Medicinal plant Monitoring System

 

Anamika Sengupta, Pooja Agrawal, Swathi J. Narayanan^*

School of Computer Science and Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, India.

 

ABSTRACT:

Recently, great advances in Information Technology have led to convergence between varied industries. IT can help automate most processes and help in creating a more efficient system with better performance and results. This paper aims at designing a system that will automate the process of monitoring medicinal plants. It is well known that Neem, Tulsi, Aloe Vera, Amla, etc., are used since the beginning of civilizations to cure aches, ailments and other crippling afflictions. For people who do not prefer allopathic or pharmaceutical drugs, or tend to have allergic reactions to them, both Homeopathy and Ayurveda offer promising solutions. Our proposed system will carefully monitor the environment of medicinal plants and will notify the caretaker if any action is to be taken to help improve the plant’s health. The system will have both hardware and software components.

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Integration of IT in horticultural systems can be expected, to not only greatly improve the quality of plants grown, but also to help use the Earth’s resources in a respectful manner so that we do not deplete them. Joaquinet al.¹ presented the deployment of an automated irrigation system based on microcontrollers and wireless communication at experimental scale within the rural areas. The water level was controlled by programming into the microcontroller and developing an algorithm with the threshold values. The proposed system was tested and matched with the traditional system and better results were achieved thereby maintaining the sustainability. Implementation of temperature monitoring in the production of compost can be added to the system in future. Agni Biswas et al.² proposed a cheaper but smarter farm managing utility for the common Indian farmers by using sensors and indicators and also the current technology.

 

They monitored the levels of moisture, standing water, PH, humidity and temperature. The feedback was provided to the designated people via Bluetooth along with the timings of irrigation and all the sensor readings. They ensured there is a fast increase in the production of food and its quality so as to minimize the food crisis in India.

 

Taking care of plants needs supervision, which may become a time consuming task. Medicinal plants are of great value and importance. To be able to use them for improving human health, we need to maintain the plant’s health to the best of our ability. To help come up with a feasible solution, we wanted to develop a ‘Medicinal Plant Monitoring System. Our primary goal is to implement a system for medicinal plants, which can monitor environmental parameters like temperature, light availability and soil moisture content on a daily basis. Our proposed system should meet the following objectives:

·         To create an efficient, affordable and simple system that will monitor medicinal plants.

·         To help reduce water wastage by strictly monitoring plant’s soil moisture content and watering it in a timely manner.

·         To help users check on their plant’s health on a daily basis and compare plant’s conditions over a period of time.

·         To allow users to avail medicinal plant’s status on their Android device.

 

LITERATURE REVIEW:

Wilton et al.³ implemented a wireless telemetry system which included various sensors with Arduino microcontroller. The storage of data in the database comprised of two techniques – one was a simple approach where Wi-Fi connection is present and the other is communicating with another android device through SMS. A particular code and its location were coupled for every plant and hence could be easily be identified.

 

Tripathy et al.⁴ introduced a cost effective hardware based self-regulated gardening system using low cost soil moisture sensor. The focus is on to the level of water in the soil as they can cause various diseases and can become gullible to pests. The readings of the sensor for the specified plant are compared with the threshold values in the database using the microcontroller. The user has the advantage to control some functionality of the system through Internet itself. The data sets can also be viewed in a graphical representation for more analysis and better understanding of the system.

 

Vijay⁵ devised an integrated system comprising of numerous sensors to sense the growth and activity of the plant, water content in the soil, temperature and environmental conditions so that the agricultural productivity is enhanced largely. The water is saved to larger quantity when water is supplied drip by drip near the root zone of the plants.

 

Potts et al.⁶ created an Android Application for home security that exploits Bluetooth. The application is loaded onto device and then interfaced with security system. Status of the door is sent to mobile device. The application is meant to be used for short range purposes and is to be easy to use.

 

Deldenet al.⁷ proposed architecture for an articulated robot. The architecture is to be used for Android communication and uses Bluetooth. The robot can be used for various tasks. It is controlled using a socket application. Communication with robot is done through Android app. Client/server architecture is developed. A Bluetooth server runs on the computer and Android device acts as the client. One Bluetooth server is allocated to one robot. This paper also describes OPP and SPP.

 

Lei etal.⁸ presented a wireless system to critically monitor temperature along with humidity. This system can be applied in medical, agricultural and industrial systems. Existing systems sample DS18B20 data using 64 bit ROM, manually and stores them. But this paper presents a sampling scheme that uses Atmega128 along with temperature sensors and humidity sensors.

 

After reading all these papers and understanding their described proposal we came up with our proposed system to monitor medicinal plants.

