Tuesday, 30 December 2014
GIT HUB AUTOMATED GREENHOUSE SYSTEM PROJECT COLLABORATION
Friday, 26 December 2014
THE SIMULATION ENVRONMENT BEING USED- THE VIRTUAL BREADBOARD
Sunday, 21 December 2014
MAXIMUM PROJECT RESEARCH
DURING THIS CHRISTMAS BREAK WE HAVE TAKEN IT UPON OURSELVES TO DO EXTENSIVEREASEARCH ON MATERIALS, SOFTWARES, IDES, we shall need to fully accomplish our solution and make a better nation
Sunday, 30 November 2014
AUTOMATED GREENHOUSE SYSTEM FINAL PROPOSAL
AUTOMATED GREEN HOUSE SYSTEM
BY
BSE15-66
REAL TIME EMBEDDED SYSTEM
DEPARTMENT OF NETWORKS
COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
A Project Proposal Submitted to the college of
Computing and Information sciences for the Study Leading to a Project in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Bachelor
of Science in Software Engineering of Makerere University.
Supervisor
Mr. Odongo
Steven.
Department of
Networks
School of
Computing and Informatics Technology, Makerere University
sodongo@cis.mak.ac.ug,
+256-775-199511, +256-702-102999
November 2014.
GROUP MEMBERSHIP:
#
|
Names
|
Registration
Number
|
Student Number
|
Signature
|
1
|
BONGOMIN
MICHEAL
|
11/U/16336/EVE
|
211008202
|
|
2
|
SSEMAGANDA
ALLAN PAYNE
|
11/U/16392/EVE
|
211012215
|
|
3
|
KALUNDA
DERRICK
|
11/U/16413/EVE
|
211015118
|
|
4
|
OTIM
PAUL
|
11/U/16306/EVE
|
211007769
|
APPROVAL:
This proposal has been submitted for
examination with the approval of our project supervisor.
Supervisor
Mr. Odongo Steven
Signature: ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Date:
……………………………...........................................................................................................
Table of Contents
1.3 Main Objective
1.5 Scope
1.6 Significance
3.0 Methodology
3.1.1 Interviews
3.1.2 Questionnaires
3.1.3 Literature Review
3.1.4 Observation
3.2.1 System Analysis
3.2.2 System Design
3.2.3 System Implementation
3.3.1 Testing
4.0 References
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND
ABBREVIATIONS
AGHS
|
Automated Greenhouse System
|
ACPIS
|
Automatic
Pest Control and Irrigation System
|
UN-FAO
|
United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization
|
F.O.T
|
Flowers
On Time
|
MSU
|
|
ARS
|
|
VG3
|
Virtual Grower 3.0
|
CO2
|
Carbon
dioxide
|
GCOPS
|
Greenhouse Cost of
Production Software
|
LED
|
Light
Emitting Diode
|
LCD
|
Liquid Crystal
Display
|
°F
|
Degrees
Fahrenheit
|
°C
|
Degrees Centigrade
|
1.0 Introduction
With
use of modern-day technology, automated greenhouses have become widely popular
among professional greenhouse caretakers and hobbyists alike. With the advent
of newly affordable technologies such as microcontrollers and environmental
sensors, engineers and hobbyists have devised ways to cut plant maintenance to
a minimum. While some automated greenhouses require little to no additional
caretaking, others are simplistic and control only limited functions such as
watering and timed lighting. By allowing as much automation as possible, the Automated
Greenhouse will reduce the amount of time spent caretaking for plants, and
eliminates worry when a user is away for long durations.
The
Automated Greenhouse control unit will allow the user will stray from the
tedious job of tending to the nutritional needs of plants. Under one interface,
one can monitor important plant growth factors, such as lighting, soil
moisture, relative humidity, and temperature, as well as monitor incoming power
sources to be used to operate greenhouse equipment. The autonomous system will
nurture the plants without the user being present, under a pre-set range of
optimal conditions, while having the ability to run more efficiently off of
alternative energy sources.
1.1 Background to the Problem
The
out-paced population growth to adequate food supply in today’s world has posed
a serious threat to the peace and stability of the global community. There are
a vast number of people living in today’s world lack access to enough food for
healthy lives. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO)
has identified 82 poor countries that face rapid population growth do not
produce enough food domestically, constrained to producing more food, and
cannot import enough to make up the deficit. More than 840 million people, with
disproportionately women and children, suffer chronic malnourishment. Each year
about 18 million people, mostly children, die from starvation, malnutrition,
and related causes. With one-third of world population lacking food now, the
UN-FAO estimates that world food production would have to double to provide
food security for 8 billion people with 6.8 billion living in developing
countries. The rate of food production in these countries continues to deteriorate
in the past century. For instance, Africa now produces nearly 30% less food per
person than it did in 1967. There are many reasons for the deterioration in
food productions in developing countries. Rapid population growth has resulted
in increasing demand for food supplies. Another serious reason is that most of
these countries already cultivated virtually all arable land. In many areas,
fertile soils are being exploited faster than they can be regenerated.
