COMPUTER ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COTABATO CITY, 9600
PHILIPPINES

Automatic Plant Watering System

Submitted by:
John Michael C. Sugabo
Asnawi P. Taup

Submitted to:
Engr. Jomel M. Avenido

SY2022-2023
2nd Semester

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 TABLE OF CONTENT
Name Page No.
 CHAPTER 1 - Introduction……………………………………………………3
a. Rationale of the study
i. Reason for conducting the project……………………….2
b. Purpose/Problem/Objective………………………………………………….4
c. Significance of the study………………………………….…………………4
d. Project Concept(Block diagram with description)…………………….…….5
 CHAPTER 2 – Technical Background……………………………………….…6
a. Hardware Requirement
i. Arduino Uno………………………………………………………6
ii. DS 1302 RTC……………………………………………………...7
iii. 3V DC Water Pump…………………………………………….…8
iv. LCD 16x2………………………………………………………....9
v. Jump Wires……………………………………………………….10
vi. Hose……………………………………………………………....10
b. Software Requirement
i. Arduino IDE…………………………………………………...…11
 CHAPTER 3 – Methodology…………………………………………………..13
a. Method
b. Proposal Method
 CHAPTER 4 – Results and Discussion………………………………………..14
a. Results as per objectives (Includes images)
b. Observation and discussion on results of testing
 CHAPTER 5 – Conclusion…………………………………………………….16
 REFERENCE………………………………………………………………….16

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 Chapter 1

Introduction

With the help of an Arduino and Motor pumps, we can build an Automatic plant watering system
in this project. When the pump 1 receives the signal from the RTC, it pulls a water from the
primary tank pouring it on the plant automatically. The primary tank is equipped with water level
detection sensor module, monitoring if the tank is out of water.

If the primary tank is out of water, the water level detection sensor module will send a signal to
secondary pump from secondary tank that will refill a water to the primary tank restoring its
certain amount of water to pump out to the plant. When the water level detection sensor on the
primary tank detects that the water level is enough, it will send a signal to secondary tank to stop
refilling the primary tank.

The study of Automatic Plant Watering System aims to automatically maintain the moisture of a
plant with the various aspects related of these devices, including their background, rationale,
significance, scope and limitations.

a. Rationale of the Study:

The rationale for conducting a study on Automatic Plant Watering System stems from the need to
address several critical factors and challenges associated with maintaining plants and moisture of
its soil. Automatic Plant Watering provide a conventional plant maintenance that reduces your
effort to maintain your plants.

i. Reason for Conducting the Project:

The reason for conducting a project about Automatic Plant Watering System can vary based on
the specific goals and objectives of the project. In terms of technological advancements. The
project may be driven by the desire to leverage advancements in technology and engineering. By
incorporating state-of-the-art components, smart features, or IoT (Internet of Things) capabilities,
the automated beverage machine can offer enhanced functionality, and user experience. The

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project aims to harness these technological advancements to create an innovative advanced
product.

b. Purpose/Problem/Objective:
The main objective of this project is to design and implement a system that effectively maintain
and water plants and maintain its soil moisture. Specifically, it aims to:
- Maintain soil moisture of plants effectively.
- Display real-time readings on an LCD display for easy monitoring.
- Store extra amount of water to refill the main source of water.
- Activate a pump to maintain maintain within the desired amount of water.
- Uses an RTC to activate a pump and a water level sensor to refill and maintain enough
amount of water.

b. Purpose of the study

The study of the Automatic Plant Watering System project holds significant importance for
several reasons. It aims to develop a machine that can maintain the soil moisture of a plant
automatically, that provide convenience to users. The Automatic Plant Watering System
eliminates the need of manual pouring of water on the plant, saving time and effort for users. It
allows people to conveniently leave their plant without worrying on its soil moisture.

c. Significance of the study

One of the significant advantages of Automatic Plant Watering System is the ability to water plant
at any time depending on the set time on the RTC. The user can set the time on the RTC to
control what time should the pump 1 pour water on the plant. This versatility allows the user to
leave their plants on a long period of time without worrying about its condition.

