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CC3200 IoT Backyard Challenge Tomato Greenhouse Summary

janisalnis

Previous post: Energia is out there for CC3200

 

 

A summary for Internet of Things roadtest

 

Thanks to Texas Instruments Element 14 for possibility to be a roadtester for Simplelink Wi-Fi CC3200 launchpad.

It is a single chip containing  both Wi-Fi connectivity processor and Cortex M4 core ARM processor communicating over internal SPI connection.

I have tried to learn programming CC3200 in CCstudio and bloged about every step: Internet connectivity,  analog inputs, I2C, hibernation, power consumption, motor driving.

 

Data were stored and visualized by Plotly and Xively, and on a Linux webserver.

 

One of CC3200 boards worked autonomously for a month in a tomato greenhouse powered from solar panel and AA cells. Greenhouse was filmed by Android phone providing internet hotspot and later a time lapse was made: IoT in tomato greenhouse on Vimeo

From Sept 24 in video one can see a box containg CC3200.

 

The autumn came and was not enough time to implement automatic watering system in the greenhouse. I have set up automatic watering system using CC3200 on a flower pot indoors and it is continuously uploading data to IoT. From photodiode sensor one can see that days are getting shorter now in autumn:

http://85.254.232.222/webcammob3/sunlight/

 

Another successful application of CC320 is wireless measuring of hot water pipe temperature at home for over 1 month:

https://xively.com/feeds/242759090

 

I was first to write a blog on Element 14 website (1800 views) about CC3200 programming using Texas Instruments Energia when it was released in September 2014 and at Instructables.com (1500 views).  I was very happy that this blog was highligted by Hackaday.com reviewing coolest things done within hobby electronics.

 

Thanks to Element 14 for generously donating 7 launchpads and I could share boards with my colleagues and students. One of applications they are making is e-paper display for doors telling when will be back from lunch or meeting. Another will be about air quality monitoring in classrooms: CO2, dust, etc...

 

More ideas:

  • wireless bathroom scale that will allow me to follow my weight dynamics online.
  • mailbox notifying about post arrival
  • bicycle alarm employing onboard accelerometer
  • camera application for photos and household water/electricity meter readout.

 

 

 

Solar IoT garden lamp - weather station - intrusion detector

 

In my first blog entry I envisioned solar powered garden lamp with IoT connectivity and have recently started building it.

Solar driven garden lamps often can not supply light through all the night. PIR motion detector allows to switch on LEDs only when someone is nearby. Such lights are very practical at the house entrance door when trying to find keys.

 

12 superbright white LEDs are drawing 400 mA from 2xAA 2500 mAh rechargeable batteries. Actually, 2.4V is not enough to drive a white LED. I used step-up board from Wurth Electronics that was supplied in another roadtest (wireless challenge). Each 3 LEDs are connected in series and there are four such series. If necessary, it might be possible to program PIR alarm mode going to a mobile phone. Everything including the solar panel is hidden inside the white glass ball. Solar cell is placed on the upper part inside the ball.

 

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  • in this moment I am finishing conversation,

     

    congratulations for winner,

     

    bye,

  • thank for response,

    Why you ( TI and element14 ) didn't inform people that idea from application doesn't matter ?

     

     

    Show me where in rules is described that competitors can change project ? I asking where ?

    Where are official rules of competiotion I am still waiting.

     

    I lost my free time for this "not clear" competition

  • Here is the official response from Texas Instruments and element14 -

     

    In July, 10 participants were selected to receive the SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3200 LaunchPad based on the quality of their submitted Internet of the backyard ideas. The finalists were tasked to bring their ideas to life while regularly blogging about their progress. Finalists were judged on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, incorporation of the LaunchPad(s), blogging consistency and totality of design experimentations and success documented throughout blog submissions.

     

    The judges from element14 and TI felt that the winner, Janis Alnis, did an exemplary job incorporating the SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3200 LaunchPad into the tomato plant monitoring system. He demonstrated that the design process is often an evolutionary one that may expand to meet multiple needs. Alnis designed a connected solar-powered water pump, a greenhouse monitor measuring soil humidity, temperature and light, and an automated watering system – all of which contributed to the success of his tomato greenhouse. We thank all of the finalists for participating and look forward to seeing additional design ideas in the future as the IoT continues to grow.


    Finally, I would like to add that projects evolve over time.  We have seen design challenges previously where a challenger started with one idea and ended up with another; in 2013, in a challenge related to energy harvesting, an initial project idea for an energy harvesting powered bike light, turned into an energy harvesting powered egg timer.   This was an even more dramatic transformation of the project: it was also one of the winners.

     

    Thank you.

  • in reply to doctorcdf

    yes please ask them,

     

    I am very curious how they explain

    why won other project then was in application,

     

    equation to prove:

    "tomato greenhous == solar lamp"