Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
75 Plant Hydration and Weather Integration System
 Aashish Chaubal
Iker Uriarte
Jaeren Dadivas
 Maanas Sandeep Agrawal design_document1.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
Plant Hydration and Weather Integration System
- Iker Uriarte (iuriar2)
- Jaeren Dadivas (dadivas2)
- Aashish Chaubal (achau7)

Outdoor plant care is challenging due to varying weather conditions and the risk of overwatering or underwatering. There are available automated watering systems that water plants, but they don’t consider the option of saving water by considering upcoming rain. A smarter solution is needed to optimize plant hydration while conserving water. This idea could minimize the risk of overwatering, which some people consider worse than underwatering, and could maximize water usage.

# Solution

Our objective is to design a smart plant-watering system that monitors soil moisture levels and integrates weather forecasting to optimize water usage for outdoor plants. The system will delay watering if rain is forecasted, minimizing water waste. We will use an ESP32 microcontroller capable of requesting an API to a weather forecasting service (such as AccuWeather). Our design will include a motorized water pump whose water flow will be dependent on both weather and moisture sensors. Finally, our system will be powered by rechargeable lithium batteries to provide the user with better long-term sustainability and cost efficiency.

# Solution Components

# Subsystem 1: Control Board
The ESP32 will be the microcontroller for this project. It offers built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality, making the design process more efficient and less risky. Additionally, the ESP32 is a highly popular microcontroller with documentation available, which could be helpful.
The ESP32 will handle receiving soil moisture readings from sensors. If the moisture level falls below a specific threshold (which will be manually set based on the type of plant we choose to use), the ESP32 will use APIs (e.g., AccuWeather) to get real time weather data and check the rain precipitation probability. If the probability is high, the system will delay watering and wait for the rain to moisture the soil. Otherwise, it will activate a water pump to hydrate the plants.
Lastly, the ESP32 will calculate the amount of water saved by comparing moisture levels when watering is delayed due to rain versus manually watering the plant with the water pump. Since the relationship between moisture levels and water usage is not linear, developing this calculation will be a challenging but essential part of the system. These results will be sent to a website that will display a graph showing water savings over time.
### Components Used: esp32-wroom-32 voltage

## Subsystem Batteries
Since our project is focused on targeting outdoor plants, we have to use lithium-ion batteries since they are the most efficient against cold weather and they can be recharged. The problem that these types of batteries tend to have is that they don’t go well with cold temperatures, so that’s why we have to go with lithium-ion batteries that are cold weather resistant. We will connect our battery to a 5V boost converter and connect the converter to the ESP32 5V input.
Components used:
###Components used: 2 Pack 3.7 Volt 18650 Rechargeable Battery 3400mAh 18650 Li-ion Battery


## Watering and Sensors subsystem
We will use moisture sensors pinned to soil in order to actively measure soil moisture levels. These moisture sensors will be SEN0114. SEN0114 will be connected to the 3.3V ESP32 pins.
The moisture sensors will work with our water pump. Our water pump will water plants whenever the moisture levels are low and there is no forecasted rain. Our pump will be a JT-180A.
###Components used:
SEN0114
JT-180A 5V

## Data Subsystem
our ESP32 will collect and upload data to a Firebase database, a cloud-based storage solution that will serve as our repository (data storage). We’ll build a custom website that connects to this database, allowing us to generate plots from the stored data. In short, Firebase will be our dependable “storage box” for all the semester’s data.

## Rain Detection Subsystem
In order for our control board to see if it rains, we will be using a Load Cell + HX711 that will go under a container (i.e. cup) that will, in the case of rain, measure the change in weight of the container including the plant. The weight accumulated due to the added water from the rain can then be used in calculations by the microcontroller to determine the amount of water that was saved by holding back the watering system. This subsystem will also be able to confirm that is raining to our control board.

