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S.A.W.S: Smart Automated Watering System

A Design Project
Presented to the Faculty of the
College of Computer Studies and Engineering
Lorma Colleges

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

By

Ceejay L. Agbunag
Nikki Marie L. Bangaoil
Chino Martin C. Bello
John Kenneth M. Cachero
Mheil Angelo G. Rivera
Mr. Jeoffrey B. Layco, MBA, MIS

June 2021
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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents situational analysis, statement of objectives, scope and

delimitation, and the significance of the study.

Situational Analysis

Water management is essential for people who have plant to enhance plant

development with minimal effort. Water is an important part of the agricultural

system and increases the productivity of the land by providing plants with

enough water to increase yields and ensure production stability even in extreme

weather conditions.

With the world’s population set to increase by 65% (3.7 billion) by ∼2050,

the additional food required to feed future generations will put further enormous

pressure on freshwater resources. This is because agriculture is the largest

single user of freshwater, accounting for ∼75% of current human water use. At

present ∼7% of the world’s population lives in areas where water is scarce. This

is predicted to rise to a staggering 67% of the world’s population by 2050.

Because of this water scarcity and because new arable land is also limited,

production grows in the future will have to come mainly by growing more food

on existing land and water. Globally, in both irrigated and rain-fed agriculture
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only about 10–30% of the available water (as rainfall, surface, or groundwater)

is used by plants as transpiration. In arid and semi-arid areas, where water is

scarce and population growth is high, this figure is nearer 5% in rain-fed crops.

There is, therefore, great potential for improving water use efficiency in

agriculture, particularly, in those areas where the need is greatest. The technical

basis for improving agricultural water use efficiency is illustrated. This may be

achieved by increasing the total amount of the water resource that is made

available to plants for transpiration and/or by increasing the efficiency with

which transpired water produces biomass. (Wallace, 2000)

Water is an increasingly scarce resource worldwide and irrigated agriculture

remains one of the largest and most inefficient users of this resource. Low water

use efficiency together with a competition for water resources with other sectors

(e.g. tourism or industry) are forcing growers to adopt new irrigation and

cultivation practices that use water more judiciously. In areas with dry and hot

climates, drip irrigation and protected cultivation have improved WUE mainly by

reducing runoff and evapotranspiration losses. However, complementary

approaches are still needed to increase WUE in irrigated agriculture. Deficit

irrigation strategies like regulated deficit irrigation or partial root drying have

emerged as potential ways to increase water savings in agriculture by allowing

crops to withstand mild water stress with no or only marginal decreases of yield

and quality. Grapevine and several fruit tree crops seem to be well adapted to
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deficit irrigation, but other crops like vegetables tend not to cope so well due to

losses in yield and quality. (Costa et al., 2007)

According to FAO, 88% of the total water withdrawal in the Philippines was

used in agriculture alone. Experts estimate that at least 50% of water used in

agriculture is wasted due to overwatering. There are only a handful of studies in

the Philippines that pertains to smart watering and most of these studies does

not take rainfall amount inconsideration, leading to some of the plant's root

drowning and overwatering. (Caya et al., 2019)

Plant Owners have been adopting a manual control watering technique in

which they water the ground at regular intervals. This procedure can use a lot of

water, and the water delivery to the field might be delayed, causing the plants to

dry up. Plant development is harmed by a lack of water before observable

wilting occurs. In addition to this slowed growth rate, lighter weight fruit follows

water deficiency. This problem can be perfectly rectified if we use Automated

Watering System in which the watering will take place only when there will be

requirement of water, as suggested by the moisture in the soil. (Ilagavathi et al.,

2016)

Drip irrigation systems, which consist of an automated controller to turn on

and off the control values, are a low-cost alternative solution for efficient water

management currently in use. This helps farmers manage the water supply to

crop fields and maintains soil moisture levels, which aids in better crop
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production. This project investigates the creation of an Arduino-based automatic

watering system. The goal of this embedded project is to design and construct a

low-cost feature for a water irrigation system that is based on an embedded

platform. The water quantity present in agriculture is detected using

temperature and soil moisture sensors in this study. The project makes use of an

Arduino microcontroller, which is a processor controller. (Hasan, 2016)

Plants need sufficient water to grow well. Watering plants is a work that

needs to be done by farmers and plant lovers in caring for plants. Watering

plants with suitable water volume is important because it has a direct impact on

plants. Lack of water or excessive water content can make plants dry or rotten.

The process of watering plants can be manually or by using devices

automatically. This research is related to the design of a prototype device and

plant watering system that functions automatically. The prototype of the device

made emphasizes the measurement of soil moisture content to control the water

flow in the process of watering plants. The purpose of this research is that the

watering system could control the water content needed by the plants based on

the soil moisture. (Waworundeng et al., 2018)

To solve the problem stated, the researchers have come up with a

solution by creating a Smart Automated Watering System. The device is

composed of Arduino Board, soil moisture sensor, radio frequency module and

Wi-Fi module, the device would be able to monitor the condition of the plant and
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by using the soil moisture sensor the device will be able to detect if the soil is

too dry and will sense if the moisture of the soil is low, after that the watering

device will automatically turn on and when the sensor senses enough moisture in

the soil the watering device will stop.

