2-EC-1.3.3-Project 2019-20

SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM
PROJECT REPORT
ON
“SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM”
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the partial completion of
MAJOR PROJECT [16EC8DCMPJ]
IN
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, BELGAUM
SUBMITTED BY:
Nitesh M S 1BM16EC003
Nitish N 1BM16EC073
Prajwal Vishwanath 1BM16EC080
Varun K V Ithal 1BM16EC118
Under the Guidance of

Mr. Harish V Mekali
(Assistant Professor, ECE, BMSCE)
January - May 2020
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

B.M.S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
(Autonomous College Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum)
Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore-560019
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DECLARATION
We undersigned students of final semester B.E in Electronics and Communication

Engineering, BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, hereby declare that the dissertation
entitled “SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM”, embodies the report of my project work carried
out independently by us under the guidance of Mr. Harish V. Mekali, Assistant Professor,
E&C Department, BMSCE, Bangalore in partial fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of
Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Visvesvaraya Technological University,
Belgaum during the academic year 2019-2020.
We also declare that to the best of our knowledge and belief, this project has not been
submitted for the award of any other degree on earlier occasion by any student.
Place: Bangalore
Date:
Nitesh M S 1BM16EC003
Nitish N 1BM16EC073
Varun K V Ithal 1BM16EC118
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(Autonomous College under VTU)
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled “SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM” is a bonafide
work carried out by Nitesh M S (USN:1BM16EC003), Nitish N (USN:1BM16EC073)
Prajwal Vishwanath (USN: 1BM16EC080) and Varun K V Ithal (USN:1BM16EC118) in
partial fulfillment for the partial completion of MAJOR PROJECT[16EC8DCMPJ] during
the academic year 2019-2020.
Mr. Harish V Mekali Dr. Arathi R Shankar

Assistant Prof., ECE, BMSCE HOD, ECE, BMSCE
External Examination: Signature with date:
1.
2.
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DEDICATION
This Work Is Dedicated To All The Farmers Of The Nation
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ABSTRACT
India is an agriculture based country. Ancient people were completely dependent on the
agricultural harvesting. Agriculture is a source of livelihood of majority Indians and has a
great impact on the economy of the country. In dry areas or in case of inadequate rainfall,
irrigation is a challenging problem. So, it needs to be automated for maximum yield and
handled remotely. Increasing energy costs and decreasing water supplies demands the need
for better water management. Irrigation management involves a complex decision making
process to determine when and how much water to apply to a growing crop to meet specific
management objectives. So, efficient water management plays a critical role in the irrigated
agricultural cropping systems. A low cost alternative solution for efficient water management
which is currently in use is drip irrigation system.
In this project, we are going to devise a product which controls the moisture level of soil in
the roots of the crop so as to supply required water to the crop automatically based on the
moisture level of the soil and also by applying the virtual water concept, which will result in
maximum yield of the crop. Specifically, four moisture sensors at different root depths are
used to measure the moisture content in the root of crop at different levels, and this data is
sent to our website and so that we can monitor the growth of crop remotely through a data
visualization platform (website) and also to keep a documentation on growth of crop. Based
on the moisture content of the crop we water the crops if the moisture content drops below a
defined minimum and stop watering the crops when the moisture content goes above the
defined maximum values.
We also interface a weather station to our product, which will monitor the different weather
parameters such as Wind Speed and Direction, Temperature, Humidity, Rainfall and UV
Index. These parameters are tracked continuously and are also updated to a website to
generate datasets which can be used for weather prediction in the future. These datasets can
also be fed to the Evaporation Transpiration (ET) equation to measure the quantity of
moisture that is both transpired by a plant and evaporated from the soil and plant surfaces.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any achievement, be it scholastic or otherwise does not depend solely on the individual
efforts but on the guidance, encouragement and cooperation of intellectuals, elders and
friends. A number of personalities, in their own capacities have helped us in carrying out this
project work. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them all.
We express profound gratitude to respected principal Dr. B. V. Ravishankar, BMS College

of Engineering for providing a congenial environment to work in. Our sincere gratitude to
Dr. Arathi R Shankar, Head of the Department, Electronics and Communication
Engineering for encouraging and providing this opportunity to carry out the project in the
department.
We would like to thank our guide Mr. Harish V. Mekali, Assistant Professor, Department of
ECE who helped us in all the ways to carry out the project work. He stood beside and guided
us in every step.
We will be incomplete, if we don't mention our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Rajath B, Research
Assistant, Robotics Lab, BMSCE and Kamlesh C Muddi, B-Tech, ECE, BMSCE who
helped us in all the ways to carry out the project work.
We would like to share the joy completing the project to all the team members of NGX
Semiconductors. We thank all our professors for providing the basic knowledge without
which this project wouldn't have been possible. Last but not the least we thank our family and
friends, who made their valuable support compelled us to maintain a standard throughout our
endeavour.
-
Nitesh M S
Nitish N
Prajwal Vishwanath
Varun K V Ithal
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LIST OF FIGURES:
Figure 1: Percentage of irrigation in the world 09

Figure 2: Field Capacity and Permanent wilting point for different types of soil 12
Figure 3: Soil Characteristics 13
Figure 4: Watering Cycles 14
Figure 5: Different stages of growth of a plant 14
Figure 6: The Linear Root Depth Model 15
Figure 7: Sensor Placement in Soil 23
Figure 8: Optimal Sensor Placement 23
Figure 9: Implementation Block Diagram 25
Figure 10: Project Flow 26
Figure 11: Block Diagram of the BMS-IOT Box 27
Figure 12: Davis Weather Station and Display Console 28
Figure 13: VantagePro2 Console Specifications 29
Figure 14: Different components in the Davis Weather Station 30
Figure 15: Vantage Pro2 Console Display Details 30
Figure 16: WeatherLink Software 31
Figure 17: Resistive Sensor 35
Figure 18: Capacitive Sensor 36
Figure 19: Electronic Tensiometer Probe 37
Figure 20: VH400 Sensor used in project 38
Figure 21: Solenoid Valve 40
Figure 22: RTC Module 41
Figure 23: Menu System 42
Figure 24: Soil Moisture Sensor data displayed on the BMS-IOT Box 45
Figure 25: Weather data display on the VantagePro2 Console 46
Figure 26: Complete Smart Irrigation setup with all components 46
Figure 27: Implementation of Root Depth Model Algorithm 47
Figure 28: Solenoid Valve Implementation 47
Figure 29: Menu System Implementation, to set the Soil or Plant Characteristics 48
Figure 30: Field Plan for Smart Irrigation System Implementation 49
Figure 31: Top View of the field 49
Figure 32: Place where implementation will be carried out 49
Figure 33: Solar Panel setup in the field to power the BMS-IOT Box 49
Figure 34: All the components placed in the field 50
Figure 35: Closer view of the Weather Console and BMS-IOT Box working on the field 50
LIST OF TABLES:
Table 1: Capacity of data logger 31

Table 2: Sensor data with their update time 34
Table 3: Estimated Bill 44
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CONTENTS
TOPIC PAGE NO
Chapter 1: Introduction 09
1.1 Introduction 09
1.2 Smart Irrigation Concepts 10
Chapter 2: Literature Survey 19
Chapter 3: Problem Analysis 22

3.1 Problem Definition 22
3.2 Proposed Solution 22
Chapter 4: Methodology And Implementation 25

4.1 Implementation Block Diagram 25
4.2 Project Flow 26
4.3 LPC1768 and BMS-IOT Box 27
4.4 Weather Station 28
4.5 Soil Sensors 35
4.6 Subsystems 40
4.7 Working 43
4.8 Estimated Bill 44
Chapter 5: Results And Discussion 45
Chapter 6: Conclusion And Future Work 51

6.1 Advantages of Smart Irrigation 51
6.2 Future Work 52
Chapter 7: References 53
Chapter 8: Plagiarism Report 54
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Agriculture is one of the most basic, yet one of the most important occupations in the world.
India is basically an agrarian society where around 60 percent of land area is cultivated for
agriculture and about 50 percent of the population directly or indirectly depends on
agriculture for their livelihood.
Agriculture needs water in huge amounts. It is the most water consuming industry. More
water will be needed to produce more food to meet the future demand. But increasing
competition for water and inefficient irrigation practices constrains future food production.
70% of water is used for Agriculture while 22% for industrial use and 8% for domestic
purpose. In many developing nations irrigation requires over 90% of water withdrawn from
available sources for use. When we look for efficient irrigation methods, Drip Irrigation is the
most efficient, followed by Sprinkler Irrigation, and the least efficient method is Surface
Irrigation. However, 94% of the application methods of irrigation water at field level
currently are of the category of surface irrigation, wherein the water is spread over the field
by gravity.
Figure 1: Percentage of irrigation in the world
Agriculture in India is mostly dependent on monsoon and Groundwater resources. Still two-
thirds of the net sown area (land on which cultivation is done at least once a year) is
dependent on rainwater, mostly during the four monsoon months. However, rainfall in India
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is notoriously capricious, causing floods and droughts alternately. Its distribution and amount
are not in accordance with the needs of the crops.
India has a population as much as 15% of the world’s population but has only about 4% of
the world’s fresh water resources. Much of these are unevenly distributed. Average annual
rainfall in India is about 1,170 mm, which corresponds to an annual precipitation including
snowfall of 4,000 billion cubic meters (BCM). Nearly 75% of this (3000BCM) occurs during
the monsoon season, confined only to 3-4 months (June to September) a year. According to
the Planning Commission, India has so far created a total of about 225BCM of surface
storage capacity. However, per capita storage capacity in India is very low at 190 cubic
meters. If we compare this data to other developed countries, we find the per capita storage
capacity to be 5,961BCM in USA, 4,717BCM in Australia, 3,388BCM in Brazil, and
2,486BCM in China.
Though the average water availability in India remains more or less constant according to the
natural hydraulic cycle, per capita availability is reducing progressively owing to the
increasing population. In 1990, the average figure was around 2,200 cubic meters. In 2015,
the figure was 1829 cubic meters, which may further go down to about 1340 cubic meters
and 1140 cubic meters a year by 2025 and 2050 respectively. The situation in some of the
river basins is worrisome. According to international agencies, any country with per capita
water availability of less than 1700 cubic meters is considered ‘water stressed’ and those with
per capita water availability less than 1000 cubic meters is considered ‘water scarce’. Already
six river basins of the country fall into the water scarce category, and five more basins are
likely to be ‘water scarce’ during 2025-50. Only 3-4 basins will be ‘water sufficient’. Water
availability both in quality and quantity has been on the decline over the past 3-4 decades
because of gross mismanagement.
1.2 Smart Irrigation Concepts
While implementing a smart irrigation system, it is necessary to take into consideration two
important characteristics. They are:
● Soil Characteristics
● Plant Characteristics
● Weather Characteristics
The Soil Characteristics include four main properties of the soil, namely Field Capacity,
Permanent Wilting Point, Available Moisture and Readily Available Moisture. For a given
type of soil, these properties are fixed. In this project setup, we are experimenting with Red
Soil.
The Plant Characteristics include properties such as crop period and different growth stages
and their duration in days. The crop period for greens is generally 60 days, while for rice,
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wheat, and other grains it can vary from 90-120 days. Generally, most crops have crop
duration between 60-120 days. There are some exceptions to this rule though, such as
sugarcane, which has a crop period ranging from 12-18 months.
The weather characteristics are the different weather parameters such as Wind Speed and
Direction, Temperature, Humidity, Rainfall and UV Index. The weather parameters need to
be monitored continuously and can be used for weather prediction, as well as aid in the
process of efficient indication.
1.2.1 SOIL CHARACTERISTICS:
As mentioned before, the four important soil characteristics are:

● Field Capacity (FC)
● Permanent Wilting Point (PWP)
● Available Moisture (AM)
● Readily Available Moisture (RAM)
The physical definition of Field Capacity is as follows: Field Capacity is the bulk water
content retained in soil at −33 kPa/kg (or −0.33 bar) of hydraulic head or suction pressure.
Field Capacity is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in the soil after excess
water has drained away and the rate of downward movement has been decreased. This
usually takes place after 2–3 days after rain or irrigation in previous soils of uniform structure
and texture.
The physical definition of Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) or Wilting Point (WP) is as
follows: Permanent Wilting Point is the water content at −1,500 kPa (−15 bar) of suction
pressure, or negative hydraulic head. Permanent Wilting Point is the minimum amount of
water in the soil that the plant requires to not to wilt. If the soil moisture decreases to this or
any lower point a plant wilts and can no longer recover its turgidity when placed in a
saturated atmosphere for 12 hours.
The difference in moisture content of the soil between field capacity (F.C) and permanent
wilting is termed the Available Moisture (AM). Available moisture can be expressed as
percentage moisture PW, as percentage PV or as depth d.
Soil moisture content near the wilting point is not readily available to the plant to absorb.
Hence, the term Readily Available Moisture (RAM) has been used to refer to that portion of
the available moisture that is most easily extracted by plants. Readily Available Moisture is
defined at approximately 55% of the available moisture, though to make calculations easier
the value is rounded off to 50%.
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Figure 2: Field Capacity and Permanent Wilting Point for different types of soil
The importance of the Available Moisture and Readily Available Moisture parameters are
seen in the types of seeds used. There are mainly two types of seeds used by farmers, local
seeds and hybrid seeds. Over 90% of the farmers prefer hybrid seeds over local seeds because
the yield from hybrid seeds is very high when compared to local seeds. However, Hybrid
seeds have one disadvantage with them, which is, they are extremely water sensitive. What
this means is if the soil moisture level falls to the Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) value of
the soil, let alone below the Permanent Wilting Point value, the plant will not be able to
extract water and will die out as a result. However, local seeds are able to extract moisture
from the soil even if the soil moisture level falls a little below the Permanent Wilting Point
level. In order to avoid this danger with hybrid seeds, a new parameter, Readily Available
Moisture, is defined and its value is set at approximately 55% of the Available Moisture
level.
Let us take an example to understand the relationship between the soil moisture parameters.
Let the Field Capacity (FC) of the soil be 24%, and let the Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) of
the soil be 10%. These two parameters are fixed for a given type of soil.
Now, to calculate Available Moisture (AM), it is given by:

AM = FC – PWP
So,
AM = 24% - 10%
AM = 14%
Now, to calculate the Readily Available Moisture (RAM), it is given by:

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k = 0.55 X AM
So,
k = 0.55 X 14%
k = 7% (approx.)
Now,
RAM = FC – k
So,
RAM = 24-7
RAM = 17%
The soil characteristics are shown in the figure below.
Figure 3: Soil Characteristics
WATER CYCLES:
The crops are supplied with water whenever the moisture level falls below the Readily
Available Moisture limit in case of hybrid crops, or below the Permanent Wilting Point limit
for local seed crops. Generally, once the crops are watered, they need not be supplied with
water for some duration, which varies based on the season. For example, in summers,
evaporation is more and hence the crops need to be watered more regularly, say, once every
two days. However, during winters, evaporation is less; hence the crops need not be supplied
with water as frequently as in summers, and once in around four days should be enough. Note
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that all these explanations are just rough figures to explain the watering cycle for crops. The
figure below gives an example of how the watering cycle takes place in case of both hybrid
seed crops as well as local seed crops.
Figure 4: Watering Cycles
1.2.2 PLANT CHARACTERISTICS:
Crop cycles, as discussed earlier, generally range from 60 days for greens to 120 days for
grains, with some exceptional crops such as sugarcane taking anywhere between 12-18
months between the Vegetative stages to the Harvesting stage. In this section, we talk about
the five stages in a crop cycle, which are listed below as follows:
● Vegetative Stage (V)
● Flowering Stage (F)
● Yield Formation Stage (Y)
● Ripening Stage (R)
● Harvesting Stage (H)
Figure 5: Different Stages of Growth of a Plant