In summary, the study of Automatic Plant Watering System holds significant importance due to
its potential to revolutionize the plant watering maintenance offering convenience, customization,
time efficiency, data driven insights, and contributing to innovation in the plant maintaining.
Understanding and harnessing the capabilities of these machine can lead to improved user’s
experiences, operational efficiency, and sustainability in plant maintenance.
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 Project Concept

LCD 16x2

RTC Arduino Uno Water Level

Sensor

Primary Pump Secondary

Pump

Figure 1: Block Diagram

As illustrate in the Figure 1: Block Diagram. The circuit contains Arduino Uno Board, Water
pump, battery for pump, RTC, LCD and water level detection sensor. The DS 1302 RTC Module
is used to send signal to the primary pump making the output. The primary and secondary pump
is powered individually by 9V battery. Water level detection sensor is placed on the primary tank
to monitor the water level and activate the secondary pump from the secondary tank, refilling the
primary tank and restoring its maximum water level. The LCD shows the water level of the
primary tank and which motor is running during its operation.

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 CHAPTER 2: TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
Hardware Requirement
Arduino Uno
Arduino is an open-source platform used for building electronics project. Arduino consists of both
a physical programmable circuit board (often referred to as a microcontroller) and a piece of
software, or IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that runs on your computer, used to
write and upload computer code to the physical. The arduino platform has become quite popular
with people just starting out with electronics, and for reason. Unlike most previous programmable
circuit boards, the arduino does not need a separate piece of hardware (called a programmer) in
order to load new code onto the board – you can simply use a USB cable. Additionally, the
Arduino IDE uses a simplified version of C++, making it easier to learn to program. Finally,
Arduino provides a standard form factor that breaks out the functions of the micro-controller into
a more accessible package.

“Uno” means one Italian and is named to mark the upcoming release of Arduino 1.0. The Uno
and version 1.0 will be the reference versions of Arduino, moving forward . The Uno is the latest
in a series of USB Arduino boards, and the reference model for the Arduino platforms

.
Figure 2: Arduino Uno Board

The important parts of the Arduino UNO are.

1. Digital Pins USB connector

2. Analog Pins
3. Power Pins
4. USB connector
5. Power Connector
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 DS 1302 RTC

A real time clock module is a cheap module with high accuracy that can be used in different
projects. This RTC module provides seconds, minutes, hour, day, month, and year information. In
this module, date is set automatically based on whether the month is 29, 30 or 31 days and also it
is leap year or not. (That’s only valid until year 2100).

Figure 3: RTC Module

SUBMERSIBLE MINI MOTOR PUMP

A low cost, small size Submersible Pump Motor which can be operated from a 2.5~6V power
supply. It can take up to 120 litres per hour with very low current consumption of 220mA. Just
connect tube pipe to the motor outlet, submerge it in water and power it.

Figure 4: 3~5V Mini motor pump

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 WATER LEVEL DETECTION SENSOR MODULE

Water level sensor module has a series of parallel exposed traces to measure droplets/water
volume in order to determine the water level. Very easy to monitor water level as the output to
analog signal is directly proportional to the water level.

Figure 5: Water Level Detection Sensor Module

LCD 16x2

 A 16x2 LCD display refers to a liquid crystal display that consists of 16 characters in each
of its two rows. It is a commonly used alphanumeric display that can show text or simple
symbols. The 16x2 LCD display is composed of a grid of pixels that can be individually
controlled to display characters or graphics.
 The "16x2" designation indicates the size of the display in terms of the number of
characters and lines it can accommodate. In this case, the display can show up to 16
characters per row and has a total of two rows. Each character is typically composed of a
5x8 pixel matrix, allowing the display to show alphanumeric characters, special symbols,
and basic graphical representations.
 The 16x2 LCD displays are commonly used in various electronic devices and embedded
systems as a means of providing visual output. They can be interfaced with
microcontrollers, development boards, or other electronic circuits to display information
 such as text messages, sensor readings, menu options, and system status.

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 These displays often have a built-in controller, such as the popular HD44780, which
simplifies their integration with microcontrollers. The controller interprets commands and
data sent by the controlling device and controls the pixel activation to generate the desired
characters or symbols on the display.

 Users can interact with the 16x2 LCD display by sending commands and data through
specific communication protocols, such as I2C or SPI, depending on the display model
and the interfacing requirements of the connected device

Figure 6: A 16x2 LCD with pin layout

Figure 7: Jump wires

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 Figure 8: Pipes

Figure 9: 9V Battery

Relay Module

The relay module function is mainly to switch electrical devices and systems on or off. It also
serves to isolate the control circuit from the devices or system being controlled.

