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A mobile phone-operated plant-watering apparatus, the latest student innovation from Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, received an honorable mention award in the creativity category from the 20th National Symposium in Agricultural Engineering Research. The program combines Image J, an image processing and analysis software, and IP camera functions in order to analyze the amount of water that plants need.
“Today, technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. The agricultural sector has benefited from online applications, such as weather forecasts, which help producers to predict and control their production, thus lowering the costs of operation. The mobile plant-watering apparatus combines Image J and IP camera features, in order to calculate over the internet the amount of water that plants need. Users can control this apparatus from their mobile phones, which makes plant-watering very convenient, no matter when or where they are,” said Kantapong Thitngam, fourth-year student majoring in agricultural engineering. He worked on this project with his advisor, Ajarn Apirat Peenthong, lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering.
The apparatus applies three features from Image J and IP camera. Image J was developed by Wayne Rasband and The National Institute of Health (NIH), in the United States of America, for the purpose of facilitating image processing. This program provides estimates of an object’s size or area by calculating the image cells. The tensiometer is an instrument commonly used by farmers to determine the soil moisture tension (metric suction); it is used in combination with a graph that displays the soil moisture content values. The IP camera sends wireless signals over the internet, allowing users to monitor real-time changes in the plants’ moisture activities.
The design and pilot testing phases involved the following steps: (1) designing a platform for the camera using SolidWorks and then building a prototype; (2) creating a website that for communicating with the IP camera, which is used to calculate plants’ moisture content; (3) preparing soil for planting a yellow-berried nightshade plot; (4) installing the tensiometer; (5) installing an electrical circuit for mobile communication; and (6) connecting all the parts and instruments.
The results showed that the apparatus could calculate an area of 0.108 square meters, soil moisture content of -0.4 barr, and, after calculating on the website, estimate the amount of water required for the plant to be 6.35 liters/ton. At 0.046 liters/minute, the watering system would need 138 minutes to water the plant; this is how long the user needs to turn on the watering system via their mobile phones, in order to allow the soil moisture to return to its field capacity.
From pilot testing, the apparatus works well and provides an accurate estimate of the amount of water that plants need, using a scientific process. The mobile phone-operated feature helps prevent potential damages to the plant from lack of water. Moreover, the apparatus helps save water and enables farmers to monitor plants’ growth and diseases, which is a preventive measure.
The apparatus can be installed at the elevation of 4 meters, costing 7,000 baht of investment. For more information, contact Kantapong Thitngam at 086 805 5061.