The vegetative stage is the initial stage of plant growth. It is in this stage that the root growth
takes place. The Linear Root Depth Model, which is an extremely useful theoretical method
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to calculate the growth of the root throughout the vegetative phase, is explained later. The
vegetative stage is extremely water sensitive, which means that any problems or negative
variations in watering the plant at this stage will have a drastic effect on the growth of the
plant in the later stages.
The flowering stage is the second stage in the plant cycle. By this time, the root has stopped
growing. The plants start flowering. This stage also is extremely water sensitive and any
problems or negative variations in watering the plant at this stage will affect the growth of the
plant in the later stages.
The third stage in the plant cycle is the yield formation stage. By this time the first signs of
fruits are seen from plants. This stage is also water sensitive, but not as sensitive as the first
two stages.
The Ripening stage is the fourth stage in the plant cycle. At this stage the plants have
completely produced all the fruits and they are ripening. Finally, after the ripening stage,
comes the harvesting stage where the fruits are ready to be harvested from the plants.
LINEAR ROOT DEPTH MODEL
Beginning of Flowering Stage
Figure 6: The Linear Root Depth Model
The above figure shows the linear root depth model. Since it is practically impossible to find
out the depth of the root at any point of time during the vegetative phase of the plant cycle,
scientists have developed a theoretical model to measure the depth of the root at any point of
the vegetative phase of the plant cycle.
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It is quite straightforward to calculate the depth of the root for a given time passed during the
vegetative stage of the plant cycle. Let ‘t’ be the time in days passed, and let ‘x’ be the depth
of the root in meters for time ‘t’ passed. Further, let ‘T’ be the total time duration of the
vegetative phase in days, and let ‘D’ be the maximum depth of the root in meters, which is
reached at the end of the vegetative phase. Using the concept of similar triangles from
mathematics, we can calculate the depth of the root for any time duration passed. The
formula is given by:
t/T = d/D (or) d=tD/T
Where, d gives the depth of the root in meters for t days passed.
1.2.3 WEATHER CHARACTERISTICS
All of the weather-based products reviewed operate on the principle of scheduling irrigation
based on weather conditions. Most of the products use real-time or historical weather data to
schedule irrigation based on Evaporation Transpiration (ET), which is a function of weather
conditions and plant type.
ET is defined as the quantity of moisture that is both transpired by a plant and evaporated
from the soil and plant surfaces. The American Society of Civil Engineering’s (ASCE)
standardized reference ET equation parameters are maximum and minimum air temperature,
net solar radiation, average vapor pressure, and average wind speed.
Each of the weather-based irrigation scheduling systems evaluated use micro processing
devices that calculate or adjust irrigation schedules based on one or more of the following
parameters sets: weather conditions (temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind, and solar
radiation), plant types (root depth and low versus high water use), and site conditions
(latitude, soils, ground slope, and shade). Some of the systems generate watering schedules
automatically. Others require the user to enter a base daily irrigation schedule, and then the
device determines the frequency (which days) irrigation occurs or adjusts run times. Some of
these partially automated systems provide guidelines for establishing the base schedule while
others do not. Our irrigation system primarily focuses on the second set of conditions to carry
out the irrigation process, and a weather station is installed to carry out the irrigation process
according to the first set of parameters. On combining the first two parameters sets in our
system we can aim for a high degree of accuracy in the irrigation process.
In our project, a completely functional weather station is maintained onsite. In real world
conditions, since the weather generally does not vary much over a large area, we can say it is
sufficient to maintain one weather station for say, a cluster of villages.
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Further, to incorporate the weather characteristics, the ET Equation used, also known as the
Penman-Monteith Equation, is as follows:
Where,
ETo = daily reference ET [mm/day], for longer periods 900 becomes 37
T = air temperature at 2 m high [°C]
VPD = vapor pressure deficit [kPa]
u2 = wind speed at 2 m high [m/s] = 2 m/s
Rn = net radiation at the crop surface [MJ m-2 d-1]
Δ = slope vapour pressure curve [kPa °C^-1]
γ = psychometric constant [kPa °C^-1]
G = soil heat flux density [MJ m^-2 d^-1]
Each of these parameters can be further calculated as follows:
Temperature (T):
The weather station records the temperature at regular intervals, In a given day, we should
take the average of the minimum and maximum temperatures to get the value of T.
Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD):

The following 4 Equations Give the calculation of vapour pressure deficit.
1.
2.
3.
4.
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In the four equations, Tmax and Tmin are recorded directly from the weather station, so is the
Relative Humidity RH. From these parameters we can calculate VPD.
Net Solar Radiation (Rn):

This parameter is directly recorded by the weather station. Take the average of the maximum
and minimum recorded values.
Wind Speed (u2):

Wind speed is calculated as follows:
Where:
y = height of instrument above ground [m]
uy = measured wind speed at y meters above ground level [m/s]
u2 = wind speed at 2 m above ground [m/s].
Slope Vapor Pressure Curve (Δ):

Slope Vapor Pressure Curve is given as:
T is the mean temperature.
Psychometric Constant (γ):

Psychometric constant is calculated by these two equations:
1.
2.
Here, P is the calculation of the atmospheric pressure in KPa.

Z is the elevation above the sea level in meters.
Soil Heat Flux Density (G):

Can be ignored for now, take it as 0.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE SURVEY
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under

the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare, Government of India. ICAR is the authority when it comes to all aspects of
agricultural research and control in India. Most of the data presented and explained in the
previous section is defined or set by the ICAR after doing extensive research and experiments
as well as collaborating with international agencies and conforming to international
standards.
Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was established on 16 July

1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in pursuance of the
report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture. The ICAR has its headquarters at New
Delhi. The Council is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and
education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire
country. With 101 ICAR institutes and 71 agricultural universities spread across the country
this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world. The ICAR has played a
pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequent developments in agriculture in
India through its research and technology development that has enabled the country to
increase the production of food grains by 5.4 times, horticultural crops by 10.1 times, fish by
15.2 times, milk 9.7 times and eggs 48.1 times since 1951 to 2017, thus making a visible
impact on the national food and nutritional security. It has played a major role in promoting
excellence in higher education in agriculture. It is engaged in cutting edge areas of science
and technology development and its scientists are internationally acknowledged in their
fields.
To note the developments in Smart Irrigation Systems throughout time, we first look at G.
Vellidis, who in 2007 presented a real-time wireless smart sensor array for scheduling
irrigation. A prototype real-time, smart sensor array for measuring soil moisture and soil
temperature that uses off-the-shelf components was developed and evaluated for scheduling
irrigation in cotton. The array consists of a centrally located receiver connected to a laptop
computer and multiple sensor nodes installed in the field. The sensor nodes consist of
sensors, a specially designed circuit board, and a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag
which transmits data to the receiver. The smart sensor array described offers real potential for
reliably monitoring spatially variable soil water status in crop fields. This paper describes the
smart sensor array and testing in a cotton crop. Integration of the sensors with precision
irrigation technologies will provide a closed loop irrigation system where inputs from the
smart sensor array will determine timing and amounts for real-time site-specific irrigation
applications.
Yunseop (James) Kim, in 2008, presented Remote Sensing and Control of an Irrigation
System Using a Distributed Wireless Sensor Network where it describes details of the design
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and instrumentation of variable rate irrigation, a wireless sensor network, and software for
real-time in-field sensing irrigation system. Field conditions were site-specifically monitored
by six in-field sensor stations distributed across the field based on a soil property map, and
periodically sampled and wirelessly transmitted to a base station. Communication signals
from the sensor network and irrigation controller to the base station were interfaced using
Bluetooth wireless radio communication. While this was a great initiation in the development
of Smart Irrigation, the major disadvantage was that the total cost of Bluetooth wireless
modules used in this paper for the in-field WSN was approximately $1000.
Zhang Feng, in 2012, presented his research paper on water-saving irrigation automatic
control system based on Internet of things. To enhance Irrigation system water utilize
productivity, lessen cost of water system water, this paper talked about the outline of remote
sensor system and Internet innovation of farmland programmed water system control
technique. Accentuation on an examination of the directing convention of sensor system hubs
to accomplish the framework equipment and programming outline, middleware, and
applications, for example, cell phone or remote PDA of web of things, will constitute an
assortment of sensors astute system, in this manner improving the general robotization
framework and observing levels. The last investigation of the system in the Internet in light of
the rural plants of farmland water-sparing water system framework coordinated approach.
Client utilize cell phones or remote PDA can without much of a stretch soil dampness
substance of web based checking and control to understand the water system mechanization.
Kay Smarsly, in 2013, presented Agricultural ecosystem monitoring based on autonomous

sensor systems where the prototype monitoring system consists of a number of intelligent
wireless sensor nodes that are distributed in the observed environment. The sensor nodes are
connected to an Internet-enabled computer system, which is installed on site for
disseminating relevant soil information and providing remote access to the monitoring
system.
Ahmed Hussein Abbas, Maya Medhat Mohammed presented a Smart Watering System for
Gardens using Wireless Sensor Network. This paper discusses the usage of wireless sensor
networks in irrigation control by a smart watering system in which the irrigation process is
controlled by valves. The application of wireless soil-moisture sensor networks to detect
water content in the soil can utilize water resources very efficiently. Water requirements
depend on the type of plants and the soil as well as the season. A study has been made on the
clay soil to observe its behavior and its different characteristics. By this study the time of
excitation of the sensor could be known and the period of irrigation could be detected. This
will be more efficient in terms of the time in which the sensor will be excited and the quantity
of water that will be used.
Nattapol Kaewmard, Saiyan Saiyod in 2014 presented Sensor Data Collection and Irrigation
Control on Vegetable Crop Using Smart Phone and Wireless Sensor Networks for Smart
Farm. The exploration objective is to give a long haul reasonable answer for mechanization
of agribusiness. Agribusiness computerization has a few techniques to get information from
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vegetable products like sensors for ecological estimation. In this way, the framework built up
a convenient estimation innovation including soil dampness sensor, air stickiness sensor and
air temperature sensor. Also, a water system framework utilizing remote sensor arrangement
has introduced these sensors, with the reason for gathering the earth information and
controlling the water system framework by means of advanced cells. The reason for the
examination is to discover better methods for controlling a water system framework with
programmed framework and manual control by advanced mobile phone. So as to control a
water system framework, a framework was created the specialized techniques of the remote
sensor arrange for gathered environment information and sending control order to turn on/off
water system framework.
Konstantinos X. Soulis in 2015 investigated the effects of soil moisture sensors positioning
and accuracy on soil moisture based drip irrigation scheduling systems. This study
investigates how soil moisture sensors positioning and accuracy may affect the performance
of soil moisture based surface drip irrigation scheduling systems under various conditions.
For this purpose several numerical experiments were carried out using a mathematical model,
incorporating a system-dependent boundary condition in order to simulate soil moisture
based irrigation scheduling systems. The results of this study provided clear evidence that soil
moisture sensors positioning and accuracy may considerably affect irrigation efficiency in
soil moisture based drip irrigation scheduling systems.
If we want to look at the present state of development of Smart Irrigation Systems, The KBL
(Kirloskar Brothers Limited) Irrigation sector provides fluid handling solutions for Irrigation
schemes and also offers best suitable pumps and valves for irrigation. KBL fluid handling
solutions help many countries and states to achieve food sufficiency. The Irrigation sector
closely works with National and State Irrigation Departments. The Irrigation sector has
executed many projects in India and abroad. The KBL irrigation strength lies in project
management from "Concept to commissioning". The irrigation sector has dedicated team of
engineers and experts from Hydraulics and Project management.
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CHAPTER 3: PROBLEM ANALYSIS
3.1 Problem Definition
Many of the farmers don’t have knowledge about the amount of average water needed to
yield the crop. This is one of the causes for variable crop yield. If distance between the home
and the field is more, it is difficult to travel for just irrigating the land and monitoring its
moisture content. It is not possible to continuously monitor the irrigation process; it is a waste
of time.
The first and foremost common problem in irrigation is that we do not know the answer for
simple questions like “When do I water?” and “How long do I water?” Starting an irrigation
cycle too early and running an irrigation cycle too long is said to be over watering. This
practice wastes water and money and overwatering can cause crop damage if this practice is
repeated for a long time. Similarly, starting an irrigation cycle too late or not running the
system for a long enough period of time is considered under watering and can cause reduced
yields and poor crop quality which can affect price.
As the crop grows the root goes deeper into the soil. Monitoring the moisture content in depth
is difficult. We just supply water to the field to keep it wet but if the plant is quite big its root
which is in depth will not get sufficient water this causes crop damage and poor yielding. In
some fields the surface soil absorbs the water quickly and always looks like a dry land. But
the moisture will be there in the soil under that. In this situation it is difficult to know about
the moisture content in the soil. And watering more also affects the crop.
Another problem we face with respect to irrigation is that we irrigate the fields without
knowing about the climatic conditions in that area. This can also have adverse effects on the
crop yield, since after some time if there is rain then the water which we used in irrigation is
wasted and also this reduces the crop yield by supplying more water to the roots. So, it is also
important to continuously monitor the weather conditions.
3.2 Proposed Solution
THE PROBLEM OF WATER SUPPLY:
In order to tackle the problem of when to supply water to the crops, we install soil moisture
sensors in the ground in the root zone of the plants. For this purpose, we have chosen the
VH400 soil moisture sensor. Since it is not reliable to depend on a single sensor’s reading, we
plan to use 2 sensors, one installed at a depth of d/4 in the soil and one at a depth of d/2 in the
soil, where‘d’ is the root depth. This installation of sensors this way is shown below:
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Figure 7: Sensor Placement in Soil
One more important parameter to consider while placing the soil sensors is the optimal
placement of these sensors. Soil moisture sensors are very costly, ranging from Rs.4,500
when purchased individually and around Rs.3,000 when purchased in bulk. Obviously, one
cannot place sensors at each plant. There has to be some way to optimally place the sensors
so as to optimise the cost. So, what is the best way to place the sensors in a field so as to
minimize the cost of installation?
The two important characteristics to consider while considering the optimal placement of
sensors are as follows:
● The Soil Profile
● The Types Of Crops Planted
These two can be explained better from the figure below.
Figure 8: Optimal Sensor Placement
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The scenario on the left explains the soil profile. To evaluate the soil profile of a given piece
of land, we can take samples of soil at different points on the field. The figure on the left
shows a scenario where five samples are taken at different points in the field. Two cases arise
here, as follows:
If all the soil samples are found to be the same, then placing sensors at one or two points in
the field is more than enough. However, if the soil samples are found to be different, as
shown in the figure above, then we need to place one or two sensors wherever the soil profile
has changed.
The second scenario is when different crops are planted on the same field. In this case, we
need to place one or two sensors wherever the crop changes. However, generally, the two
factors coincide and the optimal placement of sensors is interplay between the soil profile and
the types of crops planted.
Further specifications and implementation details of the Soil Moisture Sensors are explained
in the Methodology and implementation chapter.
THE PROBLEM OF WEATHER MONITORING:
As mentioned earlier, monitoring the weather conditions is also important to the irrigation
process, if there is rain then the water which we used in irrigation is wasted and also this
reduces the crop yield by supplying more water to the roots. So, it is also important to
continuously monitor the weather conditions. For the purpose of this project, we plan to
monitor the temperature (in degrees Celsius), humidity, UV Index, Amount of Rainfall (in
millimetres/hour), Wind Speed and Wind Direction (in kilometres/hour).
For these purposes, we use Davis Weather Station, which looks like a pedestal and contains
the sensors to measure the required parameters. What comes with the Weather Station is a
Vantage Pro 2 Console, which is a full-featured backlit LED console which is used to display
the data from the Davis Weather Station. Further information about the weather station as
well as the Vantage Pro console is explained in the Methodology and Implementation
Chapter.
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CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION
In this section we discuss the overall project implementation block diagram and the complete
flow of the project, as well as the implementation with respect to the soil moisture sensors,
the weather station and the LPC1768 microcontroller.
4.1 Implementation Block Diagram
Figure 9: Implementation Block Diagram
The implementation overview is as shown as above. The LPC1768 Microcontroller is at the

heart of things, and it is the one to which all the different components are interfaced. The
diagram shows the interface of the soil moisture sensors on the bottom of the figure, while
the right hand side of the figure shows the interface of the weather station to the
microcontroller board through the display console and it also shows the interface of solenoid
valve through a relay. The left hand side of the figure shows the implementation of sending
the data to the IOT website, which is yet to be implemented as of now but is a future must to
have feature as a part of the smart irrigation system.
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4.2 Project Flow
We have completed the different stages of the project as shown in the flowchart below:
Figure 10: Project Flow
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4.3 LPC1768 And BMS-IOT Box
The LPC176x/5x is an ARM Cortex-M3 based microcontroller for embedded applications

requiring a high level of integration and low power dissipation. The ARM Cortex-M3 is a
next generation core that offers system enhancements such as modernized debug features and
a higher level of support block integration.
High speed versions (LPC1769 and LPC1759) operate at up to a 120 MHz CPU frequency.
Other versions operate at up to a 100 MHz CPU frequency. The ARM Cortex-M3 CPU
incorporates a 3-stage pipeline and uses Harvard architecture with separate local instruction
and data buses as well as a third bus for peripherals. The ARM Cortex-M3 CPU also includes
an internal prefetch unit that supports speculative branches.
The peripheral complement of the LPC176x/5x includes up to 512 kB of flash memory, up to

