SPROUT - THE SELF WATERING PLANTER
THE PROJECT
For this project, we were asked to envision, explore, design, and prototype a new Interactive Discovery that melds a common interaction with a common object to produce a new, unexpected, and sometimes delightful experience. The interaction will be detected by sensors, processed through a computing platform, and turned into an experience based on the computed result.
I have chosen to create a self-watering plant system, which I have decided to name Sprout. Sprout is a solution to users difficulties in finding time to take care of their plant’s everyday needs. The experience delivered is easy and sophisticated. Using an Arduino Uno and other parts, I will create a solution for both user and plant life.
THE DESIGN OPPORTUNITY
My design opportunity arose last December when I had gone away for my winter break. I had two house plants I cared for a lot but had forgotten to give them to a friend to get water. When I got back home, both plants were dried out. This made me extremely unhappy. Plants are lives that need to be taken care of, and I was unable to do it.
Therefore, I wanted to create a project which I would be able to use at home in case I knew that the coming week was going to be busy or if I would be away from home for a while. My plants would still be taken care of and not dry out without me.
STORYBOARDING
The storyboard below shows the interaction between the user and the plant using the self-watering plant system. I drew inspiration from my own experience of leaving on holiday without my plants. The user in this storyboard connects their plant to a possible Arduino circuit.
This storyboard shows how the moisture sensor takes readings of the soils moisture levels and waters the plant when moisture levels are low in the plant. The circuit connects to a water pump which takes water from a water source and pumps it straight to the plant. Both the user and the plant are kept happy in this scenario.
IDEATION
After researching some circuit diagrams and semantics of existing self-watering planters, I was able to conclude that I needed a way to hold a circuit, a water supply and a plant all very close to each other.
To do this, I started sketching ideas of possible ways to make a clean and simple design which could also be taken apart easily for the user to go through and discover for themselves. I tried to make designs in groups of threes for the three major parts of this project. I also tried to think about materials I could use, such as ceramics for it ability to withstand water damage or wood to give a more natural feel to my project.
FURTHERING MY IDEATION
I then tried to take notes on the possible resources I may need to buy. I also took some notes on ethics from the lecture an interaction design professor, Morten Hendriksen, gave on Design and Ethics. This was extremely helpful for making me think about what a user should be capable of doing, why, how and what the consequences could be.
On the other page, I drew out a possible circuit to work with and the final design of my self-watering plant system. I went with this design because it internalized the circuit while also giving me the ability to show off the plant and the water supply. The user could also gain easy access to fill up their water supply or take their plant out.
SEMANTICS
Below I have used Adobe Illustrator to draw out the final semantics I used in this project. My main aim was to use as many resources as I could from the given Arduino beginner kit. I then added other resources, such as the water pump and moisture sensor which I bought from Lee’s Electronics.
The resources I used were: Arduino Uno and cable, Breadboard, Jumper Cables, Moisture Sensor, Water Pump and pipe, a 2N5551 NPN Transistor, a 20ohm resistor, and a battery pack with four AA batteries.
PROTOTYPING THE CIRCUIT
It took me about a week to get all my resources for the circuit together and begin assembling it. In my first try, I was able to get the circuit running but the pipe did not stop taking water from the plant. This made me believe that the moisture sensor was not properly connecting with the pump. I took my circuit into school the next class and got help from my classmate. She helped me figure out that my transistor had to be placed in a different position and that I needed a battery pack to power the pump rather than have all the power come from my Arduino cable. This was incredibly helpful information and was able to help me finish my circuit by the end of that week.
CODING THE ARDUINO
Below is the code I have used in my project. The plant I am using is a tropical plant which requires the soil to always be damp, but not too damp. I have defined the maximum dryness of my plant, the water delay, the post water delay and the inputs and outputs.
I have used values so that the moisture sensor takes a reading every five seconds. If the reading is higher that the max dryness, the pump takes water from the supply to the plant in small quick shoots. The moisture sensor continues to take readings. When the moisture level is below the max dryness, the plant is adequately watered and therefore, the pump stops taking water from the water source to the plant.
PROTOTYPING THE WOODEN BOX
To prototype my wooden box, I decided to use the woodshop at Emily Carr University. This was very exciting for me because I had never used the wood shop at our university before. I was surprised by how many kinds of wood were available for purchase and how affordable they were. The technicians in the shop were also extremely kind and helpful. If I was intimidated by a certain machine, they would help me out and teach me how to use it safely. I feel like this was such a good opportunity for me because now I would feel a lot more comfortable using the woodshop for future projects.
CREATING A USER MANUAL
I decided to create a user manual for my project. I knew I wanted this to be a part of my project because I felt as though it was important to explain to a user what my project is, what the elements are in the circuit, how things are set up and run, and what to be awrae of in its use. I created all the illustrations on Adobe Illustrator and made sure they were clear and easy to understand.
CIRCUIT VIDEO PROTOTYPING
This video shows a little explaination of the circuit parts and how the water moves from the water supply to a plant.
This video is uploaded to Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/261731699
FINAL VIDEO PROTOTYPE
The second video shows an overall working of how the end prototype looks. It also shows how the plant is watered when the moisture sensor is dried compared to when moisture levels are lower than max dryness.
This video is uploaded to Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/261730163
FUTURE POSSIBILITIES
These are possible future goals for my project. It is simple, refined and modern. I want to be able to add a feature where a light indicates the user if they need to refill their water supply. The project is still made out of wood to fit into a natural environment near a plant. The plant can also be any size and is not limited to a small pot plant.
REFLECTION
EXPERIENCE WITH ARDUINO
I have already had a little experience working with an Arduino in the Prototyping Interactions class. However, these components are completely different and require different circuits and codes. Troubleshooting the transistor and figuring out the numbers for the code took a while and help from my classmates but having a final working product is so satisfying so it was all worth it. In the end, I had to remember that this is a prototype. The little problems a user may face are that the water supply may get empty after a week or that the bottom of the plant may collect too much water. Otherwise, everything works great and I am completely satisfied with the project.
Thank You!
