Envirobot is a enviroment simulator.

It links to the internet and gathers weather data and then tries to copy those conditions inside itself.

Envirobot will attempt to recreate:

  • Temperature - using small heating elements and peltier plates
  • Humidity - Using misters and a dehumidification system
  • Rain - Using a water dropper/sprayer from above
  • Light - Using as close to natural light as can be achieved
  • Wind - Small fans installed in the frame

Why mimic an enviroment?

Whenever a farmer tries to grow a plant in an environment he/she has not tried before, he/she is taking a risk. Will the plant germinate? Will the plant grow properly? Will the plant fruit?

Some plants need special conditons to grow - such as a cold spell before fruiting.

Envirobot will allow farmers to try multiple plants and enviroments and discover more about the plant before taking the dive and mass planting it commercially.

Where I'm at :

Currently I am in the research and material gathering phase. I am using a limited budget to build this device and I am recovering parts from old electronics.

My Experience Level :

I have used Arduino boards before to control small lighting and motors in projects and I think this will be essential in controlling the parts on the device.
I have also experimented with raspberry pi sensors and a cat face recognition system (to keep track of which bedroom the cat is in) that emailed me with updates.

I am able to learn quite quickly to overcome any challenges and I have a local network of skilled helpers.

Why use a Cypress PSoC 6 board?

I intend to use the board as a controller for all the fans, lights, droppers, sprayers and heating systems in the device.

It will be regularly connecting to a online server containing weather information from around the world. On receiving this data it will attempt to simulate the environment inside to match given data.

It will also regularly post data online with results and information about how well the plant is growing.This data may one-day be used with a neural network to "learn" more about how plants grow.This may lead to better plant simulation software in the future.

Bluetooth may also be used in the future to allow phone control and allow the device to communicate locally.

Which Cypress PSoC boards would I Prefer?

PSoC® 6 WiFi-BT Pioneer Kit (CY8CKIT-062-WIFI-BT)

To be used as the main controller device. The screen will be used to show current operation.

The prototyping kit will probably not be required at this point. If possible a 8 Set of Relays would be very helpful.Also useful would be any short LED strips, digital thermometers, and humidity sensors.

Instructions will be supplied later to allow you to build your own.

Apologies for any spelling mistakes.