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our inspiration

project components

02.

what we learned

03.

accomplishments

challenges faced

04.

05.

01.

Table Of Contents

next steps

06.

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Our Inspiration

As GenZ, one of our primary focuses is sustainability to combat climate change.

Our motto is, if we must protect our planet we should start by protecting our plants.

We also thought incorporating plants would be a nice nod to the theme of Rose Hack. Finally, the RoseHack logo also inspired us greatly.

Additionally, staying true to our track of sustainability, we used 100% recycled cardboard which makes up the casing of our project.

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Project Components

The Plant Bodyguard 2000 comes equipped with the following features to safeguard your plant children:

Real time feedback on plant’s environment
Light sensor that reacts to low light conditions
Sensing and reporting temperature in the immediate vicinity of plant
Buzz Off!^™ : an ultrasonic sensor that detects any foreign object (such as bugs) near the plant, and buzzes to prevent anything from bothering the plant

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Low Light Detection

WHAT: photoresistor

it is an arduino component with variable resistance, i.e., it increase resistance as brightness is exposed

HOW: connected the LED and the photoresistor in series, so that when brightness is high, resistance increases, which effectively dims the LED

WHY: to detect and report whether or not your plant is getting enough sunlight

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Temperature Detection

WHAT: DHT11

An arduino sensor that detects variations in temperature and humidity

HOW: the DHT11 sensor detects and outputs surrounding temperature, printing the value to a screen monitor

WHY: in certain times of the year, Southern California gets incredibly hot and dry. Such extreme temperatures can harm your plants. With this feature, you can monitor how hot your plants get.

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Buzz Off!^TM

WHAT: HCSR04, PASSIVE BUZZER

HCSR04 uses ultrasonic technology to detect whether there is an object and how far it is. The passive buzzer creates a sound and a vibration.

HOW: we set up the object sensor to output a value of 1 whenever an object is detected within a specified distance from the plant. This is connected to the buzzer’s input, causing it to beep.

WHY: if you notice holes, wilting, or distored growth in your plants, it may be time for pest control. BuzzOff!^™ detects and shoos away pests from your precious plant.

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What We Learned

How to code for different components of an Arduino (photoresistor, DHT11 (Temperature Sensor), passive buzzer, HC SR04 (Ultrasonic Sensor)).
How to work efficiently with wires to prevent tangling and color-coding to prevent confusion.
Conceptualizing different layouts, determining sizes of breadboards and the most optimal placement of components.

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Challenges We Faced

Finding a way to prevent the temperature sensor from being affected by the heating up due to excess voltage.
This project required us to use a lot of components in conjunction with one another, thus it was quite challenging to adjust the code so that they ran smoothly.

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Accomplishments

Getting the photoresistor to work in sync with and control the brightness of the LED.
Getting the HCSR04 ultrasonic sensor to work in sync with the passive buzzer by detecting the distance and setting off the buzzer within 10cm.
Getting the temperature sensor (DHT11) to work with the previous two components.
Building a well-structured model to fit along with our arduino components.

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Next Steps

LED lights to show if was too hot or too cold for the temperature or a display of the temperature number and unit
We could make a self-watering component where based on readings of a soil moisture sensor it could activate to pur water from a source above/near the plant down a track to its soil.
Web Application to modify parameters for the plant you are monitoring - detect when it’s day/night, send alerts based on what is triggered with the plant.
We could make this project a further valuable tool for plant owners looking to provide the best care possible, blending technology with nature!

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