64 kB of data memory, Ethernet MAC, a USB interface that can be configured as either Host,
Device, or OTG, 8 channel general purpose DMA controller, 4 UARTs, 2 CAN channels, 2
SSP controllers, SPI interface, 3 I2C interfaces, 2-input plus 2-output I2S interface, 8 channel
12-bit ADC, 10-bit DAC, motor control PWM, Quadrature Encoder interface, 4 general
purpose timers, 6-output general purpose PWM, ultra-low power RTC with separate battery
supply, and up to 70 general purpose I/O pins.
The LPC1768 has numerous features which make it the desirable choice for our project.
However, we do not wish to run through the entire list of specifications for the
microcontroller. Instead, we present a block diagram of the BMS-IOT Box which is built
based on the LPC1768 microcontroller, and serves as the heart of our hardware, since all the
components are interfaced to this IOT Box.
Figure 11: Block Diagram of the BMS-IOT Box
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4.4 Weather Station
Vantage Pro2 is an Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) containing rain collector, temperature and
humidity sensors, anemometer, UV, and solar radiation sensors in one package. It is a
customizable station with a wide range of options and sensors to help us to measure, monitor,
and manage weather data. The stations are designed to withstand scorching sun, corrosion, up
to 200 mph (321 kmph) winds, temperature extremes, and more. It provides the highest level
of accuracy, reliability and ruggedness. Vantage Pro2 station includes a console and a
versatile sensor suite that can be customized by adding consoles or special-purpose options.
The anemometer can be attached separately from the rain collector. One can easily get their
own local forecast, highs/lows, totals or averages and graphs for virtually all weather
variables over the past 24 days, months or years all without using a PC.
Figure 12: Davis Weather Station and Display Console

The reasons for choosing the Davis Weather Station and Vantage Pro2 Console are as
follows:
● Rugged and flexible, it offers reliable weather data even under the extreme climates.
● It has a dependable data transmission. The wireless version of Vantage Pro2 solar-
powered transmitter with battery backup is used to keep your data flowing. The
frequency-hopping spread spectrum Vantage Pro2 radio can transmits and receives
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data up to 1,000 ft. (300 m) line-of-sight. The cabled version transmits data using
cable.
● It is available in both wireless and wired versions.
● Vantage Pro2 also offers 12-hour advance weather forecasts as well as 24- to 48-hour
advance forecast ticker-tape.
● One can also view and store data on their computer or online.
The specifications of the VantagePro2 Console are as listed in the figure below:
Figure 13: VantagePro2 Console Specifications
Vantage Pro2 is an easy installation device and can be set up using the manual from Davis
instruments. Vantage Pro2 Console can also be set up using their manual. Vantage Pro2
Console is a LCD display system for Vantage Pro2. Time, longitude, latitude, baud rate (For
wired transmission only) and many other fields can be updated. Once the setup is complete,
one should long press the DONE button. If Vantage Pro2 is connected to the console, the
console starts reading data from sensors.
The console has inbuilt temperature, humidity and pressure sensors whose readings are
displayed even without Vantage Pro2. The sensors can be calibrated if there is any error in
the sensor data. The sensor data is updated every 2.5 seconds. The console also has an option
to set alarm with respect to both time and sensor values. The data received from the weather
station are stored in the WeatherLink data logger present inside the Console. We can also get
the graphical representation of sensor data in order to get variation of certain parameters over
time.
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Figure 14: Different components in the Davis Weather Station
The console with a WeatherLink data logger has following 3 types of memory:
● 132 KB archive memory, which can store up to 2560 archive records.

● 4KB EEPROM memory, which is used for calibration numbers, station
latitude/longitude/elevation/time zone values, transmitter configuration, and Console
graph points
● 4KB of processor memory, which is used in storing the current sensor data, today’s
high/low values, and other real-time values.
Figure 15: Vantage Pro2 Console Display Details
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Sample Interval Capacity of logger in time
1 minute 1 day and 20 hours
5 minutes 8 days and 21 hours
1 hour 106 days and 16 hours
2 hours 213 days and 8 hours
Table 1: Capacity of data logger
SERIAL COMMUNICATION WITH CONSOLE:

Data from loggers can also be viewed in computer or laptop using WeatherLink software.
The data logger is connected to the computer using an adapter for wired communication. The
data is sent as packets through serial communication. The serial communication has 8 data
bits, one start and one stop bit. There are no parity bits. Default baud rate is set to 19200. The
user can choose any baud rate among 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400, and 19200. For
wireless communication, WeatherLink Live has to be interfaced with vantage pro 2 console.
The WeatherLink software increases the readability of graphs. The data can also be viewed in
tabular format.
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Figure 16: WeatherLink Software
We have used YAT (Engineering, testing and debugging of serial communication) to

establish serial communication between computer and console. There are multiple commands
to communicate with console. Commands are basically ASCII strings. In order to conserve
battery power, the console will be in sleep mode, and will wake up only when required. One
should always perform a wakeup procedure before sending commands to the console. Line
Feed character, ‘\n’ (decimal 10, hex 0x0A) acts as console wake up command. The console
responds with Line Feed and Carriage Return characters (‘\n\r’). The console also responds
with ‘ACK’, ‘NAK’, ‘OK’, ‘DONE’ commands as per the commands sent. The serial
communication can be tested by sending ‘TEST’ to the console. If the console reply with
‘TEST\n’, the serial communication is established, else one should recheck the connections.
There are various other commands like ‘RXCHECK’, ‘RXTEST’, ‘VER’, ‘RECEIVERS’,
etc. in order to test serial communication. There are various testing, downloading, current
data, EEPROM, clearing, calibrating and configuring commands.
The sensor data can be seen through YAT using ‘STRMON’ and ‘STRMOFF’ commands.
The console starts sending data when STRMON command is sent to the console. The data
contains 8 bytes and each byte comes with least significant bit first. The data comes every 2.5
seconds and will stop only if STRMOFF command is sent.
The 8 bytes contain data and can be read as follows:
Byte 0: It is the header. The upper nibble represents the sensor the data is from. Following
are the upper nibble with respect to sensor from which it has been obtained.
2 = Supercap voltage (Vue only)
4 = UV Index
5 = Rain rate
6 = Solar radiation
7 = Solar Cell output
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8 = Temperature
9 = Wind gust
a = Humidity
The Transmitter ID is given by the lowest three bits in the low order nibble. Bit 3 in the low
order nibble of Byte 0 becomes high if the transmitter battery is low else the bit is set to zero.
Byte 1: It gives wind speed in mph. The wind speed is updated in every transmission.
Byte 2: It gives wind direction. It is also updated in every transmission. The Vantage Pro2
uses a potentiometer with a significant dead zone around North. Therefore there are no values
reported between 352 and 8 degrees inclusive. This byte can vary from 1 to 255. This can be
mapped to 1 to 360 degrees as follows
If this byte is 0, wind direction is 360.
Else wind direction is found using formula, 9 + Byte2 * 342 / 255.
Byte 3-5: This depends on the type of sensor data being at that instant.
Message 2 (Supercap voltage): Bytes 3 and 4 represents the Supercap voltage. The Supercap
stands for super capacitor that is used to store excess energy from the ISS solar cell during
the day, which helps to power the console during night. This is very effective in extending the
battery life of the non-rechargeable lithium CR2032.
Message 4 (UV Index): Bytes 3 and 4 represents UV Index. MSB is in Byte 3 and LSB is in
Byte 4. If the third byte is FF, it indicates that there is no sensor present. The UV index can
be calculated as follows:
UVIndex = ((Byte3 << 8) + Byte4) >> 6) / 50.0
Message 5 (Rain Rate): Byte 3 and 4 represents rain rate information. The rate is the time in
seconds between rain bucket tips in the ISS. The rain rate is calculated using the bucket tip
rate and the size of the bucket. The rain rate can be calculated as follows:
If Byte3 == 0xFF, there is no rain.
If (Byte4 && 0x40) == 0, it is light rain.
If (Byte4 && 0x40) == 0x40, it is strong rain
In case of light rain, rainrate [mm/h] = 720 / (((Byte4 && 0x30) / 16 * 250) + Byte3)
In case of strong rain, rainrate [mm/h] = 11520 / (((Byte4 && 0x30) / 16 * 250) + Byte3)
Message 6 (Solar Radiation): Bytes 3 and 4 represents solar radiation. MSB is in Byte 3 and
LSB is in Byte 4. If third byte is FF, it indicates that there is no sensor is present. The Solar
radiation can be calculated as follows:
Solar radiation = (((Byte3 << 8) + Byte4) >> 6) * 1.757936
Message 8 (Temperature): Bytes 3 and 4 represents temperature. Byte 3 is MSB and Byte 4 is
LSB. The temperature in Fahrenheit can be obtained as
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Temperature = ((Byte3 * 256 + Byte4) / 160
Message 9 (Wind Gust Speed): This message transmits the maximum wind speed during the
previous 10 minutes. Byte 3 gives gust.
Message a (Humidity): Bytes 3 and 4 represents humidity as 10 bit value. Bits 5 and 4 in
Byte 4 are the two MSB’s. Humidity can be obtained as
Humidity = (((Byte4 >> 4) << 8) + Byte3) / 10.0
Byte 6-7: This represents CRC of the data.

Consider an example of data received through console:
a0 09 82 83 38 00 6a c9
Byte 0: 0a represents that bytes 3-5 contains information about humidity sensor.
Byte 1: 09 represents wind speed in mph. The wind speed is 9 mph (Hexadecimal to
decimal).
Byte 2: 82 represents wind direction. Here the wind direction is 183⁰ N.
Byte 3-5: Humidity is represented as two bytes in Byte 3 and Byte 4 as a ten bit value. Bits 5
and 4 in Byte 4 are the two most significant bits. Byte 3 is the low order byte. The ten bit
value is then 10x the humidity value displayed on the console. The functions of the four low
order bits in Byte 3 that cause the apparent jitter are not known.
The corresponding humidity value is then
((0x38 >> 4) << 8) + 0x83 = 131 + 768 = 899 = 89.9% relative humidity.
The displayed humidity at the time was 90%.
Sensor data Time between two transmissions
Outside temperature 10 seconds
Wind speed 2.5 seconds
Wind direction 2.5 seconds
Outside humidity 50 seconds
Rain 10 seconds
Solar radiation 50 seconds
UV 50 seconds
Table 2: Sensor data with their update time
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4.5 Soil Sensors
USEFUL DEFINITIONS:
Volumetric Water Content:

To explain it in simple terms, dry soil is composed of solid material and air pockets together
called as pore spaces. A typical volumetric ratio is composed of 55% solid material and 45%
pore space. When water is added to the soil, the pore spaces begin to fill with water. Soil that
seems damp to the touch might have 55% minerals, 35% pore space and 10% water. So this
is an example of 10% volumetric water content. The maximum water content in this scenario
is 45% because at this value, all the available pore spaces would have been filled with water.
This soil is said to be saturated, because at 45% volumetric water content, the soil can hold
no more water.
Time domain reflectometry (TDR):

It determines soil moisture by measuring the transit time of an electromagnetic pulse
transmitted along a parallel metallic probe placed in the soil. The pulse travel time is
proportional to the apparent dielectric constant of the soil which is the basic principle used in
measuring the soil moisture.
TYPES OF SOIL MOISTURE SENSORS:
Tensiometric and volumetric are the two primary sensor types that measure soil moisture.
Tensiometric sensors as the name implies measures the soil moisture tension, or the potential
soil moisture. Tensiometers are responsive to soil properties by measuring how tightly a
particular soil type retains water. Volumetric sensors measure the actual volume of water
contained in the soil. Each technique is explained in detail in the following:
Volumetric Techniques mainly consists of two main sensors:
● Resistive Sensor
● Capacitive Sensor
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Figure 17: Resistive Sensor
Figure 18: Capacitive Sensor
Resistive Sensor:
The working of the sensor: Soil moisture sensor comprises of two conducting plates. First
plate is connected to the +5Volt supply in series resistance of 10K ohm and the second plate
is connected directly to the ground. It functions as a voltage divider bias network, and output
is taken directly from the first terminal of the sensor pin, which is shown in the above figure.
The output will change in the range of 0 – 5 Volt, in proportion with change in content of soil
moisture in the soil. Ideally, when there is zero moisture in soil, the sensor acts as open
circuit and will have infinite resistance. Thus we get 5V at the output.
The resistive sensor consists of two probes which are used to measure the volumetric content
of water. These two probes allow the current to pass through the soil and then it uses the
resistance value to measure the moisture value. When there is abundant water, the soil will
conduct more electricity which means that there will be less resistance. Therefore, the
moisture level will be significantly higher. Dry soil conducts electricity poorly, so when there
is less water, then the soil will conduct less electricity which implies that there will be more
resistance. Therefore, the moisture level will be significantly lower.
Capacitive Sensor:
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The sensor measures the soil moisture levels by measuring the capacitance, rather than
measuring the resistance like other types of moisture sensor. The ability to prevent corrosion
is because it is made of a corrosion resistant material giving it durability and reliability.
Soil moisture content may be determined via its effect on dielectric constant by measuring the
capacitance between two electrodes inserted in the soil. Where soil moisture is predominantly
in the form of free water, the dielectric constant is directly proportional to the moisture
content. The probe is given a frequency excitation to permit measurement of the dielectric
constant. The values from the probe are not linear with water content and are influenced by
soil type and soil temperature. Therefore, careful calibration is required and long-term
stability of the calibration is not assured.
Tensiometric Techniques:
Figure 19: Electronic Tensiometer Probe
The above figure shows an Electronic tensiometer probe, which consists of the following four
main parts, namely (1) porous cup; (2) water-filled tube; (3) sensor-head; and (4) pressure
sensor.
A tensiometer sensor is a measuring instrument used to determine the soil moisture tension in
the vadose zone. This device typically consists of a plastic tube with a porous ceramic cup,
and is filled with water. The top of the tube has either a built-in rubber cap used with a
portable puncture tensiometer instrument, which uses a hollow needle to measure the
pressure inside the tensiometer. The tensiometer is buried in the soil, and a hand pump is used
to create a partial vacuum. As water is pulled out of the soil by plants or by evaporation, the
vacuum inside the tube increases. As water is added to the soil, the vacuum inside the tube
pulls moisture from the soil and vacuum decreases. As the water in the tensiometer is
considered to be in equilibrium with the soil water, the gauge reading of the tensiometer
represents the matric potential of the soil.
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The primary method for measuring capillaric tension in the soil involves the use of the
tensiometer, which directly measures capillaric potential. The main disadvantage of the
tensiometer is that it functions only from zero to about -0.8bar, which represents a small part
of the entire range of available water. The lower moisture limit for the good growth of most
crops is beyond the this range. The use of the tensiometer to schedule irrigation can cause
over-irrigation.
Disadvantages: Limit range of 0 to -0.8bar not sufficient for sandy soil. Difficult to translate
data to volume water content Hysteresis Requires regular maintenance, depending on range
of measurements subject to breakage during installation. Further, automated systems are not
cost effective and not electronically stable. Disturbs soil above measurement point and can
allow infiltration of irrigation water or rainfall along its stem.
Advantages: Cost effective and easily constructed. Works well in the saturated range. Easy to
install and maintain. It can operate for very long periods if properly maintained and cared.It
can be used with positive or negative gauge to read water table elevation and soil water
tension.
SENSORS USED IN PROJECT:
Figure 20: VH400 Sensor used in project
In this project, we have chosen the VH400 Soil Moisture Sensor developed by Vegetronix.
The characteristics and the features of the Probe are as follows:
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● Cost effective.
● Saves water.
● Rugged design for long term use.
● Reliable
● Durable
● Probe does not corrode over time.
● Mechanically Robust
● Accurate and precise measurement.
● Insensitive to salinity.
● Low power for battery operation.
● Rugged design for long term use.
VH400 Soil Moisture Sensor Detail:
The VH400 is a professional electronic soil moisture sensor. It is so sensitive, that it can
measure the moisture present on your hands when you touch its blade.
It is mechanically rugged, it is made up of ABS plastic, and fiberglass. VH400 moisture