##Criterion For Success

For our smart plant-watering system to be effective it needs to be able to autonomously sustain an outdoor plant via watering them by doing the following: it needs to be able to accurately monitor the soil moisture levels (and a set moisture threshold) and the real-time weather forecast and only activate the water pump accordingly (when the moisture level falls below the threshold and when there is no rain). Furthermore, it must be able to delay watering when the probability of rain is above a set threshold. The system will calculate and display water savings by comparing the system’s actual water usage and the baseline amount of water used without weather forecast information.

Antweight Battlebot Project

Jeevan Navudu, Keegan Teal, Avik Vaish

Antweight Battlebot Project

Featured Project

# Antweight Battlebot

Team Members:

- Keegan Teal (kteal2)

- Avik Vaish (avikv2)

- Jeevan Navudu (jnavudu2)

# Problem

In order to compete in Professor Gruev’s robot competition, there are many constraints that need to be met, including:

- Maximum weight (2lbs)

- Allowed materials (3D-printed thermoplastics)

- Locomotion system and fighting tool

- Wireless control via Bluetooth or Wifi

The main goal of this competition is to design a Battlebot that is capable of disrupting the functionality of the other Battlebots with our fighting tool while maintaining our own functionality.

# Solution

For the project, we plan to build a battlebot with a custom electronic speed controller (ESC) that can independently control three brushless motors: two for the drive system, and one for the fighting tool. This ESC will be controlled by an STM32 microcontroller, to which we will add a Bluetooth module to connect to it and specify how much power we want to send to each motor. To communicate with our robot, we will use a laptop that can connect to Bluetooth.

# Solution Components

## Vehicle Controller

The main subsystem of the robot will be a combined vehicle control board and ESC. This subsystem will contain an STM32 Microcontroller that will serve as the brain for the whole robot. With this MCU, we’ll be able to flash our whole software package that will be able to control the speed and direction of the robot, the robot’s weapon, and the Bluetooth communication.

## Power Module

This subsystem includes the battery, the voltage regulators/converters needed to power the electronics, and the necessary battery monitoring circuitry. Specifically, for the battery, we will use a 14.8V 4S2P LiPo pack to power all the components. There will also be a voltage short detection circuit for the battery that will shut down the robot in case of a short to ensure safe practices. This subsystem also contains a 5V linear regulator and 3.3V linear regulator to power the low voltage electronics.

## Drivetrain/Powertrain

This subsystem includes the motors and H-bridges needed to control both the wheels and weapon of the robot. The H-bridges will be made with regular N-MOSs that will be controlled by a PWM signal sent from the STM32 MCU. This H-bridge setup will be able to control the voltage and polarity sent to the motors, which will be able to control the speed of the wheels or weapon. This subsystem will also include the mechanical wheels of the robot and actual hardware of the weapon, which will be a spinning object. Since all the wheels and the weapon have the same mechanical motion, they can all use the same hardware and software electronically, with minor adjustments in motor selection and the actual mechanical hardware/peripheral.

## Bluetooth Module

One big requirement for this project is the ability for the robot to be controlled wirelessly via laptop. The STM32 MCU has bluetooth capabilities, and with additional peripheral hardware, the robot will be able to communicate over bluetooth with a laptop. The goal for the laptop is to be able to control the speed, direction, and weapon of the robot wirelessly and also have a display for live telemetry.

## Mechanical Design

The last part of our project would be the mechanical design of the robot chassis and weapon. For the chassis and weapon material, we decided to go with PLA+ as it offers a blend of being strong and robust but not being too brittle. The drive system will be a 2-wheeled tank style drive with one motor controlling each side of the robot. For the weapon, we are looking to utilize a fully 3D-printed drum that will have a 100% infill to maximize the rotational inertia which can lead to bigger impacts.

## Criterion for Success

We would consider our project a success if we are able to communicate with the robot from our computer as in sending throttle and steering commands to the robot, if those commands are then processed on the robots microprocessors and the motors are sent the according power needed to move and behave in the way that we want during a match.

## Alternatives

The most commonly used electronics in current antweight battlebots consist mostly of RC drone parts. We plan to create a very similar ESC to those on the market but it will have an integrated Bluetooth wireless capability as well as telemetry monitoring. We also want to focus on minimizing packaging size to lower weight and increase flexibility as much as possible.

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