Master of Science (MS)
As the world is moving towards urban agriculture, there are many IoT Hydroponic Control Systems being introduced these days. There are many different platforms emerging, but they all suffer from the same flaw, the software and hardware are so tightly integrated that most of the times the individuals have no freedom of how to use the product, or they need to completely hack the system. This brings us to the need of a system that is designed to allow the user more flexibility in platform configuration, as well as assist in platform construction. We propose a model called Hydrobase to solve this problem. Urban Agriculture often uses hydroponic systems because of space constraints and environmental constraints. Subsequently, this project would assist efforts already underway. This system is specifically targeted at Small Scale DIY to Medium Scale Urban Agriculture customers who are interested in automating the gardening/farming experience. This system would also assist in agricultural experimentation and knowledge sharing. There are a number of different factors that contribute to a plant's success and exploring what is most beneficial has been the subject of much study. This system will help by allowing customers to contribute in a citizen scientist fashion, automating much of the experiment design and data collection. By automating the more monotonous aspects of experiment design and execution the system will empower more individuals to contribute to science. This report explains what work has been done in this domain and how Hydrobase is a better user friendly platform as compared to it’s IoT Hydroponic Control System counterparts.
Goyal, Nandini Kant, "Hydrobase: An IoT Gardening Application" (2016). Master's Projects. 503.