sensor is absolutely waterproof and mechanically strong. It can be buried at any depth in the
soil.
VH400 ignores the salt content in the soil. Most other sensors, especially conductivity or
resistance based sensors, are ineffective, because salts and fertilizers found in soil alter or
effect their readings. The VH400 moisture sensor uses TDR to measure the water moisture in
any soil regardless of soil salinity.
The metallic probe will never corrode, or need to be recalibrated.
The thin blades prevent roots from being damaged. The blade of the VH400 soil moisture
sensor is designed to be as slim as possible.
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4.6 Subsystems
4.6.1 SOLENOID VALVE
Solenoids are the most important components used in solenoid valves to control the flow of
fluids such as liquids and gases. Solenoids are electromechanical devices that convert AC or
DC electrical energy into linear motion to control fluid flow. They usually consist of a helical
coil wound concentrically around an armature, made up of ferromagnetic material such as
iron or steel. Most solenoid valves have a replaceable coil and can be used with coils with
different voltages.
Figure 21:Solenoid Valve
When current flows through the coil, using the same basic principles as ordinary
electromagnets it generates a magnetic field inside the coil which attracts the armature
towards the centre of the solenoid. Since the armature is drawn towards the centre of the
solenoid regardless of the polarity of the current, an opposing force is needed to return the
armature into the starting position when the coil is not engaged. This is achieved by using a
spring mechanism. Under ideal conditions, in order to actuate the solenoid, the force
generated by the solenoid must be larger than the combined forces of the spring, and the
hydraulic pressure, as well as friction.
By lifting the armature, a small port in the valve is opened that allows the flow of the media.
The flow through the valve can be controlled by controlling the current flow through the coil.
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4.6.2 REAL TIME CLOCK
A real-time clock (RTC) is a computer clock, usually in the form of an integrated circuit that
is built for keeping time. It keeps track of time in terms of hours, minutes, seconds, months,
days and even years. RTCs can be found running in personal computers, embedded systems
and servers, and are present in any electronic device that may require time keeping
functionality. Being able to still function even when the computer is powered down through a
battery or independently from the system’s main power is fundamental.
Figure 22:RTC Module
RTC ICs regulate time with the use of a crystal oscillator and do not rely on clock signals like
most hardware clocks. Aside from being responsible for the timing function of the system
and its clock, RTC ICs ensure that all processes occurring in the system are appropriately
synchronized. Although some may argue that this is a job for the system clock, the system
clock is actually dependent on the RTC, making the RTC indirectly responsible for
synchronization.
4.6.3 MENU SYSTEM
In order to allow the user to set the values of various soil and plant parameters an indigenous
menu system was developed. The soil parameters that can be set by the user are: field
capacity, permanent wilt point. The plant parameters that can be set by the user are: crop
cycle, root depth, and date of sowing. There is an option to calibrate sensors also.
Buttons assigned to set the values:
There are four buttons on the BMS IOT box. Once the controller is powered on, by pressing
the fourth button on the device, the user can enter the menu.
1-SOIL DATA
2-PLANT DATA
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3-SENSOR CALIBRATION
By pressing the appropriate button the user will be able to set the parameters. User can use
the following buttons to set the parameters:
1-OK
2-INCREMENT
3-DECREMENT
4-BACK
The values can only be increment or decrement in terms of 5 for all the parameters. The
below flow diagram shows the flow of the menu system.
Figure 23:Flow diagram of menu system
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4.7 Working
Once the device is turned on, the user should set various parameters. The soil moisture
sensor wires have been crimped and have given it mechanical stability so that the sensor’s
values are stable. The working of major parts/ functions of the device is as follows:
Soil Moisture Sensors and RTC: The device consists of four VH400 soil moisture sensors.
The four soil moisture sensors should be placed at different depths in the soil considering the
root depth model of the plant. The user enters the sowing date and the crop cycle. Based on
these data, the algorithm calculates the difference between present date and the date of
sowing in terms of days. The root depth model which is implemented in the algorithm
calculates the root depth based on the number of days past after the date of sowing. Based on
the number of days, the algorithm calculates which sensors should be activated. The activated
sensor’s values are taken and their average is calculated. This average value is displayed and
this value is also used to control the solenoid valve.
The present date, year and other time parameters are calculated using the RTC module which
is built in the device itself.
Solenoid valve and relay: The outlet of water is controlled automatically by using the
solenoid valve with the help of relay. The field capacity(FC) and permanent wilt point(PWP)
values are set by the user. By considering the average soil moisture sensor value and
comparing it with the FC and PWP values the algorithm decides whether the water has to be
let out or not. The solenoid valve turns on when the average soil moisture sensor value is less
than available moisture(RAM) and greater than or equal to permanent wilt point(PWP). The
solenoid valve is turned on until the average soil moisture sensor value reaches the field
capacity(FC) value.
The relay is used to drive the solenoid valve based on the switch signals given to it by the
controller device.
Menu System: In order to make a full-fledged irrigation system, the menu system has been
implemented in the device rather than fixing the values in the program. The user can set the
values of various parameters which helps in the functioning of the device.
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4.8 Estimated Bill
COMPONENTS EXPECTED PRICE IN RS

Davis Vantage Pro 2+ Console 60,000
BMS IOT BOX(LPC1768) 10,000
Soil Moisture Sensors 1,000
Solenoid Valve 600
Miscellaneous 4,000
Total 75,600
Table 3: Estimated Bill
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CHAPTER 5: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The proposed work will follow the procedure as follows:
Sensors will determine the moisture level at the Root Zone. The weather station determines
Humidity, Temperature, Wind Speed and Rainfall. Micro controller should get sensor data
per minute. Micro controller should analyse the data, take correct action and record the data.
Soil moisture sensor is a sensor connected to an irrigation system controller that measures
soil moisture content in the active root zone based on the root depth model before each
scheduled irrigation event and bypasses the cycle if soil moisture is above the user defined set
point.
Once the irrigation starts, the microcontroller will request data from the corresponding
sensor. When threshold moisture level is reached, it will record the data and stop the
irrigation. Stored data will be sent to the central server using GSM.
With the use of this technique we can reduce water consumption. It can be set to lower and
upper thresholds to maintain optimum soil moisture saturation and minimize plant wilting. It
can contribute to deeper plant root growth, reduced soil runoff/leaching, less favourable
conditions for insects and fungal disease. It is also possible to control the nutrition levels in
their entirety thus, lower nutrition costs. No nutrition pollution is released into the
environment because of the controlled system. Hence will save great amounts of irrigation
water, and will have stronger and healthier plants with stable and high yields.
Below are the pictures of the different implementation phases of the Smart Irrigation System:
STAGE 1: Interfacing Weather Station and BMS-IOT Box to the Smart Irrigation System.
(Done During Project for Community Service – 7th Semester)
Figure 24: Soil Moisture Sensor data displayed on the BMS-IOT Box
Page | 45
Figure 25: Weather data display on the VantagePro2 Console
Figure 26: Complete Smart Irrigation setup with all components (Clockwise) – Weather station, Soil
bucket, BMS-IOT Box, VantagePro2 Console
Page | 46
STAGE 2: Developing Additional Functionality to the Smart Irrigation System to make the
process smoother. (Done Parallelly with Stage 3 – 8th Semester)
Figure 27: Implementation of Root Depth Model Algorithm
Figure 28: Solenoid Valve Implementation
Page | 47
Figure 29: Menu System Implementation, to set the Soil or Plant Characteristics
STAGE 3: Initial Field Plan and Setup (Done Parallelly with Stage 2 – 8th Semester)
Figure 30: Field Plan for Smart Irrigation System Implementation
Page | 48
Figure 31: Top View of the Field – Plan
Figure 32: Place where implementation will be carried out
STAGE 4: Complete Smart Irrigation Setup in the Field (Final Stage)
Page | 49
Figure 33: Solar Panel setup in the field to power the BMS-IOT Box
Figure 34: All the components, Weather Station, Vantage-Pro Weather Console BMS-IOT Box, and
Soil Sensors, placed in the field.
Figure 35: Closer view of the Vantage-Pro Weather Console and BMS-IOT Box working on the field.
Page | 50
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
The system describes the design, optimization and development of a practical application to
optimize water resources in irrigated agriculture by low-cost wireless system to monitor soil
water status and the irrigation water and to increase the yield. The system designed is not
only limited to the present functionality, but can be further can be extended for more
customized functionality like smart home gardening system. It is concluded that the sensor
nodes are of great help to reach the desired moisture conditions at the different depths and to
maintain soil moisture level of the soil at the desired value, thus contributing to the ability to
adapt the irrigation strategy developed.
The wastage of water has been reduced by adopting weather data into the system. While it
was known that weather affects plants in many obvious ways, we found out that weather
affects plants in ways we may not realize. While a tree snapped by a gust of wind is easy to
associate with the event, large trees may not show the effects of drought until several years
later. In addition to any direct effects, weather-related stress can make plants more
susceptible to disease and insect problems. Weather is whatever is happening now -
precipitation, temperature, wind, sun, and humidity. It is not the same as climate, which is
historical weather or the average of weather conditions over a long period of time. Climate
determines what will probably grow well in your area, but plants can still be damaged or
killed by extreme weather.
While we have no control over the weather, in some cases we can try to design and maintain
the garden to minimize the negative effects of weather on our plants. Thus, weather
conditions should also be monitored to have better yield of plant and reducing water wastage
problems.
6.1 Advantages Of Smart Irrigation:
● Increased Production
Optimized crop treatment such as accurate planting, watering, pesticide application
and harvesting directly affects production rates.
● Water Conservation
Weather predictions and soil moisture sensors allow for water use only when and
where needed.
● Real-Time Data and Production Insight

Farmers can visualize production levels, soil moisture, sunlight intensity and more in
real time and remotely to accelerate decision making.
Page | 51
● Lowered Operation Costs

Automating processes in planting, treatment and harvesting can reduce resource
consumption, human error and overall cost.
● Increased Quality of Production

Analysing production quality and results in correlation to treatment can teach farmers
to adjust processes to increase quality of the product.
● Accurate Farm and Field Evaluation

Accurately tracking production rates by field over time allows for detailed predicting
of future crop yield and value of a farm.
● Reduced Environmental Footprint

