Future Possible Additions

This page is to document possible paths for future additions to the project. The ideas and objectives listed in this page are either ideas that we could not fit into our current time frame, or rather objectives that could not be completed due to our switch from Mycodo to Thingspeak.

Mycodo Integration

We were not able to utilize Mycodo due to part availability forcing us to use the Atlas Sensor, which was wired to use Things peak. According to the Atlas Sensor instructions, the board has the ability to be rewritten to use other websites and services, however, neither Connor nor I were proficient enough in Arduino coding to figure out how to do that.

Automation

Another aspect of our project that was lost was automation in terms of water dosing. Due to our need to move to Thingspeak, which has a read time of 15 seconds, and the network issues created by attempting to perform constant monitoring with Thingspeak made automatic PH and EC adjustments impossible. If Mycodo could be revived, the path towards full automation would be opened.

Increase Growing Capacity

The current system is functional however we have most of what is needed to service a much larger amount of plants. We could easily double the growing pipes and length of our growing system while style using the current monitoring and irrigation systems. This would involve building a new pipe system with longer and more pipes. We have 2 pumps because the first one was to powerful for the current setup this would be ideal if we had more pipes to feed water to. The Floraflex is also setup for 8 distribution tubes that could be easily feed into additional pipes. The challenge with this is more of space and funds for construction material. If this was done during the warmer months it could be moved outdoors however with vermont weather the way it is school not taking place in the prime months I would recommend trying to find a place indoors on campus possible in carriage house or the basement of ccm.

Integrated Lights and Pump

The lighting system and pump are currently not being controlled by the IoT system at all. An easy solution to this would be to buy and IoT integrated power strip to plug everything into. However a more electrically gifted student may be able to create a something more DIY. Sam and I are not however that comfortable with wiring and soldering. This would be a great small addition to the system as it would then allow everything to have power toggled remotely.

Successive Harvesting

Our system is currently all harvested in one go and then it starts over from scratch. We would like to see the system be used with successive harvesting where seedling growth and harvesting is staggered so that small batches of produce can be harvested weekly and resewn with fresh seedlings. This would be a bit more hands on in terms of physical work but it would allow for a more steady stream of food to be produced.

Improved lighting

The lights we are currently using are my personal seedling lights and as such may not be staying with the grow system. These lights are also not designed for full life cycles of plants. A more complete and powerful lighting system would be an amazing addition to the system as it would definitely increase overall plant growth.

WebCam Integration

ThingSpeak does not support live webcam monitoring, and we were unable to use Motion on the Pi to have a live monitoring solution using a webcam. Mycodo does support a webcam being utilized, however the Pi quickly became overloaded with the webcam utilization along side with the Mycodo software. A future project objective could be to create a solution for a webcam integration, whether that be through Mycodo or through another service to allow for the feed to be visible from outside the network.

Basin and Sensor Rebuild

Our basin is a functional proof of concept for this project. Currently it works well for our needs but there are a number of QOL upgrades that could be made. The biggest two being a proper housing for the internal sensors, and dosing port for adjusting the water. These two things would not be a massive undertaking however if done could increase accuracy of readings as well as making the water easier to adjust. A new basin could also be looked into as the current one is more of a product of our working space than of choice. We would also suggest that a second float sensor be installed to monitor the exact level of the water instead of simply one the notifies you if the water is drastically lower than it should be.

Long Term Logging of Data

We are currently logging all of our sensor data and plan to export data sheets containing the collected data. As the project progresses, the continued collection of this data is a must.

Network Monitoring

Another future path for project advancement is to further flesh out and strengthen the network that controls the system. Possible ideas could be a lightweight IDS and logging system for the systems, a dedicated workstation for monitoring and log collection, and possible a storage device for logs. I believe that an upgraded switch would be the only step necessary for this change to occur.

Seedling Growing Area

Currently the seedlings are not in an optimal growing area and are resting on top of the basin as it gives some access to the growing lights. It would be very beneficial to have the seedlings in a proper tray with a heat mat and there own dedicated light.