Short
supply of fresh water is another major cause for reduction in food production
in these countries.
Greenhouses
provide a unique advantage in growing food with virtually no adverse effect to
the environment. It is the only method of food production that makes use of
control of the environment. While no one can realistically expect the
substitution of natural agriculture in food production by greenhouses, they can
nevertheless alleviate the serious shortage of food in developing countries,
and also mitigate the contribution of greenhouse gases by the food industry in affluent
countries with modern technologies of clean renewable energies and intelligent control
in crop growth and operations. The proposed greenhouses can grow food with less
dependence on the expensive traditional energy sources and can be made to be
affordable to the growers in developing countries. It thus has great potential
to become a sustainable food production technology for self-sufficiency of food
for people in the developing countries, and those in affluent countries
determined to mitigate their use of fossil fuels in food production.
1.2 Problem Statement
The
high costs involved in manually managing a greenhouse that is; hiring people to
always check, monitor and irrigate crops is inhibiting farmers from adopting
the habit of growing crops in greenhouses in Uganda today. As a result few
farmers in Uganda today are using greenhouses which in turn has led to inconsistent
and inadequate food supply during given periods/seasons of the year. This is
mainly specific to vegetables which tend to be scarce which hikes their prices
during certain seasons of the year.
1.3 Main Objective
To
automate the management of crop growth in a greenhouse
1.4 Specific Objectives
1.4.1
To study and
investigate the current operation and management of greenhouses by
agriculturalists in Uganda today and costs involved.
1.4.2
To analyze data
available on automated greenhouse crop production to see how this system will
address issues and its convenience to people who will use it.
1.4.3
To design and implement
a temperature assessment and control system in the green house, a soil moisture
control module, which will predict and appropriately irrigate the crops and
assess adequate sunlight requirements for crops and control crop exposure.
1.4.4
To apply our knowledge
of systems analysis and design to appropriately test, validate and verify the
green house automated system and design a user manual and deployment strategies
to ensure that it is working in its intended environment.
1.5 Scope
This
research is intended to cover the agricultural sector specifically crop
husbandry (horticulture) in green houses. This is to boost crop productivity
despite the harsh factors that exist in the natural environment. For example
The
system is to be used in the automatic management of conditions such as
temperature, humidity, sunlight and irrigation in a green house. The green
houses under study are those found in East Africa and specifically in Uganda,
since the climatic conditions in these areas are similar.
The
user will be provided with information about the state of conditions in the
green house. This information will be relayed in form of a user interface which
the user will also be able to control and adjust values accordingly which will
in turn change the state (conditions) of the green house appropriately.
1.6 Significance
Once
implemented, the Automated Green House system will significantly reduce on the
number of man power or labor required in the daily management of a green house.
It
will also enable the farmer to know the status of the green house but also be
able to control the state of the green house without necessarily moving to the
green house.
The
system will also be able to check on the wastage of resources like unnecessary
watering of the plants in the green house. This will be done in such a way that
the system will have sensors in the ground that will check the amount of water
in the soil and also do the irrigation accordingly.
2.0 Literature Review
The
objective of our research is to
examine and explore various concepts that intertwine with the proposed project
- the Automated Greenhouse. In this project, we will cover: plant growth,
environmental control methods, power distribution and efficiency, and control
units. Each of these topics will be reviewed through related research and
publications. However, they should give reasonable insight on the feasibility
of certain aspects of the design, and provide new overall ideas to the project.
2.1 Greenhouse Cultivation and Advancements
Emperor
Tiberius of Rome (42 BCE–37 CE) is thought to be the first person to utilize a
structure that can be considered a greenhouse.
He did this to be able to eat his favorite food all year long, many
guess that this food was the humble cucumber, this love of food started a new
wave of agriculture and it is this specific form of agriculture that this paper
looks to examine. [1]
The
first thing to decide when faced with designing a greenhouse is to consider the
structure you are going to be using.