 

PROPOSED WORK:

The proposed system will have both hardware and software components. Hardware components will include an Arduino Uno microcontroller, various sensors like temperature sensor, light sensor, soil moisture sensor, and a Bluetooth module. For programming purposes, Embedded C is used to program the Arduino. Java and XML, both are used for Android. Conceptually, effective monitoring by our proposed system is done using three phases.

 

Figure 1 Workflow consisting of 3 stages

 

The first phase is very critical to the entire process as it records parameter values for the plant’s current environment. Parameters like temperature, light intensity and soil moisture content are extremely important to maintain an appropriate environment for a plant. Once the sensors record data, it is sent to the Arduino Uno microcontroller. This gets displayed on the laptop’s serial monitor and stored in CSV format. The next phase involves understanding the recorded data and trying to decode whether the parameter value as sensed by the sensor falls within the plant’s optimum range. Too high or too low values are flagged. Critical values allow the medicinal plant’s caretaker to be notified immediately so as to hasten the decision making process. If all values are within optimum range, caretaker gets a health report update. The user can also monitor the plant’s health over a period of time, as data will be plotted in graphical manner and displayed. Thus this medicinal plant monitoring system, will allow users to oversee a plant’s health in a time sensitive, efficient and simple manner.

The software part of our project involves coding using Embedded C^9-12, which will be used to program the Arduino Uno. Checking if recorded data is within expected range will be done in this code. Creating an Android application that will run on the plant owner’s mobile device will be done using Java and XML with the help of Android Studio. Processing IDE and Visual Studio IDE is used to store data in CSV format and visualize it as line charts.

 

Figure 2 Various modules of medicinal plant monitoring system and its interaction

 

a.  Hardware Setup:

Our hardware setup consists of following hardware components:

·         Arduino Uno

·         Temperature Sensor (LM35)

·         Light Sensor (LDR)

·         Soil Moisture Sensor (LM393)

·         Bluetooth Module (HC05)

 

b.  Master Controller^13-15

This refers to the laptop. Laptop is one of the main components. On it the following happens.

·         Arduino IDE runs. Code to program Arduino is done here. Serial Monitor displays readings obtained from sensors.

·         Processing software runs. It stores data displayed on serial monitor to a .csv file

·         RStudio runs. This takes data from .csv file and creates line charts for visualization.

·         Android App development is done on laptop.

 

c.  Data Logger:

This part takes care of storing data that is recorded by Arduino and is sent to serial monitor. In this a software called Processing is used. It is compatible with Arduino IDE. It needs information about serial port number used for Arduino to connect to it. Once connected, it takes data displayed on serial monitor and saves it in a .csv file in tabular format.

 

d.  Visualization:

This part helps to plot readings of sensors as a line chart so that it is easier for user to understand variations. Typically, system will record sensor readings at 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m. These 4 sets of readings (20 readings in each) are stored as 4 separate .csv files. From these 4 files, coding is done on R Studio to create line charts. This stored as a pdf file.

 

e.  Android Application:

We have created an app which connects to the Arduino using Bluetooth. It receives data from Arduino and based on this, plant status is displayed on device informing user of plant condition and action to be taken is also suggested.

 

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP:

Hardware Requirements consists of Arduino Uno Microcontroller, Light Sensor, Temperature Sensor LM35, Soil Moisture Sensor LM3934 and Bluetooth Module HC-05.Arduino is a prototyping platform that is open source. It is an easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards successfully receive inputs - light falling on sensor surface, a button being pressed by a fingertip - and converts into desired output –motor being activated, LED being turned on. A light sensor refers to an electronic device that is used for light detection. Various types of light sensors exist.

 

A photo resistor or photocell is a small sensor whose resistance changes when light falls on its surface. The LM35 series are integrated-circuit devices that record temperatures with precision. They have an output voltage that is linearly proportional to temperature in degree Centigrade. The LM35 is more advantageous when compared to linear temperature sensors that are calibrated in Kelvin. This is because the user does not have to subtract a constant voltage from the output to get a Centigrade scaling that is convenient. The operation range is to 4V to 30V and calibration is done in Celsius. This sensor uses LM393 comparator for soil moisture level comparison with a threshold that has been predefined. It gives a binary output that has an adjustable sensitivity. The operating voltage of input is from 3.3 to 5 Volts. nBluetooth is a popular standard under wireless technology that helps exchange data over short distances from devices that are both fixed and mobile. The range is around 10 meters. These are based on the Cambridge Silicon Radio BC417 2.4 GHz Bluetooth Radio chip. It is a complex chip with an external flash memory of 8 Mbit. This is used as a master and a slave.

