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