There are four different categories of greenhouses each with their own
benefits and drawbacks to consider:
2.1.1 Lean-to green house
A lean-to greenhouse is a half
greenhouse, split along the peak of the roof, or ridge line (Figure 2A),
Lean-tos are useful where space is limited to a width of approximately seven to
twelve feet, and they are the least expensive structures. The ridge of the
lean-to is attached to a building using one side and an existing doorway, if
available. Lean-tos are close to available electricity, water and heat. The
disadvantages include some limitations on space, sunlight, ventilation, and
temperature control. The height of the supporting wall limits the potential
size of the lean-to. The wider the lean-to, the higher the supporting wall must
be. Temperature control is more difficult because the wall that the greenhouse
is built on may collect the sun's heat while the translucent cover of the
greenhouse may lose heat rapidly. The lean-to should face the best direction
for adequate sun exposure. Finally, consider the location of windows and doors
on the supporting structure and remember that snow, ice, or heavy rain might
slide off the roof or the house onto the structure.
2.1.2 Even-span green house
An even-span is a full-size structure
that has one gable end attached to another building (Figure 2B). It is usually
the largest and most costly option, but it provides more usable space and can
be lengthened. The even-span has a better shape than a lean-to for air
circulation to maintain uniform temperatures during the winter heating season.
An even-span can accommodate two to three benches for growing crops.
2.1.3 Window-mounted green house
A window-mounted greenhouse can be
attached on the south or east side of a house. This glass enclosure gives space
for conveniently growing a few plants at relatively low cost (Figure 2D). The
special window extends outward from the house a foot or so and can contain two
or three shelves.
2.1.4 Freestanding Structures
Freestanding greenhouses are separate
structures; they can be set apart from other buildings to get more sun and can
be made as large or small as desired (Figure 2C). A separate heating system is
needed, and electricity and water must be installed.”[2]
2.2 Variants of Green House Systems
The
green house technology is not a completely new invention because from the
research we carried out; it shows that there are a few aspects that have been
previously developed though not with the interest of a green house. Many
of these models are used for very specific
conditions while others require extensive instrumentation making them expensive
or complicated and the fact that most of them are for cost and production
scheduling. Similar systems developed to control activities in a greenhouse
environment include the following;
Flowers
on Time is a greenhouse control software. F.O.T was existent from about the
year 2010 (exact date not specified). This system was developed by Researchers
at University
of Florida, Michigan State
University (MSU), and University
of Minnesota. F.O.T provides Quick
analysis or second opinion of the impact that changing greenhouse temperatures
will have on crop timing. This system is also reliant on excel that poses some
disadvantage as for those without it that is those who might prefer other
spreadsheet software or without knowledge of Microsoft excel.The software can
be downloaded at Floriculture
Research Alliance website at http://www.floriculturealliance.org/
. The data required by FOT is Species/ cultivar (62 to choose from); the
standard cropping time it usually takes you to grow that species/ cultivar (in
days); and the standard production temperature you usually use for that
cropping time. FOT calculates and displays a table showing the effect of
raising/ lowering your temperatures six degrees either direction on time to
flower.
Virtual
Grower 3.0 a greenhouse cost and production management software developed by USDA
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS). Virtual grower is Compatible with computers running Windows XP, Vista,
Windows 7, and Mac OSX 10.4.11 and above. Virtual Grower 3.0 is used for
accurate predictive estimates for heating and lighting costs for each
greenhouse, as well as basic plant scheduling information (weeks to flower). It
can be obtained from USDA-ARS
Products and Services website at http://www.ars.usda.gov/
. The data that users are required to enter while using this system is
Dimensions, style, and construction materials of each of your greenhouses;
type, duration, and set-points of supplemental lighting and heating systems;
type and location of energy curtains, air infiltration; and plants grown (40
varieties available).
The
Automatic Pest Control and Irrigation System 2014 developed by BSE14-1. APCIS
does activities specific to pest fumigation for disease and pest control. The
system also performs frequent irrigation activities depending on soil moisture
values. ACPIS provides a user interface on a computer from which the user can
provide control. The user interface is written using C# programming language
that interfaces with the arduino board to provide control to the different
modules of the system.
Greenhouse
Cost of Production Software costs $30 and was designed by Researchers and
Extension educators at MSU. It is used for Developing estimated costs and
detailed accounting information on a per crop basis. Requires a user to enter
for each crop: plant date, sell date, number of units grown, sizes and spacing
of units, number sold, projected sale prices, fertilizer, pesticide, media, and
labor costs. The program calculates and provides a summary of all direct and
indirect costs per crop and in total, as well as break-even analysis for
pricing.
