Motor (SG90)

Display:

• 16x2 LCD Screen with I2C Interface

Microcontroller:

• NodeMCU (ESP8266)

Miscellaneous:

• Connectors, jumper wires, breadboard

Software:

• Web server: Flask (Python)
• Database: MySQL

Circuit Diagram

The circuit diagram shows how to connect all components. Make sure to correctly connect the sensors, LCD screen, and actuators to the NodeMCU.

Code Overview

The code for BotanIQ ensures that all sensors and actuators communicate properly and that the microcontroller handles all tasks. The web server ensures that you can access your data at any time.

Code Functionality:When the system starts, the LCD screen is initialized, and all sensors begin collecting data.

• The DHT22 sensor measures temperature and humidity, while the YL-69 sensor monitors soil moisture.
• If the soil moisture becomes too low, the system activates the water pump to water the plant.
• The ultrasonic sensor checks the water level to ensure that the pump never runs without water.
• The servo motor rotates the pot periodically to ensure the plant receives even light.

Web Server and Database:The web server is written in Flask and allows the user to log in with email and password.

• After logging in, charts are displayed showing the measured values in real-time.
• These data are stored in a MySQL database.
• The web server provides a user-friendly view of the system status and offers a historical representation of the values.

Step-by-Step Guide

Hardware Setup:

• Connect all components according to the circuit diagram.
• Connect the NodeMCU to your computer.

Software Setup:

• Download the sketch from the GitHub repository and open it in the Arduino IDE.
• Install the required libraries: LiquidCrystal_I2C, DHT, ESP8266WiFi, Servo.
• WiFi and web server configuration in the sketch:In the Arduino sketch for the NodeMCU, you need to specify both the SSID (network name) and the password for your WiFi network. This data is required for the NodeMCU to connect to your local network and send data to the web server.

Example:

// WiFi
const char* ssid     = "YOUR SSID";                     // SSID (Name) der Wi-Fi network
const char* password = "YOUR PASSWORD";                 // Password der Wi-Fi network
const char* url      = "http://localhost:5000/pushdata?";  // URL zum Server

Replace "YOUR SSID" and "YOUR PASSWORD" with your actual WiFi credentials. Also, replace "http://localhost:5000/pushdata?" with your web server's IP address. This IP address should be reachable from the same network as the NodeMCU device.

• Upload the sketch to the NodeMCU.

Web Server and Database:

• Download the Python project from the GitHub Repository
• Install Flask and MySQL for the web server.
• Configure the web server to receive data from the NodeMCU and store it in the MySQL database.
• Run the init.py with Python
• Set up a user login and ensure that only authorized users can access the web interface.
• Test the web server by logging in and checking the charts and system status.

Testing:

• Test the functionality of the sensors by checking the output in the serial console.
• Ensure that the pump and servo motor work as expected.
• Check the data on the web server and make sure it is displayed correctly.

Future Extensions

• Gamification of Plant Care: Implement competitive features where users can earn points, compare their plant care with friends, and earn virtual rewards. This would allow users to compare the condition of their plants "competitively" and promote plant care in a playful way.

Conclusion

BotanIQ is a great project for anyone who wants to automate the care of their potted plant intelligently. It combines sensors, actuators, a user-friendly display, and a powerful web server to continuously monitor and automatically adjust environmental conditions. With this project, you will not only get a practical system for your plant care, but also an excellent introduction to IoT, web development, and microcontroller-based systems.

Enjoy building and experimenting! If you have any questions or need help, feel free to leave a comment