RecoverPea

RecoverPea is an automated gardening system allowing anyone to grow their produce (peas)! Our system uses moisture sensors to detect areas that need to be watered, then precision-waters that plant.

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Inspiration

RecoverPea was inspired by a couple of things: this Makeathon's theme of recovery, the seed packets we were given at check-in, and our team's continuous need of having to ask friends to take care of gardens when we travel.

What it does

RecoverPea detects areas of low moisture using moisture sensors embedded in the soil. RecoverPea then actuates the two stepper motors to aim the nozzle in the right direction, which when coupled with a water pump, forms a stream of water to precisely hit the area that's detected to be dried out. This forms a parabola of water, allowing the system to water plants even if it doesn't have a direct line of sight.

How we built it

The base of the planter was built with 2x4s and plywood. The main turret was formed of 80-20 extrusions, 3D printed brackets, stepper motors, miscellaneous hubs, and hardware. The OTS pump was connected to the turret with a custom nozzle-hub combo, which should allow the turret to target areas with a (semi)laminar stream.

The electronics are controlled by a raspberry pi running python. Each stepper motor is controlled via a stepper driver. The moisture sensors let our systems know what areas are too dry for a pea plant to thrive.

Challenges we ran into

“So many” - Bronwyn

Connecting to the RPi over SSH via MIT’s WiFi, Keeping our wires & electronics organized, Making a gear train to allow the stepper to generate enough torque to lift the tubing needed for the pump, Adapting the moisture sensor to connect to our electronics, Changing our plans on the fly, to adapt to component shortages such as heat-set inserts and breadboard,

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We got motors turning, and water flowing!, Building with 80/20 for the first time, Refreshing our python skills, and using raspberry pi for the first time, Learning how to use a moisture sensor, Attending our first MakeMIT (or makeathon) ever!,

What we learned

How to build with and design for 80/20, How to use a raspberry pi, How to use a moisture sensor, How to work under a time crunch & be flexible with our designs,

What's next for RecoverPea

Future steps could include fine-turning the motion system, adding in a sunshade system, and increasing the power to the jet, for one turret to cover more area.

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