The
table below shows a comparison of various aspects of the different greenhouse
systems available and our proposed greenhouse system; Automated Greenhouse
System (AGHS).
ITEM OR SPECIFICATION
|
SOFTWARE/PROGRAM
|
||||
VIRTUAL GROWER 3.0
|
ACPIS
|
FOT
|
AGHS(PROPOSED)
|
GCOPS
|
|
DEVELOPER
|
BSE14-1
|
BSE15-66
|
Researchers and Extension
educators at MSU
|
||
TEMPERATURE
/HEAT CONTROL
|
AVAILABLE
|
AVAILABLE
|
AVAILABLE
|
AVAILABLE
|
N/A
|
IRRIGATION
|
N/A
|
AVAILABLE
|
N/A
|
AVAILABLE
|
N/A
|
LIGHT-CONTROL
|
AVAILABLE
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
AVAILABLE
|
N/A
|
HUMIDITY
CONTROL
|
AVAILABLE
|
AVAILABLE
|
AVAILABLE
|
N/A
|
|
SOFTWARE
REQUIREMENTS
|
WINDOWS
|
WINDOWS
|
MICROSOFT EXCEL MUST
BE PRESENT
|
WINDOWS
|
MICROSOFT EXCEL MUST
BE PRESENT
|
PLANT
SCHEDULING
|
AVAILABLE
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
AVAILABLE
|
USER
DATA
|
DIMENSIONS , STYLES,
AREA etc
|
ENVIRONMENT CONTROL
VALUES
|
TEMPERATURE, CULTIVAR
|
ENVIRONMENT CONTROL
VALUES
|
COST OF FERTILIZERS,
PESTICIDES etc
|
TABLE
2A: Automated Greenhouse System Comparison With Other existing Systems
In
conclusion, most of the studies carried out on similar systems indicate that
they have successfully performed to their expectations which indicate that the
proposed system of automating the management of a greenhouse poses more chances
of success.
2.3 Conclusion
Because of the design constraints of our
project we are going to be employ the freestanding structure greenhouse
model. This structure is the most
suitable option for a small scale greenhouse and the cheapest per square foot
option.
The next item to consider is the building
materials themselves, there are many options to consider when it comes to
materials but a thorough explanation of each material is beyond the scope of
this paper. Instead the focus will be
glass, this is the most traditional material and for this project it happens to
be more cost effective. Glass also
offers a more stable structure and is nearly 100% efficient at allowing light
through to our plants. It won’t discolor
over time like the plastic options will and it offers an all-around nice feel
and look.
And
finally for this specific project, we will consider the growth of horticultural
vegetable crops in the automated green house. These vegetable crops have been
chosen for this project due to a few different factors such as the conditions
in which they grow.
3.0 Methodology
This
chapter represents the package of practical ideas and proven practices such as
planning, designing and development of the Automated Greenhouse System.
It
includes the methods and procedures, techniques to be employed in the research
study, data analysis and design, implementation, testing and validation of the
proposed system.
It
explains how the temperature, light intensity and humidity shall be monitored
and regulated to suit the growth requirements of a flower in a greenhouse.
3.1 Data collection techniques
The techniques used will
allow us to systematically collect information about our study area and access
information about flower growth plus the conditions necessary for proper growth
of horticultural crops. These techniques include;
3.1.2 Interviews
In this technique, we
shall engage the interviewee in a one to one guided interview. This will be
carried out with different stakeholders. Responses about how they currently
carryout their activities shall be noted down, analyzed and processed which
shall later be used in the design and implementation of the proposed system.
3.1.3 Questionnaires
In this technique, a
number of questions basing on the objectives of the study will be printed and
administered to the respondents who will be required to fill in appropriate
data. The data got from the respondents will be analyzed and processed to
provide the requirements for the proposed system.
3.1.4 Literature Review
This will involve a
critical review of the published research work from journals, internet sources,
books, and projects already done in the study area.
We shall later identify
the contributions, weaknesses and gaps in theses already developed projects
will later covered in the proposed system.
3.1.5 Observation
This will involve visiting
some of the already established farms and observing the processes used to
currently carry out their daily activities. Suggestions about how to improve
the current activities will later be used in the design and implementation of
the proposed system.
3.2 System Analysis and Design
3.2.2 System Analysis
Designing an Automated Greenhouse Management system to cover
the current weaknesses in the management of vegetable growth being employed
will involve carrying out the following steps;
·
A detailed study shall be carried out to fully understand the
existing systems and hence identify the basic information requirements carried
out by a greenhouse.
