Taking care of houseplants can be a difficult job, especially if you forget to water them now and then or they require strict conditions. With this project I created a small device that can water your plants for your convenience. It is an IoT device which means it is connected to the internal network of a house and you can configure it from any internet-enabled device that connects to the same network.
The device has a special water tank with four water level sensors. If the water level drops below the lowest sensor the pump won't operate to prevent the system from filling up with air. Inside the device the pump is responsible for moving the water to the plants and a solenoid valve is responsible for stopping the water from flowing back when the pump is not in use. Both of these devices are controlled with relays that are connected to an Arduino. The Arduino communicates with the home network through an ethernet shield. It measures the water level with a resistance network so only one analog pin is required. The device has a real time clock module so it tracks the current time even if it is turned off. A 16 x 2 LCD displays all the information the user needs. The exact time and watering frequency can both be configured through a network interface where you can also query the water level.
With this device I entered the "Present your own gadget" competition, organized by the László Schnell Foundation where I won second prize in 2015.
