DIY Smart Plant Pot

hello world,

please support our mission; igg.me/at/smartplants

it was one year ago that i have published the plant pot - world's first stand alone smart plant pot that can email you when it's thirsty, cold, hot, sleeping etc.

a lot has changed since the first release. today I would like to share with you our latest and most stable version yet.

the plant pot is still,

open source hardware + software

solder-free, suitable for any age group

an all around educational tool

once completed the end user will know how to build circuits, write code and end up with a finished device that can teach you how to garden. no prior electronics or gardening experience needed.!!

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here is a list of what we will be using;

wifi microcontroller - updated to wifi nodemcu

battery pack

breadboard

RGB led module

temperature/humidity module

light sensor

water sensor

jumper wires

magnets

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-- project kits available --

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let's build..>

kits are now available on ebay, including the frame + all electronics. comment or message here or on facebook for more info

download the laser cut frame here; https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bvYGugxvFFaVFjT...

download 3D printed covers here; https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bvYGugxvFFbHJXT...

ponoko online laser: http://www.ponoko.com/design-your-own/products/pot...

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the assembly is very straight forward. hot glue one piece at a time, making sure all your joints are water sealed to protect the electronics

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don't forget to place the magnets for the door

before inserting the water sensor, first carefully bend the connector legs to a 90 degree angle, this will help when wiring the circuit.

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after this put the sensor in to the leg slots and hot glue the openings so they are water sealed as well.

the powerbank comes with a short usb cable that you can use to power the microcontroller.

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for a more discrete look, you can hack the power bank and connect it to the microcontroller internally on the breadboard.

now hot glue the remaining sensors, light and temperature.

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RGB LED goes on the magnetic door.

wire according to the schematics above

connect the usb cable to laptop

scroll down to upload sketch,

remember to change wifi settings on lines 18 & 19

choose "lillypad arduino usb" and the correct COM port and click ->run on arduino

you should see the data uploading on your thingspeak channel now (allow upto 2 minutes)

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line 22 is the online webpage address so we can see the plant data on the internet;

1. go to https://thingspeak.com/users/sign_up & fill out the form to create an account

2. once the account is created, the page will change to your channels, click "new channel"

3. change the channel name and type in the fields that you want to record (temperature, light, humidity etc.) - save channel

4. click to "API Keys" tab and copy your write API key, this will be inserted into the code. - we are now ready to upload and capture data to our online channel where it will be graphed automatically and can be downloaded later on in excel format. - after you have created your channel you can also set e-mail alerts where the web page will automatically tweet "alarms" -

5. go to https://twitter.com/ and create an account

6. go to https://thingspeak.com/apps/reacts and create a "new react"

7. name your react and change the alarm values, choose thing tweet as your action and add a twitter account (link your accounts). condition type: numeric, test frequency: on data insertion etc.. for more help: https://thingspeak.com/docs/thingtweet

8. once your react is saved and your twitter account is linked everything should be working, and you should be getting the alarms on your twitter channel/phone.

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you can adjust light, temperature and water levels within the code (lines 119, 129 & 144) you will learn about the pattern of the location where your plant pot will be staying. and eventually get the settings just right. the pre-set numbers should be good for many plants. read more here; www.instructables.com/id/Envolysis/step2

make sure to put tape around the openings to protect the electronics. i have used white matte textured spray paint. apply minimum 3 coats waiting in between minimum 30 minutes. make sure to paint outside.!!

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download the official logo here; https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bvYGugxvFFUlNBV...

it is now time to add soil and seeds or plants depending on which route you would like to take.. here are a few good instructables on how to start plants from seeds;

. https://www.instructables.com/id/3-Days-from-Seed-t...

. https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Start-Seeds...

here is another instructable on showing you how to transplant an already grown plant;

https://www.instructables.com/id/re-pot-a-Plant/

my dream is to teach the world how to garden and build electronics. combining the two just makes things better. i believe that in the future (very near) all plant pots will be "smart"

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i already have a few companies as competitors, million dollar companies.. however the plant pot still stands as the most advanced one of them all because it is made by YOU and the open source community we have here at www.instructables.com !!

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thank you everybody for your support. please favorite and share this post with friends + family. also like us on www.facebook.com/theplantdoctor2014

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love & peace

akin,