·
Uses cases shall be employed to identify the different
requirements of the stakeholders and requirements provided by the subsystems of
the proposed system.
·
A requirements specification document shall be written basing
on the information collected using the different data collection techniques
used.
·
The requirements specification document shall be used to
generate system requirements.
3.2.3 System Design
Design of the proposed
system shall basically be made up of two components that is the hardware design
which will involve how the physical components of the system are organized and
software design which involves how the different modules of the system are organized
how they communicate and carry out their functions.
3.1.2.1
Hardware
Design
The system shall
basically consist two components. The subsystem being controlled by the Arduino
board and the subsystem with which the user interacts with installed on the
client computer is a graphical user interface application which communicates
with the Arduino. The subsystem being controlled by the arduino controls all
the components of the proposed system.
For designing
the proposed automated green house management system the hardware requirements
needed are listed below with the functions provided.
·
Light
Emitting Diode (LED)
The LED shall be
used to indicate whether a given device is turned ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’. When a device
is turned on, readings from the pin on which the device is connected are used
to control the LED that is; make the LED pin HIGH or LOW.
The LEDS shall
also be used to control light intensity of the greenhouse by reducing or
increasing the brightness according to the required conditions at the given
time.
The LED will be
connected to a specified pin on the Arduino board.
·
Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD)
This component
shall be used to display the temperature and light intensity readings got from
the temperature sensor and photo resistor connected to the Arduino board.
The LCD used
shall be a 16X2 LCD and 4 pins will be used for data display.
·
Temperature
Sensor
This component
shall get temperature readings from the environment using a 5 volts power
source. The temperature reading shall be converted to a Celsius scale and
displayed on the LCD. The temperature which shall be used to achieve this shall
be the LM35DT temperature sensor.
·
Photo
Resistor
This will be
used to measure the light intensity of the greenhouse and apply the required
measures in order to control the light intensity to suit the requirements of
the given crop during growth.
·
Fan
This will be an
external device being controlled by the microcontroller to provide extra
ventilation during warm and sunny days when the warm air in the greenhouse
can’t rise up and move out and leave the greenhouse with required temperature.
3.1.2.2
Software
Design
This
will involves the design of the instructions and the different modules that
will control the system. This will include the desktop application which runs
on the client machine and the Arduino program embedded in the microcontroller.
·
Desktop
Application
This shall run
on the client machine and will act as a user interface through which the user
will interact with the system. The user shall be required to enter control
values for the given greenhouse and the crop planted which will be controlled
by the embedded system.
The desktop
application shall also be able to connect to a given weather forecast website
and capture the weather readings which will be used to control the greenhouse
environment according to the weather predictions.
·
Arduino
program
The program
embedded in the microcontroller shall be able to control all the components
connected to the Arduino board and how they provide the functionality of the
system.
·
Database
The database
shall be a repository for storing all the weather readings got from the weather
broadcast channel and it will store the data entered by the user.
This data shall contain
the information required to control the growth of the crop in the greenhouse at
different stages in its growth
3.2.4 System Implementation
A modularized approach
to development will be applied in the development of the system. The system
will be composed two main modules that is; The Control module and the
Environment or Climate module.
3.2.4.1 Control Module
The
control module will be composed of a desktop application that will be written
in either java or C#. This will be the interface the user will use to interact
with the arduino board that in turn controls the Environment module.
FIG 3A: SHOWING HOW THE CONTROL AND ENVIRONMENT MODULE
INTERACT
The control module will be
in charge of receiving values entered for the different environmental or
climatic conditions and directly implement them in the different control
structures of the climate module. This module also be in position to read the
different temperature, humidity, light and soil moisture values from the
climate module and adjust them accordingly to suite what has been set by the
green house manager, how this is done will be explained as we examine the
different environment modules in sub-section 3.2.4.2.
3.2.4.2
Environment or Climate module
The environment module is
to mainly detect, read and send values of crop growth environmental factors
that is; temperature, humidity, light and soil moisture to the control module.
On the other hand, it will also implement the user’s adjustments to the values
affecting these environmental factors accordingly.
3.2.4.2.1
Temperature Module
Greenhouses are designed to allow as much light as
possible to enter the growing area. As a result, the insulating properties of
the structure are significantly diminished and the growing environment
experiences a significant influence from the constantly fluctuating weather
conditions. Solar radiation (light and heat) exerts by far the largest impact
on the growing environment, resulting in the challenge maintaining the optimum
growing temperatures. To control temperature
in the greenhouse, natural ventilation means are opted to be used with the
greenhouse which utmost should provide adequate cooling
under a wide variety of weather conditions.
