hello world, I am the Plant Doctorbasic...

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I am a portable device that can be attached to any existing plant pot with soil in it. I am able to interact with the environment and the user with the help of my sensors and a few colorful lights. The user does not need to have any prior gardening experience to use me OR to grow plants. I teach the user how plants grow by turning on/off different colored notification lights.. The user, overtime, naturally learns how plants grow as he/she uses the plant doctor.

I blink;

yellow - if the light source is cut off OR if the plant is asleep

blue - if the plant is thirsty

red - if the plant is too cold/hot depending on the season

and if every condition is perfect for the plant then I blink my green light every 5 seconds to notify the user that the plant is alive and secured by the built in " plant doctor ".

and now I am going to share with you how it all works,

learn more..

let's begin..>

Step 1: Frame + Parts

Frame -

I can be made from many different materials. plant doctor is currently made out of 3.2mm MDF board. My current dimensions are 3.5x6x12cm. My planned upgrade is a 3D printed water/shock proof case. I will also soon have a screen soon.
.

Plant Doctor can be made out of;

foam/cardboard

wood

plastic (*3D print)

I can be hung on any plant pot with an easy slide on/off system. Attached you can find my illustrator design, minor tweaks may be necessary. please ask me before cutting..

Parts -

1x NTC + 1x LDR + 1x soil probes

1x arduino nano + mini breadboard

1x on/off switch

1x power bank + battery

4x 3mm leds (R, G, B, Y)

2x 10K + 1x 10 + 4x 220 ohm resistors.

my planned parts upgrade is a wireless module with SD card.

REMEMBER to also build the sensory device.!

plant doctor dimensions.ai
Download

Step 2: Electrical

all parts have color coded breadboard jumper cables attach to them, so anyone can build me - no prior electrical experience needed.

battery;

attach jumper cables to the + positive and - negative legs of the USB ports on the power bank. this is where I get my electricity. now attach the + positive cable to the middle leg of the on/off switch and - negative cable to GND on arduino nano. attach the other leg of the switch to VIN on arduino nano. now you can easily turn me on/off and recharge from outside. the power bank makes it possible to easily recharge the plant doctor.

sensors;

one leg of the LDR light sensor goes to 3.3V , the other first to A2 and then to GND with 1x 10K ohm resistor on the arduino nano

one leg of the NTC temperature sensor goes to 3.3V, the other first to A4 and then to GND with 1x 10 ohm resistor on the arduino nano

one leg of the Soil Probes goes to 3.3V, the other first to A0 and then to GND with 1x 10K ohm resistor on the arduino nano (more in depth info about the soil probes on the next step).

notification LEDs;

connect all the - negative legs of the LEDs together and then to GND on arduino nano

connect 1x 220 ohm resistor to the + positive leg of each LED seperately and then connect them to:

D11 - blue

D9 - red

D7 - yellow

D5 - green

there you have it, I am much simpler to put together / operate then you think !

Step 3: Operation + Code

connect to the computer and upload the code, disconnect from computer

Turn on the switch. Make sure that all notification lights come on when the sensory device isn't attached.

attach the sensory device and test it once again;

- turn of lights, yellow should come on

- remove probes from soil, blue should come on

- and red will come on if the temperature is below the set value in the code

if any of the sensors needs adjustment, go back to the code and type in your preferred values, re-upload code by connecting the plant doctor to the computer. remember to ask questions, I am here to help..

it should be fully functional at the moment, happy growing !

planthealthmonitorversion1.ino
Download

Step 4: Conclusion

can be recharged via micro USB - solar skin upgrade soon, will be able to self-sufficiently work

can be reprogrammed via mini USB - soon over wifi !

after my 3D print update I will also be able to used outdoors. . and in the last picture you can see the pot with the plant arm attachment. no sun needed to grow ! .

* The plant pot basic is made possible by the Plant Doctor team an open source & non-profit company. please comment or private message if you want to become a beta tester with us. Your donations help us follow our vision, to bring together nature and technology in a simple, non-harmful way. By educating the end user, we guarantee the success of our mission - change the world, one plant at a time...

thank you very much for your time and interest, remember to subscribe and check out my profile to see other indoor horticulture equipments.

love & peace

the plant doctor