Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Microclimate: maintaining optimal vapor pressure deficit in a closed area |
Aadarsh Mahra Jeffrey Taylor Smit Purohit |
Ugur Akcal | design_document1.pdf final_paper1.pdf other1.pdf photo1.jpg photo2.url photo3.jpg presentation1.pptx |
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| Team Members: - Aadarsh Mahra (amahra2) - Smit Purohit (smitp2) - Jeffrey Taylor (jt19) # Problem Indoor agriculture is growing in popularity in recent years, especially as outdoor climates become more unpredictable. Specialty, high-margin crops are currently being grown under totally controlled environments at a commercial scale, yet lower cost systems for smaller, at home spaces are not available for the hobbyist grower. One specific problem with indoor agriculture is maintaining a quality environment for your crops. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is the difference between the amount of moisture in the air and much moisture the air can hold when it is saturated. This is influenced through air temperature and relative humidity. # Solution We aim to create a system that uses off-the-self heaters, humidifiers, and fans with numerous sensor-based data acquisition nodes to control the VPD of a closed growing environment, in our case a 2'x4'x6' grow tent. A master controller will act as a scheduler to adjust these conditions as the plants mature. This system should be modular enough to be compatible with all conventionally-powered appliances and flexible enough to fit a variety of different sized environments. A grow tent, humidifier, dehumidifier, heater, and plants have already been acquired. ## Data acquisition nodes The data acquisition nodes will be small, easy to install boards with a microcontroller, external humidity and temperature sensors at minimum. The electronics will be placed in an enclosure to fight humidity. These nodes will be placed at various elevations in the grow environment. The data acquisition nodes will also log target parameters (temperature, humidity) and potentially non-critical parameters (airflow, light) to aid the hobbyist with optimizing conditions for future grows. Data from the nodes will be pushed to a MQTT broker. We are still considering whether to use wireless communication protocols and batteries or ethernet for power and communications. ## Appliance control node(s) The appliance control nodes will sit between the wall outlet and the power cord for the actuators. A relay will be employed with a microcontroller to essentially create 'smart outlets' that can toggle the heater and humidifier. The power for this system will come via an AC to DC converter, and state and control transmissions will occur via MQTT. ## The Overseer The Overseer combines the MQTT broker, a microcontroller, and a human interface device (likely a minimally functional web app on a computer) to act as a the scheduler and controller. Data from the acquisition nodes will be monitored and the actuators will be toggled as needed to meet target environmental variables. The Overseer will have the ability to set different target VPD's for different stages of growth, generally defined by the date. A small control system in The Overseer will be put in place to maintain an acceptable range of VPD set by the user. # Criterion for Success Our main objective with this system is to maintain a stable quality growing environment. This will involve multiple goals: - Keeping the VPD within 10% of target range for 95% of operation - The sensor nodes provide accurate data, log the data, and communicate the data to the overseer - The target values should be able to be set manually (either by a simple web app or programming the values directly) - The Overseer can accurately interpret data from the sensor nodes and activate the appropriate actuator(s) based on set target values - The actuators can be toggled via a MCU and relay |
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