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  • Author Author: mahmood.hassan
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Micro Monster - Succulent Plants Monitoring System (part-6) Final Testing and Demo

mahmood.hassan
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Remote Monitoring & Control

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Finally I am able to interface all the sensors and successfully transmit all the data to the IBM IoT platform. There is definitely some room for improvement especially in selection of sensors etc. Currently, Instead of completely reinstalling the firmware I have used two specific locations in external flash to store the different constants, including WiFi credential and only one copy is replaced during update firmware request. And when factory reset request is received the other copy of initial data replace the newly added data.

 

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Hardware Used:

  • PSoC6 WiFi BT kit
  • Grove Base Shield for Arduino
  • Grove Light Sensor
  • Grove Rotation Sensor
  • Grove LCD with RGB backlight
  • Grove Buzzer
  • Soil Moisture senor
  • DHT22
  • Li-Ion battery for remote operation

 

Software Used:

  • WICED STUDIO
    • Cypress is no longer supporting this software and its sdk has lots and lots of issues. Unfortunately wireless capabilities of this kit can only be used with this tool. I have to spend most of my time in sorting out the software issues. On the other hand modus toolbox is pretty good software but doesn't software wireless connectivity image. Even tough designing a wireless connectivity application is pretty easy and fun with this software.
  • Modus Toolbox
    • For initial sensor interface debugging and testing.

 

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Auto Reconnect in case of connection failure.

Challenges Faced:

    Measuring the MCU temperature reading from its builtin temperature sensor. The die temperature sensor only works if ADC is configured with internal Vref of 1.2V. If this reference voltage is used to measure external analog sensors then either you need to add extra hardware to reduce the analog signal maximum level or continuously reinitialize the ADC so it can work with 3.3V analog signals. Its was sounding pretty easy but when I start working with WICED STUDIO its analog libraries were a mess. It functions need several parameter but using none of these. Usually when you use SDK function to initialize adc, you provide ADC configuration and ADC channel that you want to read to initialize. But in here whatever the channel you select to read or ADC configuration it will simply ignore everything and Initialize ADC with particular fixed setting and every time it read all 16 channels whether these are used/initlaize or not. I have to completely rewrite the ADC library with RTOS functionality.

Unlike modus toolbox, PSoC creator or any other embedded software there is not a single peripheral which has all the necessary libraries at one place. You really have to dig deep to understand its functionality.

PSoC6 mcu from cypress have a unique feature of bi-directional GPIO functionality. But in wiced studio you cant find out whether certain GPIO is capable of bi-directional operation or not because when you want to communicate with DHT22 you need to connect it with only these GPIO pins.

The most confusing thing about this software is availability of several functions to do the same thing image.

 

Future Work:

    Addition of rotatable platform to the system because these plants are pretty small and when placed indoor these start bending toward window (source of light) and you need to continuously rotate the pot to keep them straight.

    Replace the existing soil moisture sensor with capacitive one.

    Fully reinstalling the firmware over the MQTTS/HTTPS connection is not completed yet.

    Node-Red based remote device management.

 

Could Interface:

The Final Interface with some gauges and charts.

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Real Time could storage of all the incoming data for later use.

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PART 1: Micro Monster - Succulent Plants Monitoring System

PART 2: Establishing and Testing the Secure Connection

PART 3: Remote Device Restart, Factory Reset and Data storage on External Flash

PART 4: Remote Firmware Download and Update

PART 5: Sensors Interfacing

PART 6: Final Testing and Demo

  • in reply to alton

    Yes you can easily control and monitor multiple pots with single RPi.

  • Aawesome.

     

    Can you add small clear tube and water pump. When it signals dry... pump will water plant. Give it 3-5 seconds depending on how much pumps out at a given time.

    then send a notice to cell phone msg of plant A dry,  plant A watered.

     

    also, can I set up to 6 potted plants with a single raspberry pi?

     

    plz email me at altonddavisjr@yahoo.com so I can receive info quickest.

     

    thx boss!

  • A very good starting point, an inspiring source of ideas with solid bases. Really nice project.

     

    Enrico

  • in reply to mahmood.hassan

    You may be able to trick them into flowering by varying their environment. In nature these plants don't have much of a chance to reproduce so often have to time flowering for optimal chance of reseeding. Flowering is expensive in terms of water loss so I suspect that some will only flower briefly following a sufficient rain shower, which they may never experience as a house plant with careful watering. Some require the wind or animals to carry their seed any distance so they may need physical disturbance to trigger flowering, which once again they probably don't tend to experience indoors on a window ledge. Temperature changes may indicate seasonal changes which are otherwise hidden by more constant indoor temperatures. 

     

    Some perhaps need to reach a certain size before they are able to support the flower. If you look at my photos you can see how the weight of the flower offshoot has started to pull the plant over. Any smaller and it may have pulled the plant out of the ground. Others have had much smaller flowers and next to no offshoot so size would be less of an issue.

  • in reply to beacon_dave

    It eventually exploded under its own weight and made quite a mess in the process... However it did solve the problem of how to move/re-pot it.

    image

     

    So I have to wait for more than a decade image to find out if it will ever give a flower or not.