Natural ventilation(Figure 3B) works based on two physical phenomena:
thermal buoyancy (warm air is less dense and rises) and the so-called “wind
effect” (wind blowing outside the greenhouse creates small pressure differences
between the windward and leeward side of the greenhouse causing air to move
towards the leeward side). All that is needed are (strategically located) inlet
and outlet openings, vent window motors, and electricity to operate the motors.
FIG3B: Natural Ventilation By Leaving Openings On Either Side And Above The
Greenhouse
Generally, greenhouse designs are for 65°F or approximately between 18°C
and 23°C inside capability with thermostatic adjustment for exact conditions
per horticultural recommendations.
Factors primarily affecting the heat requirements of a greenhouse are:
1. The external environmental condition
2. The size of the greenhouse.
3. The structural nature of the greenhouse.
4. The number of layers of glazing material used to cover the house.
It is useful to know some heat loss calculation procedures to predict
heating loads and identify areas of the greenhouse with the most heat loss.
Heat loss by conduction may be calculated with the following equation.
Q = U A (Ti - To)
Where: Q = heat transfer rate, BTU/hr.
U = heat transfer coefficient, BTU/hr.-ft.2
F
A = surface area, ft.2
Ti-To = air temperature difference between
inside and outside, °F.
The temperature of the Greenhouse system is detected using a heat sensor
and values will be calculated and managed as follows;
Let
T1 be the initial temperature entered into the system by the user
Let T2 be temperature detected by the heat
sensor
Let K be value by which the temperature is
to be changes either -/+ vely
If
T1 = 21°C and T2 = 28°C
Since T1<T2 therefore T1 – T2 = -7°C
which we will now call K
Therefore K + T2 = T1 hence normalizing
the value
3.2.4.2.2
Humidity Module
Healthy plants can transpire a lot of water, resulting in an increase in
the humidity of the greenhouse air. A high relative humidity (above 80-85%)
should be avoided because it can increase the incidence of disease and reduce
plant transpiration. Sufficient venting, or successively heating and venting
can prevent condensation on crop surfaces and the greenhouse structure. The use
of cooling systems (e.g fan) during the warmer months increases the greenhouse
air humidity. During periods with warm and humid outdoor conditions, humidity
control inside the greenhouse can be a challenge. Greenhouses located in dry,
dessert environments benefit greatly from evaporative cooling systems because
large amounts of water can be evaporated into the incoming air, resulting in
significant temperature drops.
Since the relative humidity alone does not tell us anything about the
absolute water holding capacity of air (we also need to know the temperature to
determine the amount of water the air can hold), a different measurement is
sometime used to describe the absolute moisture status of the air: the vapour
pressure deficit (VPD). The vapour pressure deficit is a measure of the
difference between the amount of moisture the air contains at a given moment
and the amount of moisture it can hold at that temperature when the air would
be saturated (i.e., when condensation would start; also known as the dew point
temperature). A vapour pressure deficit measurement can tell us how easy it is
for plants to transpire: higher values stimulate transpiration (but too high
can cause wilting), and lower values inhibit transpiration and can lead to
condensation on leaf and greenhouse surfaces. Typical VPD measurements in
greenhouses range between 0 and 1 psi (0-7 kPa).
3.2.4.2.3
Light Module
Light is the most significant parameter for the plant development and
life. All the active life process in it can be achieved only in the presence
and active influence of light. When speaking about natural light, meaning solar
light, it is necessary to distinguish:
Solar radiation with specific influence to the life processes of the
plants, and solar radiation with energy related influence to the plants,
directly or indirectly through the influence of the environment. By the use of
different scientific methodologies and investigations of changes in
photosynthetical, phototropical, photomorphogenical and other plant activities,
it is found that only the part of total solar spectrum between 400 and 700 nm
influences significantly plants life processes (Figure 3C). That determines the
quality of transparent materials for greenhouse cover– it must be maximally
transparent to this part of the solar spectrum.
FIG 3C: Sunlight Requirements for optimum crop growth
Investing in movable shade curtains (Figure 3D) is a
very smart idea, particularly with the high energy prices we are experiencing
today. Shade curtains help reduce the energy load on your greenhouse crop
during warm and sunny conditions and they help reduce heat radiation losses at
night. Movable curtains can be operated automatically with a motorized roll-up
system that is controlled by a light sensor. The curtain materials are
available in many different configurations from low to high shading percentages
depending on the crop requirements and the local solar radiation conditions.
