Team 22
Aeroponic Growth Chamber
Team:
• Daniel Wright – CprE/EE
• Chris Reeve – CprE
• Mohammed Rahim – EE
• Zach Davis – CprE
Advisor/Client:
• Professor Tim Bigelow
Project Goal & Concept Scetch
A simple and affordable aeroponic plant
growth chamber to study the effect of sound
on plant healing and growth.
System Block Diagram
Model
Functional Requirements
Light radiation in the Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) spectrum (400 to 700 nm).
Air velocity between 0.3 and 0.7 m/s.
Optimum chamber temperature of 68F during light hours, and 77F during dark hours.
Use Hoagland solution Type I.
The pH should be maintained between 5.5-6.5.
Capability to administer sound (noise).
Sound level 90-100 dB.
Frequencies in the 1-16 kHz octave bands.
Capability to control and monitor various environmental parameters from a remote server.
Radiation (Light)
Temperature
Air velocity
Watering
Sound
Non-functional Requirements
Monitor, measure, and report the following parameters as required by NCERA-101:
Atmospheric moisture inside the chamber (Relative Humidity (RH))
pH and Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the nutrient solution
Substrate (air)
Chamber properties: Specifications (floor area, dimensions)
Barrier beneath lamps (whether present and its composition)
Air flow (whether up, down or horizontal)
To build a web interface to monitor and control various physical parameters.
Assumptions and Considerations
Humidity sensor accuracy of ±3%
Chamber ventilation of two air exchanges per hour
The roots of the plants should be kept in the dark
Air temperature, CO2 and relative humidity need to
be measured at the top of the plant canopy
A second “control” chamber would be desirable for
research, however the available budget is not
sufficient to build two chambers.
Market Survey
Current market solutions for plant growth chambers
are very expensive, upwards of $10,000.
Our solution will be used primarily for research, but
has the potential to be used in high schools as a
learning tool for both plant growth and for
engineering/programming.
Risks
1. Some of the existing components may not work
Resolution:
Allot money for this purpose only
Find more sources for money
2. Exceeding the project budget
Resolution:
Use wired server link rather than wireless
Build only one chamber instead of two
Cost
Item Cost
Sensors $40.00
Microcontroller $15.00
Microcontroller Board $20.00
Wireless adapters $75.00
Chamber Parts $100.00
Chemicals $50.00
Speaker $30.00
Power Supply $20.00
Total $350.00
Labor ($20/hour) $13,600.00
Fictional Cost $13,950.00
Real Cost $350.00
Schedule
Project Plan Design Implement Test Total
Chris Reeve 10 30 100 30 170
Zachary Davis 10 30 100 30 170
Mohammed
Rahim
10 30 100 30 170
Daniel Wright 10 30 100 30 170
System Decomposition
Microcontroller
Pump
Light
Sound
Heating Coil
Depth Gauge
Temperature
CO2
Humidity
Python server application
Communicates between user interface and microcontroller
Handles settings and periodic tasks
User Interface
Web application to view data and change chamber settings
Server application to change settings
Microcontroller State Diagram
Central Server Program
Web UI Specifications
Web app using ASP.NET AJAX and VB.NET in VS 2010
Master page will handle common items
Home/Welcome page as index
Data page for graphical presentation of gathered data
Alerts page to notify users of problems
Settings page with controls to view and set any modifiable chamber settings
Administrator page for user account operations and for the viewing of past settings changes
Server UI Specifications
Windows Forms app using VB.NET in VS 2010
Very minimal and simplistic
Successful login shows Settings view where any
modifiable chamber settings can be viewed and
changed
Users view to allow administrator to view, add,
modify, and remove user accounts
Users view can be seen by administrator accounts
only
Microcontroller Testing
Sound Generator
Expected Result Actual Result Tester Fix Needed Pass/Fail
Frequency selected.
Frequency played at set volume.
Daniel
Random # generated for frequency.
Random # is in the set bounds and changed at set interval.
Daniel
Test Completed on:
Central Server Program Testing
Build and test individual modules
Serial communication
Socket server
Task scheduler
Write „dummy‟ front-end to test with
Write „dummy‟ program to run on microcontroller
User Interface Testing
Web interface is very easy and straightforward to
test. Just need to make sure pages and controls
look and function like they are supposed to.
A dummy database will be made so that the tester
can see exactly what the web app is doing.
A dummy Python app will be made to print out the
commands that it gets from either of the UI‟s to
make sure it is getting what we expect it to.
Sound Design
Sound Generation
PWM Signal Fourier Transform
Implementation
Implementation
Individual Contributions
Zach Davis
Built chamber
Designed central server program
Sound generation
Mohammed Rahim
Specifications
Technical drawings
Research
Chris Reeve
Team leader
Front ends design
Research
Daniel Wright
Researched and ordered parts
Sound system design
Microcontroller research
Plan for Next Semester
Finalize sound design
Low-pass filter and amplifier design
Signal generation algorithm
Assemble electrical components
Write software
Grow plants
Testing
Questions?