All conservation efforts such as water usage and increased production per land unit
directly affect the environmental footprint positively.
● Remote Monitoring
Local and commercial farmers can monitor multiple fields in multiple locations
around the globe from an internet connection. Decisions can be made in real-time and
from anywhere.
● Equipment Monitoring
Farming equipment can be monitored and maintained according to production rates,
labour effectiveness and failure prediction.
6.2 Future Work
All the necessary components to implement a Smart Irrigation System has been successfully
implemented on the field. With this, we have a functional setup to implement Smart
Irrigation. Some of the future works that can be performed are as follows:
● So far, we have the weather station set up and functioning properly, recording all the
necessary parameters. However, our irrigation system is still based on scheduling
irrigation based on the soil moisture content. From the Penman-Monteith for
Evaporation Transpiration discussed in the introduction, we can incorporate weather
parameters into our irrigation system and aim for a high degree of accuracy.
● It’s now time to actually grow a crop completely using this irrigation system. Some
suggestions are growing Beans, Brinjal, Tomato, etc. as they can be grown quickly, in
a month or two.
Page | 52
CHAPTER 7: BIBLIOGRAPHY
Papers:
[1]. Muhammad Umair, Automation of Irrigation System Using ANN based Controller,
International Journal of Electrical & Computer Sciences IJECS-IJENS Vol: 10 No:
02, 104602-5757 IJECS-IJENS © April 2010 IJENS.
[2]. SANJUKUMAR, “Advance Technique for Soil Moisture Content Based Automatic
Motor Pumping for Agriculture Land Purpose”, International Journal of VLSI and
Embedded Systems-IJVES, Vol 04, Article 09149; September 2013.
[3]. J. Gutiérrez, J. F. Villa-Medina, A. Nieto-Garibay and M. Á. Porta - Gándara,
"Automated Irrigation System Using a Wireless Sensor Network and GPRS Module,"
in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 166-
176, Jan. 2014.
[4]. Pranitha Bhosale, V.V.Dixit2,” “Agricon”-Weather Monitoring System and Irrigation
Controller” IOSR Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering
(IOSRJECE) ISSN : 2278-2834 Volume 1, Issue 6 (July-Aug 2012), PP 05-11
[5]. Kumar A, Fernando, S., Panicker, R.C., “Project-Based Learning in Embedded
Systems Education Using an FPGA Platform” Education, IEEE Transactions on, vol.
56, Issue. 4 , nov – 2013, pp. 407 – 415
Webpages:
1. https://www.davisinstruments.com/product_documents/weather/manuals/07395-
249_IM_06152.pdf
2. https://www.davisinstruments.com/product_documents/weather/manuals/07395-
234_IM_06312.pdf
3. https://www.davisinstruments.com/support/weather/download/VantageSerialProtocol
Docs_v261.pdf
4. https://github.com/dekay/DavisRFM69/wiki/Message-Protocol
5. https://icar.org.in/content/about-us
6. http://www.kirloskarpumps.com/business-vertical-irrigation.aspx
Books:
1. Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) Manual
2. Davis Instruments Manual
Page | 53
CHAPTER 8: PLAGIARISM REPORT
Search operation #1
Source text
PROJECT REPORT
ON
"SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM"
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
the partial completion of MAJOR PROJECT
[16EC8DCMPJ]IN
SUBMITTED BY:
Nitesh
M S1BM16EC003
Nitish
N1BM16EC073
Prajwal
Vishwanath1BM16EC080
Varun K V Ithal
1BM16EC118
Mr.
Harish V Mekali(Assistant Professor, ECE, BMSCE)
January
- May 2020Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
(Autonomous College Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum)Bull Temple
Road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore-560019DECLARATION
We undersigned students of final semester B.E in Electronics and Communication Engineering, BMS
College of Engineering, Bangalore, hereby declare that the dissertation entitled "SMART IRRIGATION
SYSTEM", embodies the report of my project work carried out i
ndependently by us under the guidance of Mr. Harish V. Mekali, Assistant Professor, E&C
Department, BMSCE, Bangalore in partial fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in
Electronics and Communication from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum during the
academic year 2019-2020.We also declare that to the best of our knowledge and belief, this project
has not been submitted for the award of any other degree on earlier occasion by any student.
Place: Bangalore
Date: Nit
esh M S 1BM16EC003Nitish
N 1BM16EC073 </
(Autonomous College under VTU)
Department of Elec
tronics and Communication EngineeringCERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled "SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM" is a bonafide work carried
out by Nitesh M S (USN:1BM16EC003), Nitish N (USN:1BM16EC073) Prajwal Vishwanath (USN:
1BM16EC080) and Varun K V Ithal (USN:1BM16EC118) in partial fulfillment for the partial
completion of MAJOR PROJECT[16EC8DCMPJ] during the academic year 2019-2020.Mr.
J Dinesh Reddy </w:t
Signature with date:1.
2.
DEDICATION
This Work Is Dedicated To All The Farmers Of The NationABSTRACT
India is an agriculture based country. Ancient people were completely dependent on the agricultural
harvesting. Agriculture is a source of livelihood of majority Indians and has a great impact on the
economy of the country. In dry areas or in case of inade
quate rainfall, irrigation is a challenging problem. So, it needs to be automated for maximum yield
and handled remotely. Increasing energy costs and decreasing water supplies demands the need for
better water management. Irrigation management involves a complex decision making process to
determine when and how much water to apply to a growing crop to meet specific management
objectives. So, efficient water management plays a critical role in the irrigated agricultural cropping
systems. A low cost alternative solution for efficient water management which is currently in use is
drip irrigation system.In this project, we are going to devise a product which controls the moisture
level of soil in the roots of the crop so as to supply required water to the crop
automatically based on the moisture level of the soil and also by applying the virtual water concept,
which will result in maximum yield of the crop. Specifically, four moisture sensors at different root
depths are used to measure the moisture content in the root of crop at different levels, and this data
is sent to our website and so that we can monitor the growth of crop remotely through a data
visualization platform (website) and also to keep a documentation on growth of crop. Based on the
moisture content of the crop we water the crops if the moisture content drops below a defined
minimum and stop watering the crops when the moisture content goes above the defined maximum
values.We also interface a weather station to our product, which will monitor th
e different weather parameters such as Wind Speed and Direction, Temperature, Humidity, Rainfall
and UV Index. These parameters are tracked continuously and are also updated to a website to
generate datasets which can be used for weather prediction in the future. These datasets can also
be fed to the Evaporation Transpiration (ET) equation to measure the quantity of moisture that is
both transpired by a plant and evaporated from the soil and plant surfaces.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any achievement, be it schola
stic or otherwise does not depend solely on the individual efforts but on the guidance,
encouragement and cooperation of intellectuals, elders and friends. A number of personalities, in
their own capacities have helped us in carrying out this project work. We would like to take this
opportunity to thank them all. </w:p><w
We express profound gratitude to respected principal Dr. B. V. Ravishankar, BMS College of
Engineering for providing a congenial environment to work in. Our sincere gratitude to Dr. Arathi R
Shankar, Head of the Department, Electronics and Communication Engineering for encouraging and
providing this opportunity to carry out the project in the department.We would like to thank our
guide Mr. Harish V. Mekali, Assistant Professor, Department of ECE who helped us in all the ways to
carry out the project work. He stood beside and guided us in every step.We will be incomplete, if we
don't mention our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Rajath B, Research Assistant, Robotics Lab, BMSCE and
Kamlesh C Muddi, B-Tech, ECE, BMSCE who helped us in all the ways to carry out the project
work.We would like to share the joy completing the project to all the team members of NGX
Semiconductors. We thank all our professors for providing the basic knowledge without which this
project wouldn't have been possible. Last but not the least we thank our family and friends, who
made their valuable support compelled us to maintain a standard throughout our endeavour.-
Nitesh
M S </wNitish
N Prajwal
VishwanathVarun K V Ithal
LIST OF FIGURES:
Figure 1: Percentage of irrigation in the world
09Figure 2: Field Capacity and Permanent wilting point for different types of soil
12Figure 3: Soil Characteristics
13Figure 4: Watering Cycles
14Figure 5: Different stages of growth of a plant
14Figure 6: The Linear Root Depth Mode
l15Figure 7: Sensor Placement in Soil
23Figure 8: Optimal Sensor Placement
23Figure 9: Implementation Block Diagram
25Figure 10: Project Flow
26Figure 11: Block Diagram of the BMS-IOT Box
27Figure 12: Davis Weather Station and Display Console
28Figure 13: VantagePro2 Console Specifications
29Figure 14: Different components in the Davis Weather Station
30Figure 15: Vantage Pro2 Console Display Details
30Figure 16: WeatherLink Software31Figure 17: Resistive Sensor
35Figure 18: Capacitive Sensor
36Figure 19: Electronic Tensiometer Probe37Figure 20: VH400 Sensor used in project38Figure 21:
Solenoid Valve
40Figure 22: RTC Module
41Figure 23: Menu System
42Figure 24: Soil Moisture Sensor data displayed on the BMS-IOT Box
45Figure 25: Weather data display on the VantagePro2 Console
46Figure 26: Complete Smart Irrigation setup with all c
omponents46Figure 27: Implementation of Root Depth Model Algorithm
47Figure 28: Solenoid Valve Implementation
47Figure 29: Menu System Implementation, to set the Soil or Plant Characteristics
48Figure 30: Field Plan for Smart Irrigation System Implementation49Figure 31: Top View of the field
49Figure 32: Place where implementation will be carried out
49Figure 33: Solar Panel setup in the field to power the BMS-IOT Box
49Figure 34: All the components placed in the fiel
d50Figure 35: Closer view of the Weather Console and BMS-IOT Box working on the field
50LIST OF TABLES:
31Table 2: Sensor data with their update time
34Table 3: Estimated Bill
44CONTENTS
TOPIC
PAGE NOChapter 1: Introduction
09Introduction
09Smart Irrigation Concepts
10Chapter 2: Literature Survey
19Chapter 3: Problem Analysis
223.1 Problem Definition
223.2 Proposed Solution
22Chapter 4: Methodology And Implementation254.1 Implementation Block Diagram
254.2 Project Flow
264.3 LPC1768 and BMS-IOT Box
274.4 Weather Station
284.5 Soil Sensors
35 4.6 Subsystems</w:r
404.7 Working
434.8 Estimated Bill
44Chapter 5: Results And Discussion45Chapter 6: Conclusion And Future Work516.1 Advantages of
Smart Irrigation
516.2 Future Work
52Chapter 7: References
53CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Agriculture is one of the most basic, yet one of the most important occupations in the world. India is
basically an agrarian society where around 60 percent of land area is cultivated for agriculture and
about 50 per
cent of the population directly or indirectly depends on agriculture for their livelihood.Agriculture
needs water in huge amounts. It is the most water consuming industry. More water will be needed
to produce more food to meet the future demand. But increasing competition for water and
inefficient irrigation practices constrains future food pro
duction. 70% of water is used for Agriculture while 22% for industrial use and 8% for domestic
purpose. In many developing nations irrigation requires over 90% of water withdrawn from available
sources for use. When we look for efficient irrigation methods, Drip Irrigation is the most efficient,
followed by Sprinkler Irrigation, and the least efficient method is Surface Irrigation. However, 94% of
the application methods of irrigation water at field level currently are of the category of surface
irrigation, wherein the water is spread over the field by gravity.Figure 1: Percentage of irrigation in
the world
Agriculture in India is mostly dependent on monsoon and Groundwater resources. Still two-thirds of
the net sown area (land on which cultivation is d
one at least once a year) is dependent on rainwater, mostly during the four monsoon months.
However, rainfall in India is notoriously capricious, causing floods and droughts alternately. Its
distribution and amount are not in accordance with the needs of the crops. India has a population as
much as 15% of the world's population but has only about 4% of the world's fresh water resources.
Much of these are unevenly distributed. Average annual rainfall in India is about 1,170 mm, which
corresponds to an annu
al precipitation including snowfall of 4,000 billion cubic meters (BCM). Nearly 75% of this (3000BCM)
occurs during the monsoon season, confined only to 3-4 months (June to September) a year.
According to the Planning Commission, India has so far created a total of about 225BCM of surface
storage capacity. However, per capita storage capacity in India is very low at 190 cubic meters. If we
compare this data to other developed countries, we find the per capita storage capacity to be
5,961BCM in USA, 4,717BCM in Australia, 3,388BCM in Brazil, and 2,486BCM in China. Though the
average water availability in India remains more or less constant according to the natural hydraulic
cycle, per capita availability is reducing progressively owing to the increasing population. In 1990,
the average figure was around 2,200 cubic meters. In 2015, the figure was 1829 cubic meters, which
may further go down to about 1340 cubic meters and 1140 cubic meters a year by 2025 and 2050
respectively. The situation in some of the river basins is worrisome. According to international
agencies, any country with per capita water availability of less than 1700 cubic meters is considered
'water stressed' and those with per capita water availability less than 1000 cubic meters is
considered 'water scarce'. Already six river basins of the country fall into the water scarce category,
and five more basins are likely to be 'water scarce' during 2025-50. Only 3-4 basins will be 'water
sufficient'. Water availability both in quality and quantity has been on the decline over the past 3-4
decades because of gross mismanagement.Smart Irrigation Concepts
While implementing a smart irrigation system, it is necessary to take into consideration two
important characteristics. They are:
Soil Characteristics
Plant Characteristics
Weather Characteristics
The Soil Characteristics include four main properties of the soil, namely Field Capacity, Permanent
Wilting Point, Available Moisture and Readily Available Moisture. For a given type of soil, these
properties are fixed. In this project setup, we are experi
menting with Red Soil.The Plant Characteristics include properties such as crop period and different
growth stages and their duration in days. The crop period for greens is generally 60 days, while for
rice, wheat, and other grains it can vary from 90-12
0 days. Generally, most crops have crop duration between 60-120 days. There are some exceptions
to this rule though, such as sugarcane, which has a crop period ranging from 12-18 months.The
weather characteristics are the different weather parameters suc
h as Wind Speed and Direction, Temperature, Humidity, Rainfall and UV Index. The weather
parameters need to be monitored continuously and can be used for weather prediction, as well as
aid in the process of efficient indication.SOIL CHARACTERISTICS:
As
mentioned before, the four important soil characteristics are:Field Capacity (FC)
Permanent Wilting Point (PWP)Available Moisture (AM)
Readily Available Moisture (RAM)
The physical definition of Field Capacity
is as follows: Field Capacity is the bulk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_content
water content
retained in soil at −33 kPa/kg (or −0.33 bar) of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_head
hydraulic head
or
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suction_pressure
suction pressure. Field Capacity is the amount of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_moisture
soil moisture
or
water content
held in the
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil
soil
after excess water has drained away and the rate of downward movement has been decreased. This
usually takes place after 2-3 days after rain or irrigation in previous soils of uniform structure and
texture.The ph
ysical definition of Permanent Wilting Point
(PWP) or
Wilting Point
(WP) is as follows: Permanent Wilting Point is the
water content
at −1,500
kPa (−15
bar) of suction pressure, or negative
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_head
hydraulic head. Permanent Wilting Point is the minimum amount of water in the soil that the plant
requires to not to
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilting
wilt. If the soil moisture decreases to this or any lower point a plant wilts and can no longer recover
its
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turgid
turgidity
when placed in a saturated atmosphere for 12 hours. The difference in moisture content of the soil
between field capacity (F.C) and permanent wilting is termed the Available Moisture (AM). Available
moisture can be expressed as percentage moisture PW, as percentage PV or as depth d.
Soil moisture content n
ear the wilting point is not readily available to the plant to absorb. Hence, the term Readily Available
Moisture (RAM) has been used to refer to that portion of the available moisture that is most easily
extracted by plants. Readily Available Moisture is defined at approximately 55% of the available
moisture, though to make calculations easier the value is rounded off to 50%.Figure 2: Field Capacity
and Permanent Wilting Point for different types of soil
The importance of the Available Moisture and Re
adily Available Moisture parameters are seen in the types of seeds used. There are mainly two types
of seeds used by farmers, local seeds and hybrid seeds. Over 90% of the farmers prefer hybrid seeds
over local seeds because the yield from hybrid seeds is very high when compared to local seeds.
However, Hybrid seeds have one disadvantage with them, which is, they are extremely water
sensitive. What this means is if the soil moisture level falls to the Permanent Wilting Point (PWP)
value of the soil, let alone below the Permanent Wilting Point value, the plant will not be able to
extract water and will die out as a result. However, local seeds are able to extract moisture from the
soil even if the soil moisture level falls a little below the Permanent Wilting Point level. In order to
avoid this danger with hybrid seeds, a new parameter, Readily Available Moisture, is defined and its
value is set at approximately 55% of the Available Moisture level.Let us take an example to
understand the relationship between
the soil moisture parameters. Let the Field Capacity (FC) of the soil be 24%, and let the Permanent
Wilting Point (PWP) of the soil be 10%. These two parameters are fixed for a given type of soil.Now,
to calculate Available Moisture (AM), it is given by
:AM = FC - PWP
So,
AM = 24% - 10%
AM = 14%
Now, to calculate the Readily Available Moisture (RAM), it is given by:
k = 0.55 X AM
So,
k = 0.55 X 14%
k = 7% (approx.)
Now,
RAM = FC - k
So,
RAM = 24-7
RAM = 17%
The soil characteristics are shown in the figure below.
Figure 3: Soil Characteristics
WATER CYCLES:
The crops are supplied with water whenever the moisture level falls below the Readily Available
Moisture limit in case of hybrid crops, or below the Permanent Wilting Point limit for local seed
crops. Generally, once the crops are watered, they need not be
supplied with water for some duration, which varies based on the season. For example, in summers,
evaporation is more and hence the crops need to be watered more regularly, say, once every two
days. However, during winters, evaporation is less; hence the crops need not be supplied with water
as frequently as in summers, and once in around four days should be enough. Note that all these
explanations are just rough figures to explain the watering cycle for crops. The figure below gives an
example of how the watering cycle takes place in case of both hybrid seed crops as well as local seed
crops.Figure 4: Watering Cycles
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS:
Crop cycles, as discussed earlier, generally range from 60 days for greens to 120 days for grains, with
some exce
ptional crops such as sugarcane taking anywhere between 12-18 months between the Vegetative
stages to the Harvesting stage. In this section, we talk about the five stages in a crop cycle, which are
listed below as follows:Vegetative Stage (V)
Flowering Stage (F)
Yield Formation Stage (Y)
Ripening Stage (R)
Harvesting Stage (H)
Figure 5: Different Stages of Growth of a Plant
The vegetative stage is the initial stage of plant growth. It is in this stage that the root growth takes
place. The Li
near Root Depth Model, which is an extremely useful theoretical method to calculate the growth of
the root throughout the vegetative phase, is explained later. The vegetative stage is extremely water
sensitive, which means that any problems or negative variations in watering the plant at this stage
will have a drastic effect on the growth of the plant in the later stages.The flowering stage is the
second stage in the plant cycle. By this time, the root has stopped growing. The plants start
flowering. This stage also is extremely water sensitive and any problems or negative variations in
watering the plant at this stage wil
l affect the growth of the plant in the later stages.The third stage in the plant cycle is the yield
formation stage. By this time the first signs of fruits are seen from plants. This stage is also water
sensitive, but not as sensitive as the first two s
tages.The Ripening stage is the fourth stage in the plant cycle. At this stage the plants have
completely produced all the fruits and they are ripening. Finally, after the ripening stage, comes the
harvesting stage where the fruits are ready to be harves
ted from the plants.LINEAR ROOT DEPTH MODEL
Figure 6: The Linear Root Depth Model
The above figure shows the linear root depth model. Since it is practically impossible to find out the
depth of the root at any point of time during the vegetative phase of the plant cycle, scientists have
developed a theoretical model to measure the depth
of the root at any point of the vegetative phase of the plant cycle.It is quite straightforward to
calculate the depth of the root for a given time passed during the vegetative stage of the plant cycle.
Let 't' be the time in days passed, and let 'x' be the depth of the root in meters for time 't' passed.
Further, let 'T' be the total time duration of the vegetative phase in days, and let 'D' be the maximum
depth of the root in meters, which is reached at the end of the vegetative phase. Using the concept
of similar triangles from mathematics, we can calculate the depth of the root for any time duration
passed. The formula is given by:t/T
= d/D (or) d=tD/TWhere, d gives the depth of the root in meters for t days passed.
WEATHER CHARACTERISTICS
All o
f the weather-based products reviewed operate on the principle of scheduling irrigation based on
weather conditions. Most of the products use real-time or historical weather data to schedule
irrigation based on Evaporation Transpiration (ET), which is a function of weather conditions and
plant type.ET is defined as the quantity of moisture that is both transpired by a plant and evaporated
from the soil and plant surfaces. The American Society of Civil Engineering's (ASCE) standardized
reference ET equatio
n parameters are maximum and minimum air temperature, net solar radiation, average vapor
pressure, and average wind speed.Each of the weather-based irrigation scheduling systems
evaluated use micro processing devices that calculate or adjust irrigation schedules based on one or
more of the following parameters sets: weather conditions (temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind, a
nd solar radiation), plant types (root depth and low versus high water use), and site conditions
(latitude, soils, ground slope, and shade). Some of the systems generate watering schedules
automatically. Others require the user to enter a base daily irrigation schedule, and then the device
determines the frequency (which days) irrigation occurs or adjusts run times. Some of these partially
automated systems provide guidelines for establishing the base schedule while others do not. Our
irrigation system primarily focuses on the second set of conditions to carry out the irrigation process,
and a weather station is installed to carry out the irrigation process according to the first set of
parameters. On combining the first two parameters sets in our system we can aim for a high degree
of accuracy in the irrigation process.In our project, a completely functional weather station is
maintained onsite. In real world conditions, since the weather generally does not vary much over a
large area, we can say it is suf
ficient to maintain one weather station for say, a cluster of villages. Further, to incorporate the
weather characteristics, the ET Equation used, also known as the Penman-
Monteith Equation, is as follows:Where, ETo
= daily reference ET [mm/day], for longer periods 900 becomes 37T = air temperature at 2 m high
['C]
VPD = vapor pressure deficit [kPa]u2 = wind speed at 2 m high [m/s] = 2 m/s
Rn
= net radiation at the crop surface [MJ m-2 d-1]Δ = slope vapour pres
sure curve [kPa 'C^-1]γ = psychometric constant [
kPa 'C^-1]G = soil heat flux density [MJ m^-2 d^-1]
Each of these parameters can be further calculated as follows:
Temperature (T):
The weather station records the temperature at regular intervals, In a given day, we should take the
average of the minimum and maximum temperatures to get the value of T.Vapor
Pressure Deficit (VPD):The following 4 Equations Give the calculation of vapour pressure deficit. <
In the four equations, Tmax and Tmin are recorded directly from the weather station, so is the
Relative Humidity RH. From these parameters we can calculate VPD.Net Solar Radiation (
Rn):This parameter is directly recorded by the weather station. Take the
average of the maximum and minimum recorded values.Wind Speed (u2):
Wind speed is calculated as follows:
Where:
y = height of instrument above ground [m]
uy
= measured wind speed at y meters above ground level [m/s]u2 = wind speed at 2 m above ground
[m/s].Slope Vapor Pressure Curve (Δ):Slope Vapor Pressure Curve is given as:T is the mean
temperature.
Psychometric Constant (γ):