Movable shade curtains can be installed inside or outside (on top or above the
glazing) the greenhouse. When shade systems are located in close proximity to
heat sources (e.g., unit heaters or CO2 burners), it is a good idea
to install a curtain material with a low flammability. These low flammable
curtain materials can stop fires from rapidly spreading throughout an entire
greenhouse when all the curtains are closed.
FIG 3D:
Illustration Of Movable Shade Curtains
The
light control module is going to calculate and keep light at an optimum value
as shown below;
If
A klx detected by photo resistor is greater than 38klx then 38klx – A klx = -B
klx
B
klx is then added to 38klx, thus (38klx + (-B klx)) to maintain the optimum
light intensity.
3.2.4.2.4
Irrigation Module
Water
is a very important factor for optimum crop growth and productivity, when there
is lack of enough water for crops to use, this will result in wilt hence death
of crops. However when water is in excess and crops get logged, some plants
will die as a result, there will be an increase in crop disease and infections.
To
manage this we are planning to use a soil moisture sensor, Soil moisture can be detected by an electronic circuit based on a
capacitive probe. The principle of this capacitive probe is thus based on the
variation of the capacity via its permittivity. The circuit conditioner
consists of an NE555 astable multivibrator followed by a LM2907N
frequency-voltage converter (Vout5 = fIN x VCC x P2 x C4). It is sufficient to
measure the output voltage of the circuit conditioner to estimate the amount of
watering). Depending on the ground hydrous state, a solenoid of the irrigation
station is opened automatically when the Vout5 voltage exceeds 4 V (dry soil)
and is closed also by SMS when Vout5 reaches 2 V (wet soil) as shown (figure
3D)
FIG 3E: Illustration of the soil detection circuit
3.3 System Testing and Validation
The software and
hardware design of the system shall be integrated as a whole to provide the
required functionality of the proposed system.
3.1.2 Testing
Testing will involve
running the system with the intention of discovering deviation from required
functionality.
Faults and bugs found
in the system shall later be removed and the system retested to find out if
removing the bugs fixed the error or introduced new errors in the system. This
process will repeated continuously until no more errors are in the system.
3.2.4.3
Glass-box
testing
We are going to carry
out glass box testing. This is because we are the developers of the Automated
Greenhouse System and therefore are having access to all the source code that
we can edit to remove bugs and change functionality appropriately.
3.2.4.4 Module Testing
The
Automated Greenhouse System is composed of 2 main modules that is the Control
and Environment module. The Environment module contains 4 sub-modules that is
the temperature, light, humidity and irrigation modules. Each module of the
system shall be completely tested for errors and bugs which will be removed to
avoid system failure. Testing shall be repeated until no more errors or bugs
are found in the modules.
3.2.4.5
Integrated
Testing
Each module of the
system shall be completely tested for errors and bugs which will be removed to
avoid system failure. Testing shall be repeated until no more errors or bugs
are found in the modules. The different modules of the system shall now be
integrated together as a complete system and tested to determine whether they
can interact together and provide functionality required by the system before
implementing the system.
3.2.5
Validation
Validation shall be
carried out to ensure that the system meets its defined specifications such as
the functional and non-functional requirements, documentation controls like
user manuals.
4.0 References
[1]
H.S. Paris and J. Janick “What the Roman emperor Tiberius grew in his
greenhouses” Internet:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/2_13_Janick.pdf
[April 1 2013].
[2]
“Planning and Building a Greenhouse” Internet: http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/greenhou/building.htm
[April 2 2013].
[3]John Brittnacher*. “Growing Nepenthes” Internet:http://www.carnivorousplants.org/howto/GrowingGuides/Nepenthes.php
[April. 1, 2013].
[4]
Aaron Ellison, Nicholas Gotelli, J. Stephen Brewer, D. Liane Cochran-Stafira,
Jamie Kneitel, Thomas Miller, Anne Worley, and Regino Zamora “The Evolutionary
Ecology of Carnivorous Plants” Internet:http://www.uvm.edu/~ngotelli/manuscriptpdfs/AER2003.pdf,
[April 2, 2013].
[5]
Zabeltitz, C. von. Integrated greenhouse systems for mild climates climate
conditions, design, construction, maintenance, climate control. Berlin,
Germany: Springer, 2011.
[6]
Straten, G. van, and Willigenburg, G. van, and Henten, E. van, and Ooteghem, R.
van. Optimal control of greenhouse cultivation. Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press,
2011.
[7]
Verlodt, H., and Mougou, A., & (Ed.). International Symposium on Simple
Ventilation and Heating Methods for Greenhouses in Mild Winter Climates :
Djerba, Tozeur, Tunisia, February 28-March 6, 1988. Wageningen, Netherlands :
International Society for Horticultural Science,1988.
