Teaching embedded control system design of electromechanical devices using a lab-scale smart farming system

Abstract

This article presents the design and monitoring of a lab-scale smart farming system through the integration of control and app designs that can be used for teaching embedded control application to electromechanical systems. A combination of sensors and actuators is used to develop an Arduino-based embedded feedback control system that could be implemented in a smart farming environment. Specifically, we look at controlling electromechanical devices to actuate the fan and water pump to provide the optimal temperature and moisture, respectively, to enhance plant growth in a smart farming setting. The effectiveness of the feedback control is tested by conducting a plant growth experiment. Using garden cress (Lepidium sativum) as a case study, the plant grown in the controlled temperature and moisture settings shows substantially healthier growth compared to the one grown in the non-controlled environment. In addition, an app is designed and developed to transform the Arduino data stream from the sensors into valuable insights that could help the users to monitor and improve the overall crop health. The developed system in this paper enables students to learn integral skills from interdisciplinary engineering fields (e.g. systems, control, mechanical and computer) to solve an agricultural problem.