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- What is AgriTRAK?
- What problem does AgriTRAK solve?
- How does AgriTRAK solve its goals?
AgriTRAK is an embedded system project that is designed to support any small scale farming operation by providing a metrics dashboard to its users and automated care to plants. AgriTRAK currently supports four sensors including, UV Light Intensity, Visible Spectrum Light Intensity, Temperature, and Soil Moisture. The metrics collected by these sensors can be viewed by users in a dashboard in a web browser when a user connects to the AgriTRAK network. In addition to displaying the metrics, AgriTRAK also uses these metrics to regulate the state of the plant. In order to Achieve this, AgriTRAK has both an integrated lighting system and a watering system. AgriTRAK can be software configured to control the lighting and irrigation of an indoor farming system in order to cater to the specific needs of any plant.
As local farming communities continue to develop, the tools needed to start a small farming operation are becoming increasingly accessible to the individual. However, it can still be extremely difficult to start a farm for those who have not yet mastered the "feel" of growing crops. AgriTRAK is the solution to this knowledge gap because it utilizes irrigation and lighting actuators and a user dashboard to assist new farmers, and provide them with the information that they need to be successful.
Below is a block diagram of the entire AgriTRAK system.
AgriTRAK has two main parts. A Data Collection/Transmitter Node and a User Display/Receiver Node. Lets take a look at each one.
###Data Collection and Transmitter Node
This node is powered by an ATMega328p that supports 4 sensors, 2 actuators, and a transmitter. The node collects information about the plant or environment, and it then uses this information to control an irrigation and lighting system that supports the plant or environment. In addition to physically taking care of the plant, the system also transmits the sensor data to another node so that it can be processed and displayed to users for their own knowledge.
###Display and Receiver Node
This node is also powered by and ATMega 328p, and it supports one receiver module, and a wifi module which runs a web server locally. The node first receives data from the transmitter node. It converts this data into correct units, and uses the wifi module to display the information to users. The data is supported on a wifi network called "AgriTRAK" that users can connect to with any phone, computer, or tablet.