Smart Irrigation System
An automated smart agricultural controller that monitors real-time soil moisture and environmental metrics to dynamically actuate water solenoid valves, eliminating over-irrigation and crop stress.
Problem Statement
Fixed-timer irrigation systems consume excess water regardless of rainfall or soil saturation levels, leading to water wastage and root rot in community gardens and educational farms.
Project Objectives
Hardware & Sensors
- Capacitive soil moisture sensor (corrosion-resistant probe)
- Ambient temperature and relative humidity sensor (DHT22/SHT30)
- 12V DC solenoid water valve with optocoupled relay driver module
- Low-power microcontroller development board
Communication Architecture
Local closed-loop microcontroller logic with optional serial telemetry / Wi-Fi dashboard output.
Software & Data Processing
- Hysteresis threshold decision algorithm in C++
- Capacitive sensor ADC smoothing and calibration mapping
- Relay safety timeout logic
Implementation Workflow
- Soil moisture sensor ADC calibration across dry, damp, and saturated soil samples
- Relay isolation and solenoid valve bench setup
- Closed-loop control loop programming and field container trial
Testing & results
Bench-tested with potted soil containers; system reliably opened the solenoid valve when soil moisture dropped below 30% threshold and shut off upon reaching 65% moisture saturation.
Tech stack
Interested in this project?
Connect with the Alistron engineering team to discuss technical specifications, school workshops, or joint R&D collaboration.
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