 

Software Requirements consists of Arduino IDE 1.6.5, Android Studio 1.1, Processing and R studio. The Arduino software (IDE) is open-source and it simplifies the process of writing code and uploading it to the board. It runs on multiple platforms like Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. The environment is written using java and it is based on processing which is also open-source software. Android Studio is the official IDE used for any kind of development on the Android platform. It was introduced on May 16, 2013 at the I/O conference hosted by Google. Android Studio is freely available under the Apache License 2.0. Processing is a software sketchbook that is highly flexible. Since 2001, Processing has helped promote software literacy in the field of visual arts and literacy within technology. Several hundred students, designers, artists, hobbyists and researchers, use Processing for prototyping and learning. RStudio is an IDE to implement R programming language used for graphics and statistical is computing. RStudio is available in commercial editions and is open source. It runs on multiple operating systems.

 

Input for the monitoring system is the sensor readings and the output is the CSV file displayed on the serial monitor of Arduino IDE. The sensors are connected to Arduino Uno using Analog pins on chip. Further, Arduino Uno is connected to the laptop using USB cable. The Arduino IDE and processing software connect through serial port. The input for this module isa CSV file and the output isthe Line Chart (visualization of data). Then CSV file is read to Rstudio and line chart is created using sensor data.The input for this module isthe Arduino Data and the output is Plant condition and needed action. The Arduino is connected to Bluetooth module HC05 and the Android connects to Arduino once it is visible.

 

User Interface Specification consists of Data Display Area, Data visualization Area and Android UI.

 

 

Figure 3Activity Diagram describing the monitoring system

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

After creating proposed system, we used it to monitor the health of a Tulsi plant, which is a medicinal plant.

 

The results obtained after carrying out this monitoring process are as follows:

 

Figure 4 Temperature, Light and Soil Moisture Sensor Readings

 

The recorded values either fall in optimum range or they are flagged if they are too high or low. These values are shown on the serial monitor with proper interpretation. Sensor recordings are stored as .csv files in destination folder for viewing. Data stored in CSV format is read and depicted as line charts and stored as pdf file. An Android app that has been createdis installed on the owner’s mobile device. In this App, Bluetooth is used to pair with Bluetooth module HC-05. Readings from sensors is retrieved and they are displayed on the app along with necessary action.

 

Figure 5 Sensor Readings displayed as Line Charts taken one day at 10 am, 2 pm, 5 pm,8 pm.

 

Figure 6 Android App Page 1

 

Figure 7 Android App Page 2

 

Table 1 depicts that the temperature should be between 23 degree Celsius and 35 degree Celsius, the intensity of light falling on plants should be between 650 and 1200 lux and the soil moisture content should be in the range 180 to 500 units. This will keep the plants in good health and will also help to take care of the patients using these home remedy medicinal plants.

Table 1 Interpretation of the Sensor Readings

Sensor	Reading	Degree of criticality	Action needed
Temperature	<15 degree Celsius	High	Needs immediate sunlight, Move to warm area
Temperature	>=15 and <23 degree Celsius	Low	No Action needed, Stable Condition
Temperature	>=23 and <=35 degree Celsius	Low	No Action needed, Perfect Condition
Temperature	>35 and <55 degree Celsius	Medium	Bring into shaded area
Temperature	>=55 degree Celsius	High	Replace Sensor
Light	<250 lux	High	Needs immediate sunlight
Light	>=250 and <650 lux	Low	No Action needed, Stable Condition
Light	>=650 and <=1200 lux	Low	No Action needed, Perfect Condition
Light	>1200 lux	High	Replace Sensor
Soil Moisture	>=800 and <=1023 units	High	Very Dry, Immediate Watering
Soil Moisture	>=500 and <800 units	Medium	Misting Required
Soil Moisture	>=180 and <500	Low	No Action needed, Perfect Condition
Soil Moisture	<180 units	High	Check for blockage
Soil Moisture	>1023	High	Replace Sensor

 

CONCLUSION:

The proposed Medicinal Plant Monitoring System helps to grow healthy plants to satisfy the medicinal needs of the end users, the patients. In order to make this system stable without any flaws, the hardware components are to be in perfect working condition and to be compatible with other components in the system. The software to monitor the plants helps the user by providing appropriate messages whenever an attention is required towards the plants. This functionality helps the people and makes their task simple as they pay attention to the plants without having manual tracking of the weather or the climatic conditions, which affects the plants. Through this system, both the small-scale and large-scale end users get benefited. The small-scale users can grow medicinal plants at home itself to get benefitted in curing diseases without much expense of buying it outside. For large-scale indoor users, monitoring the whole medicinal farm becomes easy and their effort towards bringing new medicinal plants can be increased rather than working on manual efforts to sage guard existing plants. Further research work can be extended towards automated sprinkler system and weather forecasting. Also, mobile application can be developed for platforms other than Android.

 

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Accepted on 01.07.2017            © RJPT All right reserved