Use Plastic Bottle to Make Automatic Plant Watering System.

Greetings Everyone

My family and I were preparing for a trip and needed to attend to our plants. This inspired me to come up with an idea: creating an Automatic Plant Watering System designed to supply water to our plants whenever they required it.

School: Alice Brown Elementary , Grade 4

For this machine we need

1. micro:bit
2. Breakout board for micro:bit (if needed)
3. Servo motor
4. Moisture sensor
5. Empty water bottle
6. Custom bottle cap and Valve (using 3d printer)
7. Jumper wires
8. Tape
9. Water pipe (with valve)
10. Small tools (screwdriver, pliers, screws, stick, etc.)
11. Power source (e.g., batteries or USB power bank)

The initial step involves 3D printing a valve and a bottle cap, ensuring there's enough space to accommodate the servo motor. This approach allows you to customize all components according to your preferences. However, if your pipe differs in specifications, you might need to design your own model or make modifications to the existing one.

Securely attach the servo motor to the custom-designed bottle cap. Then, connect the valve to the one on the water bottle through the pipe. Ensure that the servo motor is firmly fastened and capable of rotating the cap to effectively open and close the valve.

Now, let's proceed to connect the micro:bit to the breakout board. Simultaneously, we need to attach the jumper wires to the moisture sensor, identifying the s, v, and g terminals. Here, 'G' signifies ground, 'S' represents the signal, and 'V' denotes power or battery, which is set at 5V on the breakout board. Connect the jumper wires to the breakout board by aligning the 'S' wire with the 'S' terminal, the 'G' wire with the 'G' terminal, and the 'V' wire with the 5V terminal.

Moving on to the servo wire connection, the process is quite similar. Connect the orange wire to the 'S' pin, the red wire to the 5V pin, and the brown wire to the 'G' pin. It's important to note that while a breakout board isn't mandatory, the correct pin connections are crucial for proper functionality. Mismatched connections will lead to operational issues.

Next comes the coding part. I've provided you with images of the code, which you can either utilize directly or use as a reference to write your own. To get started, visit https://makecode.microbit.org to begin coding. Afterward, connect your micro:bit to your computer and access the menu by clicking the three dots. Proceed to pair your micro:bit or simply download the code and save it as a file.

To integrate the water bottle with the circuit, you'll need to attach the 3D-printed cap to the water bottle and secure the breakout board to the side of the bottle using tape.

Obtain a large nail or a sturdy stick, and gently insert it into the soil of the plant. Fill up your water bottle and press your finger against the underside of the cap to ensure it forms an airtight seal. Then, position the bottle upside down on the nail and secure it in place using tape.

Depending on the power requirements, you may need either batteries or a USB power bank to supply power to the system. Once you have your chosen power source, connect it to the micro:bit.

You're all set! Place your project in a sunny location. Enjoy, and thank you for building this with me.