Statement of Objectives

The purpose of this study is to create and design an automated watering system

for plants.

The specific objectives of this study:

1. To automate watering systems for plants.

2. To notify the owner that the device watered the plant.

3. To manage the distribution of water when watering plants.

Significance of the study

This study is undertaken to create an automated watering system that

manages the water usage and lessen the workload in watering plants.

Benefiting the study are the following:

The Community
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The project helps the promotion of proper water management. It is

important for plant owners to practice good water management in order to limit

water use and improve plant development. This study will be a great

contribution to various individuals as well as to social institutions.

The Researchers

The researchers will gain from the study since it will aid in the

development of their knowledge and abilities. It will serve as a great part in the

completion of their requirements.

The Future Researchers

Findings in this study will serve as a basis for further research in line

with this study. They can use this study to improve the project to enhance its

capabilities.

Scope and Delimitations

The scope of the design project is to create a prototype that can

automatically water the plants depending on the moisture level of the soil and to

monitor the condition of the plants. There will be an application for the user to

remotely control the device. The data collected by the device will be transferred

to the device's application.

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However, the design project cannot open the 3 solenoid valves

simultaneously due to the capacity of the water pump.

Definition of terms

Arduino - used to receive data from sensors and executes the functions of the

device.

Soil moisture sensor – this sensor is used to measure the moisture of the soil.

Quad channel relay module – use to switch on or off the water pump and

solenoid valve.

Solenoid valve – use to reroute the flow of the water in the hose.

ESP8226 – use to control Arduino over the internet.

nRF24L01 – use to connect Arduino nano to Arduino mega.

12V Power Supply – Supply power to the main device

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Chapter 2

Population and Locale

The setting of where to this study will be conducted in Lorma Colleges,

San Juan Campus, La Union. The researchers will cater the plants in the campus

where the device will be deployed.

Data Gathering Tool and Procedures

The participants will be chosen using convenience sampling, we will utilize

a questionnaire to be administered via facebook or messenger. Useful results

can be obtained, but the results are prone to significant bias, because those who

volunteer to take part may be different from those who choose not to, and the

sample may not be representative of other characteristics, such as age or sex.

The researcher chose this sampling because of the current situation nowadays

which is the new normal.

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System Architecture

Figure 1. System Architecture

Figure 1 shows the system architecture of the Automated Watering

System. The system will be divided into 4 devices: 3 slave devices and 1 master

device. Each slave device will consist of soil moisture sensor, nrf24l01 and an

Arduino Nano board. The device will be controlled by an Arduino Nano board

which sets a command to the soil moisture sensor to get data about the

moisture level of the soil. The data gather will be transferred to the Master
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device by the nrf24l01 module. The master will consist of nrf24l01 module, Quad

Channel relay switch, esp8266, solenoid valves and an Arduino Mega board. The

master device will receive the data from the slave devices. If the soil moisture

level is low, the Arduino Mega will command the water pump and solenoid valve

to turn on and the water will flow to the plants. If the soil moisture level is high,

then the Arduino Mega will command to turn off the water pump solenoid valve.

System Flowchart
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Figure 2. Flowchart

Figure 2 show the flowchart of the Automated Watering System. The

system begins in activating the device. The device will automatically gather data

when activated. The user can choose two modes which is automatic and manual.

In the automatic mode, if the moisture level of the soil is low then the Arduino

Mega will command the solenoid valve to turn on. If the moisture level of the

soil is high, then the Arduino Mega will command the solenoid valve to turn off.

In manual mode the user can check the data gathered about the soil moisture

level. Based on the data gathered the user can remotely control the watering

device.

Price Listing

Quantity Price per piece Price

12v Water Pump 1 ₱550.00 ₱550.00

Quad Channel Relay 1 ₱245.00 ₱245.00

Arduino MEGA 1 ₱614.00 ₱614.00

ESP8266 1 ₱171.00 ₱171.00

nRF24L01 4 ₱102.00 ₱408.00

12v Solenoid Valve  3 ₱139.00 ₱417.00

Arduino Nano 3 ₱225.00 ₱765.00

Soil Moisture Sensor 3 ₱30.00 ₱90.00

12v Power Supply 2 ₱550.00 ₱550.00

3v Regulator 3 ₱35 ₱105

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5v 10W Solar Panel 3 ₱122 ₱366

TP4056 3 ₱28 ₱84

Battery Level Detector 3 ₱78 ₱234

Li-ion Battery 3 ₱169 ₱507

TOTAL: ₱5095

Table 1. Components Price Listing