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 Figure 10: Relay Module
Arduino IDE

The open-source Arduino Software (IDE) makes it easy to write code and upload it to the board.
It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The environment is written in Java and based on
Processing and other open-source software. This software can be used with any Arduino board.
The Arduino development environment contains a text editor for writing code, a message area, a
text console, a toolbar with buttons for common functions, and a series of menus. It connects to
the Arduino hardware to upload programs and communicate with them. Software written using
Arduino are called sketches. These sketches are written in the text editor. Sketches are saved with
the file extension ino. It has features for cutting/pasting and for searching/replacing text. The
message area gives feedback while saving and exporting and also displays errors. The console
displays text output by the Arduino environment including complete error messages and other
information. The bottom right-hand comes of the window displays the current board and serial
port. The toolbar buttons allow you to verify and upload programs, create, open, and save
sketches, and open the serial monitor.

The Arduino IDE, which has a straightforward and user-friendly interface and supports the C++
programming languages, that can be used to program the Arduino. There are also various libraries
available for the Arduino that may be used to read sensor data, operate valves, regulate pumps,
and provide users feedback.

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 Figure 11: Arduino IDE software
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

1. Here are the basic steps involved in building a automatic plant watering system controlled
by Arduino:
2. Materials: You will need an Arduino board, a real time clock, 2 submersible waterpumps
with 2 pieces of 12 inches pipes, 16x2 LCD, 2 pieces of relay module, 2 pieces of 9V
Battery, Jump wires and water level detection sensor module.
3. Connect the RTC to the Arduino Board, and prepare 2 pieces of 800 mL of water tanks
and place 1 water pump on the primary tank.
4. Connect the negative wire of the placed pump to the relay module, connect the positive
wire to a 9V battery and connect the negative charge of battery to the bread board and
connect the relay module to the bread board using jump wires.
5. Place the water level detection sensor module to the primary tank deep down to the base
and connect it to the Arduino board.
6. Place another pump to the second tank and connect the negative wire to another relay
module and connect the positive wire to the bread board and connect the bread board to a
another 9V battery on its positive charge, connect the negative charge of the battery to the
relay.
7. Connect the 16x2 LCD to the Arduino board for monitoring the time and the water level
of the primary tank.
8. Write the code for the Arduino. The codewill use data from the RTC to determine the time
and data to the water level detection sensor to determine the water level.
9. Test the system and make sure to fill the two tanks to make sure it works properly.
10. Install the system. Once you are satisfied that the system works correctly, you can now
place the whole circuit and tank in a box to make it a system. Place the output of the
secondary pipe going to tank 1 and place the output of primary pump outside of the box
where you can put a plant to be maintained daily.

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 PROPOSED METHOD

Figure 12: Diagram of the project

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 Flowchart

Start

Receive signal
from RTC

Start irrigation

Detect water
DD

If water is insufficient l
e
Receive signal
from Water level
detection sensor If water is sufficient

Start refilling the End

primary tank

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 CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION

After assembling the hardware parts, we took a few image of the project. We are going to put those
image in this chapter.

Figure 12: Assembly of Arduino board with the other hardware components

Figure 13: Testing the system

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 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

The study of our project called Automatic Plant Watering System proved that the minor problem of
people who grows plants can be solved by this system. The time can be set in the RTC and the
result is accurate. We can conclude that the result of our study and its prototype can be beneficial to
eco friendly people and farmers, it can help them save time and effort in maintaining their crops and
plants.

Overall, the importance of this study lies in its potential to enhance convenience, customization,
time efficiency, and innovation in maintaining plants. It addresses the evolving needs and
preferences of plant owners while exploring the possibilities offered by automation and technology
in maintaining plants.

REFERENCE:

i. Mashilkar, B., P. Khaire, and G. Dalvi, Automated Bottle Filling System. 2015.
ii. Meah, K., AC 2010-136: An Automated Bottle Filling And Capping Project For Freshman
Engineering Students. age, 2010. 15: p. 1.
iii. Sastry, A., et al., An automated microcontroller based liquid mixing system. interface, 2010.
2(08): p. 2648- 2651.
iv. Badamasi, Y.A. The working principle of an Arduino. in Electronics, Computer and
Computation (ICECCO), 2014 11th International Conference on. 2014. IEEE.
v. Demiris, G. and B.K. Hensel, Technologies for an aging society: a systematic review of
“smart home” applications. Yearb Med Inform, 2008. 3: p. 33-40.

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