Psychometric constant is calculated by these two equations:
Here, P is the calculation of the atmospheric pressure in KPa.Z is the elevation above the sea level in
meters.
Soil Heat Flux Density (G):
Can be ignored for now, take it as 0.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE SURVEY
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the
Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare, Government of India. ICAR is the authority when it comes to all aspects of agricultural
research and control in India. Most of the data presented and explained in the previous section is
defined or set by the ICAR after doing extensive research and experiments as well as collaborating
with international agencies and conforming to international standards.Form
erly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was
established on 16 July 1929
as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in pursuance of the report of the
Royal Commission on Agriculture. The ICAR has its headquarters at New Delhi. The Council is the
apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including
horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. With
https://icar.org.in/content/node/325
101 ICAR institutes
and
71 agricultural universities
spread across the country this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world. The
ICAR has played a pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequent developments in
agriculture in India through its research and technology development that has enabled the country
to increase the production of
food grains by 5.4 times, horticultural crops by 10.1 times, fish by 15.2 times, milk 9.7 times and eggs
48.1 times since 1951 to 2017, thus making a visible impact on the national food and nutritional
security. It has played a major role in promoting excellence in higher education in agriculture. It is
engaged in cutting edge areas of science and technology development and its scientists are
internationally acknowledged in their fields.To note the developments in Smart Irrigation Systems
throughout time, we first look at G. Vellidis, who in 2007 presented a real-time wireless smart sensor
array for scheduling irrigation. A prototype real-time, smart sensor array for measuring soil moisture
and soil temperature that uses off-the-shelf components was developed and evaluated for
scheduling irrigation in cotton. The array consists of a centrally located receiver connected to a
laptop computer and multiple sensor nodes installed in the field. The sensor nodes consist of
sensors, a specially designed circuit board, and a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag which
transmits data to the receiver. The smart sensor array described offers real potential for reliably
monitoring spatially variable soil water status in crop fields. This paper describes the smart sensor
array and testing in a cotton crop. Integration of the sensors with precision irrigation technologies
will provide a closed loop irrigation system where inputs from the smart sensor array will determine
timing and amounts for real-time site-specific irrigation applications.Yunseop
(James) Kim, in 2008, presented Remote Sensing and Control of an Irrigation System Using a
Distributed Wireless Sensor Network where it describes details of the design and instrumentation of
variable rate irrigation, a wireless sensor network, and software for real-time in-field sensing
irrigation system. Field conditions were site-specifically monitored by six in-field sensor stations
distributed across the field based on a soil property map, and periodically sampled and wirelessly
transmitted to a base station. Communication signals from the sensor network and irrigation
controller to the base station were interfaced using Bluetooth wireless radio communication. While
this was a great initiation in the development of Smart Irrigation, the major disadvantage was that
the total cost of Bluetooth wireless modules used in this paper for the in-field WSN was
approximately $1000.Zhang Feng, in 2012, presented his research paper on water-saving irrigation
automatic control system based on Internet of thi
ngs. To enhance Irrigation system water utilize productivity, lessen cost of water system water, this
paper talked about the outline of remote sensor system and Internet innovation of farmland
programmed water system control technique. Accentuation on an examination of the directing
convention of sensor system hubs to accomplish the framework equipment and programming
outline, middleware, and applications, for example, cell phone or remote PDA of web of things, will
constitute an assortment of sensors astute system, in this manner improving the general
robotization framework and observing levels. The last investigation of the system in the Internet in
light of the rural plants of farmland water-sparing water system framework coordinated approach.
Client utilize cell phones or remote PDA can without much of a stretch soil dampness substance of
web based checking and control to understand the water system mechanization.Kay Smarsly, in
2013, presented Agricultural ecosystem monitoring based on autonomous sensor systems where the
prototype monitoring system consists of a number of intelligent wireless sensor nodes that are
distributed in the observed environment. The sensor nodes are connected to an Internet-enabled
computer system, which is installed on site for disseminating relevant soil information and providing
remote access to the monitoring system.Ahmed Hussein Abbas, Maya Medhat Mohammed
presented a Smart Watering System for Gardens using Wireless Sensor Network. This paper
discusses the usage of wireless sensor networks in irrigation control by a smart watering system in
which the irrigation process is controlled by valves. The application of wireless soil-moisture sensor
networks to detect water content in the soil can utilize water resources very efficiently. Water
requirements depend on the type of plants and the soil as well as the season. A study has been
made on the clay soil to observe its behavior and its different characteristics. By this study the time
of excitation of the sensor could be known and the period of irrigation could be detected. This will
be more efficient in terms of the time in which the sensor will be excited and the quantity of water
that will be used.Nattapol
Kaewmard, Saiyan Saiyod in 2014 presented Sensor Data Collection and Irrigation Control on
Vegetable Crop Using Smart Phone and Wireless Sensor Networks for Smart Farm. The exploration
objective is to give a long haul reasonable answer for mechanization of agribusiness. Agribusiness
computerization has a few techniques to get information from vegetable products like sensors for
ecological estimation. In this way, the framework built up a convenient estimation innovation
including soil dampness sensor, air stickiness sensor and air temperature sensor. Also, a water
system framework utilizing remote sensor arrangement has introduced these sensors, with the
reason for gathering the earth information and controlling the water system framework by means of
advanced cells. The reason for the examination is to discover better methods for controlling a water
system framework with programmed framework and manual control by advanced mobile phone. So
as to control a water system framework, a framework was created the specialized techniques of the
remote sensor arrange for gathered environment information and sending control order to turn
on/off water system framework.Konstantinos
X. Soulis in 2015 investigated the effects of soil moisture sensors positioning and accuracy on soil
moisture based drip irrigation scheduling systems. This study investigates how soil moisture sensors
positioning and accuracy may affect the performance of soil moisture based surface drip irrigation
scheduling systems under various conditions. For this purpose several numerical experiments were
carried out using a mathematical model, incorporating a system-dependent boundary condition in
order to simulate soil moisture based irrigation scheduling systems. The results of this study
provided clear evidence that soil moisture sensors positioning and accuracy may considerably affect
irrigation efficiency in soil moisture based drip irrigation scheduling systems. If we want to look at
the present state of development of Smart Irrigation Systems, The KBL (
Kirloskar Brothers Limited) Irrigation sector provides fluid handling solutions for Irrigation schemes
and also offers best suitable pumps and valves for irrigation. KBL fluid handling solutions help many
countries and states to achieve food sufficiency. The Irrigation sector closely works with National
and State Irrigation Departments. The Irrigation sector has executed many projects in India and
abroad. The KBL irrigation strength lies in project management from
"Concept to commissioning". The irrigation sector has dedicated team of engineers and experts from
Hydraulics and Project management.CHAPTER 3: PROBLEM ANALYSIS
Problem Definition
Many of the farmers don't have knowledge about the amount of average water needed to yield the
crop. This is one of the causes for variable crop yield. If distance between th
e home and the field is more, it is difficult to travel for just irrigating the land and monitoring its
moisture content. It is not possible to continuously monitor the irrigation process; it is a waste of
time.The first and foremost common problem in irrigation is that we do not know the answer for
simple questions like "When do I water?" and "How long do I water?" Starting an irrigation cycle too
early and running an irrigation cycle too long is said to be over
watering. This practice wastes water and money and overwatering can cause crop damage if this
practice is repeated for a long time. Similarly, starting an irrigation cycle too late or not running the
system for a long enough period of time is considered under watering and can cause reduced yields
and poor crop quality which can affect price.As the crop grows the root goes deeper into the soil.
Monitoring the moisture content in depth is difficult. We just supply water to the field to keep it wet
but if t
he plant is quite big its root which is in depth will not get sufficient water this causes crop damage
and poor yielding. In some fields the surface soil absorbs the water quickly and always looks like a
dry land. But the moisture will be there in the soil under that. In this situation it is difficult to know
about the moisture content in the soil. And watering more also affects the crop.Another problem we
face with respect to irrigation is that we irrigate the fields without knowing about the climatic co
nditions in that area. This can also have adverse effects on the crop yield, since after some time if
there is rain then the water which we used in irrigation is wasted and also this reduces the crop yield
by supplying more water to the roots. So, it is also important to continuously monitor the weather
conditions. Proposed Solution
THE PROBLEM OF WATER SUPPLY:
In order to tackle the problem of when to supply water to the crops, we install soil moisture sensors
in the ground in the root zone of the plants. For this purpose, we have chosen the VH400 soil
moisture sensor. Since it is not reliable to depend on a sin
gle sensor's reading, we plan to use 2 sensors, one installed at a depth of d/4 in the soil and one at a
depth of d/2 in the soil, where'd' is the root depth. This installation of sensors this way is shown
below:Figure 7: Sensor Placement in Soil
One more important parameter to consider while placing the soil sensors is the optimal placement
of these sensors. Soil moisture sensors are very costly, ranging from Rs.4,500 when purchased
individually and around Rs.3,000 when purchased in bulk. Obviously, one cannot place sensors at
each plant. There has to be some way to optimally place the sensors so as to optimise the cost. So,
what is the best way to place the sensors in a field so as to minimize the cost of installation?The two
important characteristi
cs to consider while considering the optimal placement of sensors are as follows:The Soil Profile
The Types Of Crops Planted
These two can be explained better from the figure below.
Figure 8: Optimal Sensor Placement
The scenario on the left explains the soil profile. To evaluate the soil profile of a given piece of land,
we can take samples of soil at different points on the field. The figure on the left shows a scenario
where five samples are taken at different point
s in the field. Two cases arise here, as follows:If all the soil samples are found to be the same, then
placing sensors at one or two points in the field is more than enough. However, if the soil samples
are found to be different, as shown in the figure above, then we need to place one or two sensors
wherever the soil profile has changed.The second scenario is when different crops are planted on
the same field. In this case, we need to place one or two sensors wherever the crop changes.
However, general
ly, the two factors coincide and the optimal placement of sensors is interplay between the soil
profile and the types of crops planted.Further specifications and implementation details of the Soil
Moisture Sensors are explained in the Methodology and imp
lementation chapter.THE PROBLEM OF WEATHER MONITORING:
As mentioned earlier, monitoring the weather conditions is also important to the irrigation process,
if there is rain then the water which we used in irrigation is wasted and also this reduces the crop
yield by supplying more water to the roots. So, it is also important to continuously monitor the
weather conditions. For the purpose of this project, we plan to monitor the temperature (in degrees
Celsius), humidity, UV Index, Amount of Rainfall (in millimetres/hour), Wind Speed and Wind
Direction (in kilometres/hour).For these purposes, we use Davis Weather Station, which looks like a
pedestal and contains the sensors to measure the required parameters. What comes with the
Weather Station is a Vanta
ge Pro 2 Console, which is a full-featured backlit LED console which is used to display the data from
the Davis Weather Station. Further information about the weather station as well as the Vantage Pro
console is explained in the Methodology and Implementation Chapter.CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY
AND IMPLEMENTATION
In this section we discuss the overall project implementation block diagram and the complete flow
of the project, as well as the implementation with respect to the soil moisture sensors, the weather
station and the LPC1768 microcontroller.
4.1 Implementat
ion Block DiagramFigure 9: Implementation Block Diagram
The implementation overview is as shown as above. The LPC1768 Microcontroller is at the heart of
things, and it is the one to which all the different components are interfaced. The diagram shows the
interface of the soil moisture sensors on the bottom of t
he figure, while the right hand side of the figure shows the interface of the weather station to the
microcontroller board through the display console and it also shows the interface of solenoid valve
through a relay. The left hand side of the figure shows the implementation of sending the data to
the IOT website, which is yet to be implemented as of now but is a future must to have feature as a
part of the smart irrigation system.4.2 Project Flow
We have completed the different stages of the project as shown in the flowchart below:Figure 10:
Project Flow
4.3 LPC1768 And BMS-IOT BoxFigure 11: Block Diagram of the BMS-IOT Box
4.4
Weather StationVantage Pro2 is an Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) containing rain collector,
temperature and humidity sensors, anemometer, UV, and solar radiation sensors in one package.
It is a customizable station with a wide range of options and sensors to help us to measure, monitor,
and manage weather data. The stations are designed to withstand scorching sun, corrosion, up to
200 mph (321 kmph) winds, temperature extremes, and more. It provides the highest level of
accuracy, reliability and ruggedness. Vantage Pro2 station includes a console and a versatile sensor
suite that can be customized by adding consoles or special-purpose options. The anemometer can
be attached separately from the rain collector. One can easily get their own local forecast,
highs/lows, totals or averages and graphs for virtually all weather variables over the past 24 days,
months or years all without using a PC.Figure 12: Davis Weather Station and Display C
onsoleThe reasons for choosing the Davis Weather Station and Vantage Pro2 Console are as follows:
Rugged and flexible, it offers reliable weather data even under the extreme climates.
It has a dependable data transmission. The wireless version of Vantage Pro2 solar-powered
transmitter with battery backup is used to keep your data flowing. The frequency-hopping spread
spectrum Vantage Pro2 radio can transmits and receives data up to 1,000 ft. (300 m) line-of-sight.
The cabled version transmits data using cable.It is available in both wireless and wired
versions.Vantage Pro2 also offers 12-hour advance weather forecasts as well as 24- to 48-hour
advance forecast ticker-tape. One can also view and store data on their computer or online.
The specifications of the VantagePro2 Console are as listed in the figure below:
Figure 13: VantagePro2 Console Specifications
Vantage Pro2 is an easy installation device and can be set up using the manual from Davis
instruments. Vantage Pro2 Console can also be set up using their manual. Vantage Pro2 Console is a
LCD display system for Vantage Pro2. Time, longitude, latitude, ba
ud rate (For wired transmission only) and many other fields can be updated. Once the setup is
complete, one should long press the DONE button. If Vantage Pro2 is connected to the console, the
console starts reading data from sensors.The console has inbui
lt temperature, humidity and pressure sensors whose readings are displayed even without Vantage
Pro2. The sensors can be calibrated if there is any error in the sensor data. The sensor data is
updated every 2.5 seconds. The console also has an option to set alarm with respect to both time
and sensor values. The data received from the weather station are stored in the WeatherLink data
logger present inside the Console. We can also get the graphical representation of sensor data in
order to get variation of certain parameters over time.Figure 14: Different components in the Davis
Weather Station
The console with a WeatherLink data logger has following 3 types of memory: 132 KB archive
memory, which can store up to 2560 archive records. 4KB EEPROM memor
y, which is used for calibration numbers, station latitude/longitude/elevation/time zone values,
transmitter configuration, and Console graph points 4KB of processor memory, which is used in
storing the current sensor data, today's high/low values, and ot
her real-time values.Figure 15: Vantage Pro2 Console Display Details
Sample Interval
Capacity of logger in time
1 minute
1 day and 20 hours
5 minutes
8 days and 21 hours
10 minutes
17 days and 18 hours
15 minutes
30 minutes
53 days and 8 hours
1 hour
2 hours
SERIAL COMMUNICATION WITH CONSOLE:
Data from loggers can also be viewed in computer or laptop using WeatherLink software. The data
logger is connected to the computer using an adapter for wired communication. The data is sent as
packets through serial communication. The serial communication has 8 data bits, one start and one
stop bit. There are no parity bits. Default baud rate is set to 19200. The user can choose any baud
rate among 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400, and 19200. For wireless communication, WeatherLink
Live has to be interfaced with vantage pro 2 console. The WeatherLink software increases the
readability of graphs. The data can also be viewed in tabular format. Figure 16: WeatherLink
SoftwareWe have used YAT (Engineering, testing and debugging of serial communication) to
establish serial communication between computer and console. There are multiple commands to
communicate with console. Commands are basically ASCII strings. In order to conserve battery
power, the console will be in sleep mode, and will wake up only when required. One should always
perform a wakeup procedure before sending commands to the console. Line Feed character, '\n'
(decimal 10, hex 0x0A) acts as console wake up command. The console responds with Line Feed and
Carriage Return characters ('\n\r'). The console also responds with 'ACK', 'NAK', 'OK', 'DONE'
commands as per the commands sent. The serial communication can be tested by sending 'TEST' to
the console. If the console reply with 'TEST\n', the serial communication is established, else one
should recheck the connections. There are various other commands like 'RXCHECK', 'RXTEST', 'VER',
'RECEIVERS', etc. in order to test serial communication. There are various testing, downloading,
current data, EEPROM, clearing, calibrating and configuring commands.The sensor data can be seen
through YAT using 'STRMON' and 'STRMOFF' commands. The console starts sending data when
STRMON command is sent to the console. The data contains 8 bytes and each byte comes with least
significant bit first. The data comes every 2.5 seconds and will stop only if STRMOFF command is
sent. The 8 bytes contain data and can be read as follows:
Byte 0
: It is the header. The upper nibble represents the sensor the data is from. Following are the upper
nibble with respect to sensor from which it has been obtained.2 = Supercap voltage (Vue only)4 = UV
Index
5 = Rain rate
6 = Solar radiation
7 = Solar Cell output 8 = Temperature
9 = Wind gust
a = Humidit
yThe Transmitter ID is given by the lowest three bits in the low order nibble. Bit 3 in the low order
nibble of Byte 0 becomes high if the transmitter battery is low else the bit is set to zero.
Byte 1
: It gives wind speed in mph. The wind speed is updated in every transmission. Byte 2
: It gives wind direction. It is also updated in every transmission. The Vantage Pro2 uses a
potentiometer with a significant dead zone around North. Therefore there are no values reported
between 352 and 8 degrees inclusive. This byte can vary from 1 to 255. This can be mapped to 1 to
360 degrees as follows If this byte is 0, wind direction is 360.
Else wind direction is found using formula, 9 + Byte2 * 342 / 255.
Byte 3-5
: This depends on the type of sensor data being at that instant.Message 2 (
Supercap voltage): Bytes 3 and 4 represents the Supercap voltage. The Supercap stands for super
capacitor that is used to store excess energy from the ISS solar cell during the day, which helps to
power the console during night. This is very effective in extending the battery life of the non-
rechargeable lithium CR2032.Message 4 (UV Index): Bytes 3 and 4 represents UV Index. MSB is in
Byte 3 and LSB is in Byte 4. If the third byte is FF, it indicates that there is no sensor present. The UV
index can be calculated as follows:
UVIndex
= ((Byte3 << 8) + Byte4) >> 6) / 50.0Message 5 (Rain Rate): Byte 3 and 4 represents rain rate
information. The rate is the time in seconds between rain bucket tips in the ISS. The rain rate is
calculated using the bucket tip rate and the size of the bucket. The rain rate can be calculated a
s follows:If Byte3 == 0xFF, there is no rain.
If (Byte4 && 0x40) == 0, it is light rain.
If (Byte4 && 0x40) == 0x40, it is strong rain In case of light rain, rainrate [mm/h] = 720 / (((Byte4 &&
0x30) / 16 * 250) + Byte3)In case of strong rain, rainrate [mm/h] = 11520 / (((Byte4 && 0x30) / 16 *
250) + Byte3)Message 6 (Solar Radiation): Bytes 3 and 4 represents solar radiation. MSB is in Byte 3
and LSB is in Byte 4. If third byte is FF, it indicates that there is no sensor is present. The Solar
radiatio
n can be calculated as follows:Solar radiation = (((Byte3 << 8) + Byte4) >> 6) * 1.757936
Message 8 (Temperature): Bytes 3 and 4 represents temperature. Byte 3 is MSB and Byte 4 is LSB.
The temperature in Fahrenheit can be obtained as
Temperature = ((Byt
e3 * 256 + Byte4) / 160Message 9 (Wind Gust Speed): This message transmits the maximum wind
speed during the previous 10 minutes. Byte 3 gives gust. Message a (Humidity): Bytes 3 and 4
represents humidity as 10 bit value. Bits 5 and 4 in Byte 4 are the
two MSB's. Humidity can be obtained as Humidity = (((Byte4 >> 4) << 8) + Byte3) / 10.0
Byte 6-7
: This represents CRC of the data.Consider an example of data received through console:
a0
09 82 83 38 00 6a c9Byte 0: 0a represents that bytes 3-5 contains
information about humidity sensor.Byte 1: 09 represents wind speed in mph. The wind speed is 9
mph (Hexadecimal to decimal).
Byte 2: 82 represents wind direction. Here the wind direction is 18315 N.
Byte 3-5: Humidity is represented as two bytes in Byte 3
and Byte 4 as a ten bit value. Bits 5 and 4 in Byte 4 are the two most significant bits. Byte 3 is the low
order byte. The ten bit value is then 10x the humidity value displayed on the console. The functions
of the four low order bits in Byte 3 that cause the apparent jitter are not known.The corresponding
humidity value is then
((0x38 >> 4) << 8) + 0x83 = 131 + 768 = 899 = 89.9% relative humidity.
The displayed humidity at the time was 90%.
Sensor data
Time between two transmissions
Outside temperature
10 seconds
Wind speed
2.5 seconds
Wind direction
2.5 seconds
Outside humidity
50 seconds
Rain
10 seconds
Solar radiation
50 seconds
UV
50 seconds
Table 2: Sensor data with their update time
4.5 Soil Sensors
USEFUL DEFINITIONS:
Volumetric Water Content:
To explain it in simple terms, dry soil is composed of solid material and air pockets together called as
pore spaces. A typical volumetric ratio is composed of 55% solid material and 45% pore space. When
water is added to the soil, the pore spaces begin to fill with water. Soil that seems damp to the touch
might have 55% minerals, 35% pore space and 10% water. So this is an example of 10% volumetric
water content. The maximum water content in this scenario is 45% because at this value, all the
available pore spaces would have been filled with water. This soil is said to be saturated, because at
45% volumetric water content, the soil can hold no more water.Time domain reflectometry (TDR):It
determine
s soil moisture by measuring the transit time of an electromagnetic pulse transmitted along a
parallel metallic probe placed in the soil. The pulse travel time is proportional to the apparent
dielectric constant of the soil
which is the basic principle used in measuring the soil moisture.
TYPES OF SOIL MOISTURE SENSORS:
Tensiometric
and volumetric are the two primary sensor types that measure soil moisture. Tensiometric sensors
as the name implies measures the soil moisture tension, or the potential soil moisture. Tensiometers
are responsive to soil properties by measuring how tightly a particular soil type retains water.
Volumetric sensors measure the actual volume of water contained in the soil. Each technique is
explained in detail in the following:Volumetric Techniques mainl
y consists of two main sensors:Resistive Sensor
Capacitive Sensor
Figure 17: Resistive Sensor

