MADIS: Microbial Automatic Drip Irrigation System

Inspiration

We learned from our AP environmental class that conventional Irrigation systems is inefficient and wasteful, as flood irrigation loses 50% of water applied and greatly contributes to water shortage, leading to poor waste management and sanitation.

We learned about microbial fuel cells and wondered if we can apply this technology to optimize the current drip irrigation systems.

What it does

MADIS works by automatically controls the irrigation system via MFC that is moisture sensitive. The main components of this innovation include: MFCs, a voltage sensor, a control panel, and pipe system for water delivery. When the moisture level is low, the MFC generates less electricity. This phenomenon is utilized to determine whether or not there is enough moisture. There is a lower and upper threshold for voltage. If the sensor detects a voltage value below the lower threshold, it releases water until the moisture reaches the upper threshold, and then it stops. The MFC also provides electricity stored in a battery when excess power is generated.

The primary benefactor is that MADIS minimizes water waste significantly! Moisture sensing is more accurate as the data is collected over a large piece of land rather than a point. Additionally, the automated controls of MADIS reduce time and labor. MADIS can be easily applied to gardens or large agricultural fields. Since it has no effect on any plant food products, it can be utilized on a variety of plants. MADIS's scalability is also improved by its customizability to different moisture levels and compatibility with many crops.

How we built it

We heard a little bit about redox reactions and their application in generating electricity. We used that, in combination with knowledge about solenoids in our AP Physics C, to develop a smart irrigation level that automatically opens and closes based off of moisture levels detected by microbial fuel cells.

Our basic 2d models were done on google images, the coding was done on python, and the 3d models on onshape.

Challenges we ran into

Our major problem was the time constraint, which significantly limited our ability to develop in depth models and ideas. Additionally, since we were unable to make a real product most of our ideas had to be fully creative.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are able to combine biology, with microbial fuel cells, chemistry, through redox reactions of microbial fuel cells, and physics, application of solenoids to open and close the irrigation valve, to make a working model that provides smart irrigation based off of moisture levels.

We are also really proud of how we effectively communicated. It's rare to be on the same page about most things, but we were able to do that through our clear explanations and organization.

What we learned

We learned how to effectively communicate to solve complex problems, crucial to the time-limited competition. Additionally, we learned to research into multiple facets to build our product successfully.

What's next for MADIS: Microbial Automatic Drip Irrigation System

We will try to implement this in even more places, not just farmland. For example, aquatic farms and the ocean are promising new places where we can explore the effect of microbial fuel cells.

We also plan to create front end models for the control panel and really make an immersive simulation of MADIS.