[8]
Bailey, B.J. Wind driven leeward ventilation in a large greenhouse. Retrieved
from http://www.actahort.org, 2000.
[9]
H. Joumaa, S. Ploix, S. Abras, G. De Oliveria, “Energy Procedia,” A MAS integrated into Home Automation
system,..., vol. 6, pp. 786-794, 2011
[10]
Dr. F. Yildiz, Dr. D. Fazarro, K. Coogler, “Journal of Industrial Technology,” The Green Approach: Self-Powered...,
vol. 26 #2, April 2010 - June 2010
[11]
Rangan, K.; Vigneswaran, T.; , "An Embedded Systems Approach to Monitor
Green House," Recent Advances in
Space Technology Services and Climate Change (RSTSCC), 2010 , vol., no.,
pp.61-65, 13-15 Nov. 2010 doi: 10.1109/RSTSCC.2010.5712800
[12]
Gomez-Melendez, Domingo,. “Fuzzy Irrigation Greenhouse Control System Based on
a Field Programmable Gate Array,” in African
Journal of Agricultural Research. vol 6. June 2011, pp. 2544-2557. Doi:
10.5897/AJAR10.1042
[13]
Nugroho, Andri. Okayasu, Takashi. Fushihara, Hajime. “Development of
Intelligent Control System for Greenhouse”. Kyusha University.
[14]
“TVS/Zener Device Data On Semiconductor," May 2001, Semiconductor Components
Industries, LLC (SCILLC). [online] Available http://ae6pm.com/Semidata_books/Motorola/DL150-D.pdf
[Accessed: April 30th 2013]
5.0 APPENDICES
Appendix
1: Budget for the system
Item
|
Quantity
|
Price (UGX)
|
||
Arduino Board
|
1
|
180,000/=
|
||
Emergency
reserve
|
1
|
70,000
/=
|
||
LED
|
8
|
1,000/=
|
||
Buzzer
|
1
|
2,000/=
|
||
Wires
|
20
|
10,000/=
|
||
Dry cell
|
2
|
1,000/=
|
||
Photo
resistor
|
1
|
5,000/=
|
||
Thermostat
|
1
|
5,000/=
|
||
Airtime
|
20,000/=
|
|||
Resistors
|
4
|
20,000/=
|
||
Breadboard
|
1
|
15,000/=
|
||
Refreshments
|
50,000/=
|
|||
Shipping costs
|
50,000/=
|
|||
Pump
|
1
|
150,000/=
|
||
Soil Moisture sensor
|
1
|
80,000/=
|
||
Total
|
650,000/=
|
|||
Appendix 2: Questionnaire
to Green House Managers
1.
How big is your green
house or what square meters does your green house cover?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2.
What challenges do you
face in the daily running of the green house?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3.
How much labor force do
you require to run the green house a week?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4.
How often do you
irrigate the green house in a day?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5.
How often do you change
the plants in a green house?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6.
What kind of plants do
you plan in the green house?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7.
Do the plants in the
green house fully depend on the sunlight?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8.
How often do you check
on the plants in a green house as a daily routine?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9.
Have you ever
experienced a fire out break in a greenhouse?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10.
What is your suggestion
about the introduction of a system that can manage a green house for you?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....
APPENDIX 3:
AUTOMATED GREENHOUSE SYSTEM PROJECT TIMELINE
TASK
|
YEAR 4 SEMISTER 1
|
BREAK
|
YEAR 4 SEMISTER 2
|
CONCEPT PAPER WRITING
|
9/8/2014 to 9/15/2014
|
-
|
-
|
PROPOSAL WRITING
|
9/30/2014 to
10/28/2014
|
-
|
-
|
REQUIREMENTS FOR AGHS
GATHERING
|
10/30/2014 to
11/14/2014
|
-
|
-
|
SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS
DOCUMENTATION
|
4/11/2014 to
21/11/2014
|
-
|
-
|
SYSTEMS REQUIREMETS
PURCHASING AND PROTOTYPING
|
-
|
4/01/2015 to 10/02/2015
|
|
SYSTEMS DESIGN
DOCUMENTATION
|
-
|
-
|
10/02/2015 to
2/03/2015
|
SYSTEM DESIGN AND
IMPLEMENTATION
|
-
|
-
|
5/03/2015 to
22/5/2015
|
SYSTEM TESTING AND
VALIDATION
|
-
|
-
|
24/5/2015 to
10/6/2015
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)