Figure 18: Capacitive Sensor
Resistive Sensor:
The working of the sensor: Soil moisture sensor comprises of two conducting plates. First plate is
connected to the +5Volt supply in series resistance of 10K ohm and the second plate is connected
directly to the ground. It functions as a voltage divider bias network, and output is taken directly
from the first terminal of the sensor pin, which is shown in the above figure. The output will change
in the range of 0 - 5 Volt, in proportion with change in content of soil moisture in the soil. Ideally,
when there is zero moisture in soil, the sensor acts as open circuit and will have infinite resistance.
Thus we get 5V at the output.
The resistive sensor consists of two probes which are used to measure the volumetric content of
water. These two probes allow the current to pass through the soil and then it uses the resistance
value to measure the moisture value. When there is abundant water, the soil will conduct more
electricity which means that there will be less resistance. Therefore, the moisture level will be
significantly higher. Dry soil conducts electricity poorly, so when there is less water, then the soil will
conduct less electricity which implies that there will be more resistance. Therefore, the moisture
level will be significantly lower.Capacitive Sensor:
The sensor measures the soil moisture levels by m
easuring the capacitance, rather than measuring the resistance like other types of moisture sensor.
The ability to prevent corrosion is because it is made of a corrosion resistant material giving it
durability and reliability.Soil moisture content may be determined via its effect on dielectric constant
by measuring the capacitance between two electrodes i
nserted in the soil. Where soil moisture is predominantly in the form of free water, the dielectric
constant is directly proportional to the moisture content. The probe is given a frequency excitation
to permit measurement of the dielectric constant. The values from the probe are not linear with
water content and are influenced by soil type and soil temperature. Therefore, careful calibration is
required and long-term stability of the calibration is not assured.Tensiometric
Techniques:Figure 19: Electronic Tensiometer ProbeThe above figure shows an Electronic
tensiometer probe, which consists of the following four main parts, namely (1) porous cup; (2)
water-filled tube; (3) sensor-head; and (4) pressure sensor.A
tensiometer
sensor is a
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measuring_instrument
measuring instrument
used to determine the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_moisture
soil moisture
tension in the
vadose zone. This device typically consists of a
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic
plastic
tube with a porous
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic
ceramic
cup, and is filled with
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water
water. The top of the tube has either a built-in
rubber cap used with a portable
puncture tensiometer
instrument, which uses a
hollowhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodermic_needle
needle
to measure the pressure inside the tensiometer. The tensiometer is buried in the soil, and a hand
pump is used to create a partial vacuum. As water is pulled out of the soil by plants or by
evaporation, the vacuum inside the tube increases. As water is added to the soil, the vacuum inside
the tube pulls moisture from the soil and vacuum decreases. As the water in the tensiometer is
considered to be in equilibrium with the soil water, the gauge reading of the tensiometer represents
the matric potential of the soil.
The primary method for measuring capillaric tension in the soil involves the use of the tensiometer,
which directly measures capillaric potential. The main disadvantage of the tensiometer is that it
functions only from zero to about -0.8bar, which represents a small part of the entire range of
available water. The lower moisture limit for the good growth of most crops is beyond the this
range. The use of the tensiometer to schedule irrigation can cause over-irrigation.
Disadvantages: Limit range of 0 to -0.8bar not sufficient for sandy soil. Difficult to translate data to
volume water content Hysteresis Requires regular maintenance, depending on range of
measurements subject to breakage during installation. Further, automated systems are not cost
effective and not electronically stable. Disturbs soil above measurement point and can allow
infiltration of irrigation water or rainfall along its stem.Advantages: Cost effective and easily
constructed. Works well in the saturated range. Easy to install and maintain. It can operate for very
long periods if properly maintained and cared.It can be used with positive or negative gauge to read
water table elevation and soil water tension.SENSORS USED IN PROJECT:
Figure 20: VH400 Sensor used in project
In this project, we have chosen the VH400 Soil Moisture Sensor developed by Vegetronix. The
characteristics and the features of the Probe are as follows:
Cost effective.
Saves water.
Rugged design for long term use.
Reliable
Durable
Probe does not corrode over time.
Mechanically Robust Accurate and precise measurement.
Insensitive to salinity.
Low power for battery operation.
Rugged design for long term use.
VH400 Soil Moisture Sensor Detail:
The VH400 is a professional electronic soil moisture sensor. It is so sensitive, that it can measure the
moisture present on your hands when you touch its blade.
It is mechanically rugged, it is made up of ABS plastic, and fiberglass. VH400 moisture sensor is
absolutely waterproof and mechanically strong. It can be buried at any depth in the soil.
VH400 ignores the salt content in the soil. Most other sensors, esp
ecially conductivity or resistance based sensors, are ineffective, because salts and fertilizers found in
soil alter or effect their readings. The VH400 moisture sensor uses TDR to measure the water
moisture in any soil regardless of soil salinity. The m
etallic probe will never corrode, or need to be recalibrated.The thin blades prevent roots from being
damaged. The blade of the VH400 soil moisture sensor is designed to be as slim as possible.
4.6 Subsystems
4.6.1 SOLENOID VALVE
Solenoids are the
most important components used in solenoid valves to control the flow of fluids such as liquids and
gases. Solenoids are electromechanical devices that convert AC or DC electrical energy into linear
motion to control fluid flow. They usually consist of a helical coil wound concentrically around an
armature, made up of ferromagnetic material such as iron or steel. Most solenoid valves have a
replaceable coil and can be used with coils with different voltages. Figure 21
:Solenoid ValveWhen current flows
through the coil, using the same basic principles as ordinary electromagnets it generates a magnetic
field inside the coil which attracts the armature towards the centre of the solenoid. Since the
armature is drawn towards the centre of the solenoid regardless of the polarity of the current, an
opposing force is needed to return the armature into the starting position when the coil is not
engaged. This is achieved by using a spring mechanism. Under ideal conditions, in order to actuate
the solenoid, the force generated by the solenoid must be larger than the combined forces of the
spring, and the hydraulic pressure, as well as friction.By lifting the armature, a small port in the valve
is opened that allows the flow of the media. The flow through the valve
can be controlled by controlling the current flow through the coil. 4.6.2 REAL TIME CLOCK
A real-time clock (RTC) is a computer clock, usually in the form of an integrated circuit that is built
for keeping time. It keeps track of time in terms of hours, minutes, seconds, months, days and even
years. RTCs can be found running in personal compute
rs, embedded systems and servers, and are present in any electronic device that may require time
keeping functionality. Being able to still function even when the computer is powered down through
a battery or independently from the system's main power is fundamental.Figure 22
:RTC ModuleRTC ICs regulate time with the use of a crystal oscillator and do not rely on clock signals
like most hardware clocks. Aside from being responsible for the timing function of the system and its
clock, RTC ICs ensure that all processes occurring in the syst
em are appropriately synchronized. Although some may argue that this is a job for the system clock,
the system clock is actually dependent on the RTC, making the RTC indirectly responsible for
synchronization.4.6.3 MENU SYSTEM In order to allow the user
to set the values of various soil and plant parameters an indigenous menu system was developed.
The soil parameters that can be set by the user are: field capacity, permanent wilt point. The plant
parameters that can be set by the user are: crop cycle, root depth, and date of sowing. There is an
option to calibrate sensors also.Buttons assigned to set the values:
There are four buttons on the BMS IOT box. Once the controller is powered on, by pressing the
fourth button on the device, the user can enter th
e menu. 1-SOIL DATA
2-PLANT DATA
3-SENSOR CALIBRATION
By pressing the appropriate button the user will be able to set the parameters. User can use the
following buttons to set the parameters:
1-OK
2-INCREMENT
3-DECREMENT
4-BACK
The values can only be increment or decrement in terms of 5 for all the parameters. The below flow
diagram shows the flow of the menu system.Figure 23
:Flow diagram of menu system4.7 Working
Once the device is turned on, the user should set various parameters. The soil moisture sensor wires
have been crimped and have given it mechanical stability so that the sensor's values are stable. The
working of major parts/ functions of the device is as follows:Soil Moisture Sensors and RTC: The
device consists of four VH400 soil moisture sensors. The four soil moisture sensors should be placed
at different depths in the soil considering the root depth model of the plant. The user enters the
sowing dat
e and the crop cycle. Based on these data, the algorithm calculates the difference between present
date and the date of sowing in terms of days. The root depth model which is implemented in the
algorithm calculates the root depth based on the number of days past after the date of sowing.
Based on the number of days, the algorithm calculates which sensors should be activated. The
activated sensor's values are taken and their average is calculated. This average value is displayed
and this value is also used to control the solenoid valve.The present date, year and other time
parameters are calculated using the RTC module which is built in the device itself. Solenoid valve and
relay: The outlet of water is controlled automatically by using the solenoid valve with the help of
relay. The field capacity(FC) and permanent wilt point(PWP) values are set by the user. By
considering the average soil moisture sensor value and comparing it with the FC and PWP values the
algorithm decides whether the water has to be let out or not. The solenoid valve turns on when the
average soil moisture sensor value is less than available moisture(RAM) and greater than or equal to
permanent wilt point(PWP). The solenoid valve is turned on until the average soil moisture sensor
value reaches the field capacity(FC) value.The relay is used to drive the solenoid valve based on the
switch signals given to it by the controller device.
Menu
System: In order to make a full-fledged irrigation system, the menu system has been implemented in
the device rather than fixing the values in the program. The user can set the values of various
parameters which helps in the functioning of the device.4.8 Estimated Bill
COMPONENTS EXPECTED PRICE IN RS
Davis Vantage Pro 2+ Console
60,000</w:p>BMS IOT BOX(LPC1768)
10,000
Soil Moisture Sensors
1,000
Solenoid Valve
600
Miscellaneous
4,000
Total
75,600
Table 3: Estimated Bill
CHAPTER 5: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The proposed work will follow the procedure as follows:
Sensors will determine the moisture level at the Root Zone
. The weather station determines Humidity, Temperature, Wind Speed and Rainfall. Micro controller
should get sensor data per minute. Micro controller should analyse the data, take correct action and
record the data. Soil moisture sensor is a sensor connected to an irrigation system con
troller that measures soil moisture content in the active root zone based on the root depth model
before each scheduled irrigation event and bypasses the cycle if soil moisture is above the user
defined set point. Once the irrigation starts, the microcon
troller will request data from the corresponding sensor. When threshold moisture level is reached, it
will record the data and stop the irrigation. Stored data will be sent to the central server using GSM.
With the use of this technique we can reduce water consumption. It can be set to lower and upper
thresholds to maintain optimum soil moisture saturation and minimize plant wilting. It can
contribute to deeper plant root growth, reduced soil runoff/leaching, less favourable conditions for
insects and fungal disease. It is also possible to control the nutrition levels in their entirety thus,
lower nutrition costs. No nutrition pollution is released into the environment because of the
controlled system. Hence will save great amounts of irrigation water, and will have stronger and
healthier plants with stable and high yields.Below are the pictures of the different implementation
phases of the Smart Irrigation System:
STAGE 1: Interfacing Weather Station and BMS-IOT Box to the Smart Irrigation System. (Done
During Project for Community Service - 7th Semester)Figure 24: Soil Moisture Sensor data displayed
on the BMS-IOT Box
Figure 25: Weather data display on the VantagePro2 Console
Figure 26: Complete Smart Irrigation setup with all components (Clockwise) - Weather station, Soil
bucket, BMS-IOT Box, VantagePro2 Console
STAGE 2: Developing Additional Functionality to the Smart Irrigation System to make the process
smoother. (Done Parallelly with Stage 3 - 8th Semester)Figure 27: Implementation of Root Depth
Model Algorithm
Figure 28: Solenoid Valve Implementation
Figure 29: Menu System Implementation, to set the Soil or Plant Characteristics
STAGE 3: Initial Field Plan and Setup (Done Parallelly with Stage 2 - 8th Semester)Figure 30: Field
Plan for Smart Irrigation System Implementation
Figure 31: Top View of the Field - Plan
Figure 32: Place where implementation will be carried out
S
TAGE 4: Complete Smart Irrigation Setup in the Field (Final Stage)Figure 33: Solar Panel setup in the
field to power the BMS-IOT Box
Figure 34: All the components, Weather Station, Vantage-Pro Weather Console BMS-IOT Box, and
Soil Sensors, placed in the field.
Figure 35: Closer view of the Vantage-Pro Weather Console and BMS-IOT Box working on the field.
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND F
UTURE WORKThe system describes the design, optimization and development of a practical
application to optimize water resources in irrigated agriculture by low-cost wireless system to
monitor soil water status and the irrigation water and to increase the yield. The s
ystem designed is not only limited to the present functionality, but can be further can be extended
for more customized functionality like smart home gardening system. It is concluded that the sensor
nodes are of great help to reach the desired moisture conditions at the different depths and to
maintain soil moisture level of the soil at the desired value, thus contributing to the ability to adapt
the irrigation strategy developed. The wastage of water has been reduced by adopting weather data
into the sy
stem. While it was known that weather affects plants in many obvious ways, we found out that
weather affects plants in ways we may not realize. While a tree snapped by a gust of wind is easy to
associate with the event, large trees may not show the effects of drought until several years later. In
addition to any direct effects, weather-related stress can make plants more susceptible to disease
and insect problems. Weather is whatever is happening now - precipitation, temperature, wind, sun,
and humidity. It is not the same as climate, which is historical weather or the average of weather
conditions over a long period of time. Climate determines what will probably grow well in your area,
but plants can still be damaged or killed by extreme weather.While we have no control over the
weather, in some cases we can try to design and maintain the garden to minimize the negative
effects of weather on our plants. Thus, weather conditions should also be monitored to have better
yield of plant and reducing water wastage problems.6.1 Advantages Of Smart Irrigation:Increased
Production Optimized crop treatment such as accurate planting, watering, pesticide application and
harvesting directly affects production rates.
Water Conservation
Weather predictions and soil moisture sensors allow for water use only when and where needed.
Real-Time Data and Production Insight Farmers can visualize production levels, soil moisture,
sunlight intensity and more in real time and remotely to accelerat
e decision making.Lowered Operation Costs Automating processes in planting, treatment and
harvesting can reduce resource consumption, human error and overall cost. Increased Quality of
Production
Analysing production quality and results in correlatio
n to treatment can teach farmers to adjust processes to increase quality of the product.Accurate
Farm and Field Evaluation Accurately tracking production rates by field over time allows for detailed
predicting of future crop yield and value of a farm.
Reduced Environmental Footprint All conservation efforts such as water usage and increased
production per land unit directly affect the environmental footprint positively.
Remote Monitoring Local and commercial farmers can monitor multiple fields in mul
tiple locations around the globe from an internet connection. Decisions can be made in real-time
and from anywhere. Equipment Monitoring Farming equipment can be monitored and maintained
according to production rates, labour effectiveness and failure pr
ediction.6.2 Future Work
All the necessary components to implement a Smart Irrigation System has been successfully
implemented on the field. With this, we have a functional setup to implement Smart Irrigation.
Some of the future works that can be perfor
med are as follows:So far, we have the weather station set up and functioning properly, recording all
the necessary parameters. However, our irrigation system is still based on scheduling irrigation
based on the soil moisture content. From the Penman-
Monteith for Evaporation Transpiration discussed in the introduction, we can incorporate weather
parameters into our irrigation system and aim for a high degree of accuracy.It's now time to actually
grow a crop completely using this irrigation system. Some suggestions are growing Beans, Brinjal,
Tomato, etc. as they can be grown quickly, in a month or two.CHAPTER 7: BIBLIOGRAPHY
Papers:
Muhammad Umair, Automation of Irrigation System Using ANN based Controller, International
Journal of Electrical & Computer Sciences IJECS-IJENS Vol: 10 No: 02, 104602-5757 IJECS-IJENS c April
2010 IJENS.SANJUKUMAR, "Advance Technique for Soil Moisture Content Based Automatic Motor
Pumping
for Agriculture Land Purpose", International Journal of VLSI and Embedded Systems-IJVES, Vol 04,
Article 09149; September 2013.J. Gutiérrez, J. F. Villa-Medina, A. Nieto-Garibay and M. Á. Porta -
Gándara, "Automated Irrigation System Using a Wireless Sensor Network and GPRS Module," in IEEE
Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 166-176, Jan. 2014.Pranitha
Bhosale, V.V.Dixit2," "Agricon"-Weather Monitoring System and Irrigation Controller" IOSR Journal
of Electronics and Communication Engineering (IOSRJECE) ISSN : 2278-2834 Volume 1, Issue 6 (July-
Aug 2012), PP 05-11Kumar A, Fernando, S.,
Panicker, R.C., "Project-Based Learning in Embedded Systems Education Using an FPGA Platform"
Education, IEEE Transactions on,
vol. 56,
Issue. 4
, nov - 2013, pp. 407 - 415Webpages:
https://www.davisinstruments.com/product_documents/weather/manuals/07395-
249_IM_06152.pdf
249_IM_06152.pdfhttps://www.davisinstruments.com/product_documents/weather/manuals/0739
5-234_IM_06312.pdf
234_IM_06312.pdfhttps://www.davisinstruments.com/support/weather/download/VantageSerialPr
otocolDocs_v261.pdf
https://www.davisinstruments.com/support/weather/download/VantageSerialProtocolDocs_v261.p
dfhttps://github.com/dekay/DavisRFM69/wiki/Message-Protocol
https://github.com/dekay/DavisRFM69/wiki/Message-Protocolhttps://icar.org.in/content/about-us
https://icar.org.in/content/about-ushttp://www.kirloskarpumps.com/business-vertical-
irrigation.aspx
http://www.kirloskarpumps.com/business-vertical-irrigation.aspxBooks:
[15:25:47] The uniqueness of the text is 81%©

PROJECT REPORT
ON
“VISIBLE LIGHT COMMUNICATION”
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the partial completion of
MAJOR PROJECT [16EC8DCMPJ]
IN
SUBMITTED BY:
Ambekar Manogna 1BM16EC016
Ankita V Bhat 1BM16EC021
Bhavana M Patil 1BM16EC028
K C Krithika 1BM16EC047
H H Surendra
(Assistant Professor, ECE, BMSCE)
JAN - MAY 2020

(Autonomous College Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum)
Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore-560019
DECLARATION
We undersigned students of final semester B.E in Electronics and Communication
Engineering, BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, hereby declare that the dissertation entitled
“VISIBLE LIGHT COMMUNICATION”, embodies the report of our project work carried out
independently by us under the guidance of Mr. H H Surendra, Assistant Professor, E&C
Department, BMSCE, Bangalore in partial fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in
Electronics and Communication from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum during
the academic year 2019-2020.
We also declare that to the best of our knowledge and belief, this project has not been
submitted for the award of any other degree on earlier occasion by any student.
Place: Bangalore
Date: 24-07-2020
Ambekar Manogna 1BM16EC016

Ankita V Bhat 1BM16EC021
Bhavana M Patil 1BM16EC028
K C Krithika 1BM16EC047
< Dedication >
To the society to provide

secured, faster and seamless
connectivity.
ABSTRACT
Electronic communication is defined as, the type of communication which uses electronic
media to transmit information or message using computers, e-mail, telephone, video calling, FAX
machine, etc. The various technologies which assist in this process are wired communication,
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee and so on. All these technologies use electromagnetic waves which is
susceptible to interference and a health hazard for all living things. Moreover, increasing usage of
internet demands increase in bandwidth which is a major drawback in case of Wi-Fi. This has led
to an alternate solution so called Visible Light Communication (VLC) where transmission of data
is carried out using light. This technology makes use of visible light spectrum whose bandwidth is
400 THz, hence overcoming the bandwidth restriction, and more secure compared to other
technologies. It can be implemented in hospitals, aircrafts, underwater and other places where line
of sight communication is possible. In this project we have attempted to implement a setup for
text transmission in four different technologies and in turn have analysed the various
communication parameters of these technologies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any achievement, be it scholastic or otherwise does not depend solely on the individual efforts
but on the guidance, encouragement and cooperation of intellectuals, elders and friends. A number
of personalities, in their own capacities have helped us in carrying out this project work. We would
like to take this opportunity to thank them all.
We express profound gratitude to respected principal Dr. B V Ravishankar, BMS College of

Engineering for providing a congenial environment to work in. Our sincere gratitude to Dr. Arathi
R Shankar, Head of the Department, Electronics and Communication Engineering for
encouraging and providing this opportunity to carry out the project in the department. We would
like to thank our guide Mr. H H Surendra, Assistant Professor, Department of ECE who helped
us in all the ways to carry out the project work. He stood beside and guided us in every step.
We thank all our professors for providing the basic knowledge without which this project
wouldn't have been possible. Last but not the least we thank our family and friends, who made
their valuable support compelled us to maintain a standard throughout our endeavour.
-
Ambekar Manogna
Ankita V Bhat
Bhavana M Patil
K C Krithika
2019-20 Visible Light Communication
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1:Bluetooth network ........................................................................................................................ 11
Figure 2:Light Spectrum ............................................................................................................................. 13
Figure 3:ZigBee system structure ............................................................................................................... 16
Figure 4:ZigBee Communication Operation............................................................................................... 17
Figure 5:VLC frequency spectrum ............................................................................................................. 19
Figure 6:VLC for vehicular networks ......................................................................................................... 20
Figure 7:HOSPI Robot ................................................................................................................................ 21
Figure 8:Operations of UTROV ................................................................................................................. 21
Figure 9:Block diagram of VLC ................................................................................................................ 22
Figure 10:Project Flow ............................................................................................................................... 22
Figure 11:VLC transmitter circuit diagram ................................................................................................ 23
Figure 12:VLC receiver circuit diagram ..................................................................................................... 23
Figure 13:Arduino Nano ............................................................................................................................. 24
Figure 14:LM358 comparator ..................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 15:16x2 LCD ................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 16:Light Detecting Resistor ............................................................................................................. 26
Figure 17:4x4 Keypad................................................................................................................................. 27
Figure 18:Light emitting Diodes ................................................................................................................. 27
Figure 19:Resistors ..................................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 20:Breadboard ................................................................................................................................. 28
Figure 21:Jumper Wires .............................................................................................................................. 28
Figure 22:Proteus design suite .................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 23:Arduino IDE ............................................................................................................................... 31
Figure 24:Virtual Serial Port Driver ........................................................................................................... 33
Figure 25:Two-way communication using Bluetooth HC-05 module ........................................................ 34
Figure 26:Two-way communication using Bluetooth module and Arduino............................................... 34
Figure 27:Controlling the appliances using Bluetooth of mobile ............................................................... 35
Figure 28:Two-way communication between XBee modules .................................................................... 36
Figure 29:Two-way communication between XBee modules using Arduino ............................................ 36
Figure 30:Controlling the appliances using XBee module ......................................................................... 37
Figure 31:Transmission of data from RF transmitter to receiver ................................................................ 38
Figure 32:Controlling LED using RF module ............................................................................................ 38
Figure 33:Controlling the LEDs using encoder and decoder with RF module ........................................... 39
Figure 34:VLC transmitter .......................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 35:Output of VLC transmitter ......................................................................................................... 40
Figure 36:VLC receiver .............................................................................................................................. 41
Figure 37:Graph showing observations in varying conditions ................................................................... 43
Figure 38:Graphical analysis of communication parameters ...................................................................... 44
Figure 39:Block diagram of home automation system ............................................................................... 46
BMS College of Engineering 7

CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 9
1.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 9
1.2. Problem definition .................................................................................................................... 10
1.3. Objective of the project ............................................................................................................ 10
2. LITERATURE SURVEY ................................................................................................................. 11
2.1. Bluetooth .................................................................................................................................... 11
2.2. Wi-Fi........................................................................................................................................... 13
2.3. ZigBee......................................................................................................................................... 16
2.4. Visible Light Communication .................................................................................................. 18
3. METHODOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................................... 22
3.1. Block diagram ........................................................................................................................... 22
3.2. Project flow ................................................................................................................................ 22
3.3. Hardware architecture ............................................................................................................. 23
3.3.1. Circuit diagram ................................................................................................................. 23
3.3.2. Components description ................................................................................................... 24
3.4. Software architecture ............................................................................................................... 29
3.4.1. About software .................................................................................................................. 29
3.4.2. Simulation .......................................................................................................................... 33
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ..................................................................................................... 42
5. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK ........................................................................................ 44
5.1. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 44
5.2. Future work ............................................................................................................................... 45
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 47
ANNEXURE .............................................................................................................................................. 49

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Introduction
Bluetooth: Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that enables devices such as mobiles,
computers, and peripherals to transmit data or voice wirelessly over a short range. The motive of
Bluetooth is to substitute the cables that usually connect devices, while still keeping the connection
between them secure. Tasks include, totally wireless, hands-free answering and conversation on
the phone. Bluetooth appliances normally avoid intervention from other wireless devices by
utilizing frequency hopping and also low power wireless signals.
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi is a wireless networking technology that allows devices such as computers, mobile
devices, and other appliances to connect with the Internet. It permits these devices and many more
to exchange data with each other, forming a network. Internet connectivity occurs through a
wireless router. When one tries to access Wi-Fi, the person is connecting to a wireless router that
permits the Wi-Fi compatible devices to interface with the Internet.
ZigBee: ZigBee is a IEEE 802.15.4 based, low power, low data rate assisting wireless standard,
which is commonly used for two-way communication between sensors and control system. It is a
short distance communication standard covering 10 to 100 meters. It aids transfer of simple data
like that from sensors. It assists low data rate of about 250 kbps. The operating frequencies are 868
MHz, 902 to 928 MHz and 2.4 GHz. It is used primarily for applications demanding long battery
life, low power, low data rate and low cost.
Visible Light Communication (VLC): Visible light communication is an emerging

technology which uses visible light between 400THz and 800 THz. VLC is a subset of optical
communication and uses fluorescent lamps to transmit signals at 10 kbit/s, or LEDs for up to 500
Mbit/s over short range. VLC can be employed as a communication medium for ubiquitous
computing, because devices such as lamps, televisions, traffic signals, commercial displays and
car headlights or taillights are used everywhere.

1.2. Problem definition

Wireless communication has made our lives easier but it comes with disadvantages as well.
A major drawback is the availability of bandwidth. As the usage increases, there is a rising demand
for a larger bandwidth which eventually increases traffic and compromises quality. To add on,
usage of Radio Frequency (RF) systems leads to emission of Electromagnetic (EM) waves which
is hazardous to human beings, plants, and animals because of which they are not used in hospitals
and airplanes. Therefore, a new technology is required to overcome these shortcomings.
1.3. Objective of the project

Communication using visible light is a possible solution for the problem stated above. Firstly,
there is no bandwidth requirement which might reduce the burden on RF communication and
improves quality as well. Secondly, it has no health risks which makes it suitable to be used in
hospitals. Due to the absence of EM waves it does not react with nearby RF systems which makes
it suitable to be used in airplanes. As it’s not associated with frequency it is more secure to use
light for communication when confidentiality is a priority.

2. LITERATURE SURVEY
2.1. Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard utilized to exchange data between fixed and
mobile devices over a short range making use of short-wavelength UHF radio waves in
the industrial, scientific and medical radio bands, and building personal area networks (PANs).
Implementation:
Bluetooth operates at frequencies between 2.402 and 2.480 GHz comprising guard bands
of 2 MHz at the bottom and 3.5 MHz at the top. It uses a technique called Frequency-Hopping
Spread Spectrum (FHSS) and divides transmitted data into packets, and transmits each packet on
one of 79 designated Bluetooth channels of bandwidth 1 MHz. It usually performs 1600 hops per
second, with adaptive frequency-hopping (AFH) enabled.
Bluetooth is a packet-based protocol with a master/slave architecture. One master can
communicate with up to seven slaves in a piconet using the clock provided by the master as the
base for packet exchange. The master clock has a period of 312.5 μs, two clock ticks makes a slot
of 625 µs, and two slots makes a slot pair of 1250 µs. So, in the case of single-slot packets the
master transmits in even slots and receives in odd slots. In contrast, the slave receives in even slots
and transmits in odd slots. The master's transmission begins in even slots and the slave's in odd
slots irrespective of the length of package in terms of number of slots.
Figure 1:Bluetooth network
Communication:
One Bluetooth device can communicate with a maximum of seven devices in a piconet, though
not all devices reach this maximum. The devices can switch roles, by assent, and the slave can
become the master. The Bluetooth Core permits the connection of two or more piconets to form

a scatter net, in which certain devices concurrently play the role of slave in one piconet and the
role of master in another.
At any given time, data can be exchanged between the master and one other device except in
the broadcast mode. The slave to be addressed is at the discretion of master switching rapidly in
a round-robin fashion from one device to another. Since it is the master that chooses which slave
to address, whereas a slave, theoretically, is supposed to listen in each receive slot, being a slave
is a larger burden than being a master. Being a master of seven slaves is possible and vice versa.
Health concerns:
Bluetooth is non-ionizing radiation, of similar bandwidth to the one used by wireless and
mobile phones. No specific harm has been demonstrated till date, even if wireless transmission has
been listed by IARC in the possible carcinogen list. Maximum power output is 100 mW for class
1, 2.5 mW for class 2, and 1 mW for class 3 Bluetooth appliances. Even the maximum power
output of class 1 is a lower level than the lowest-powered mobile phones. UMTS and W-
CDMA output 250 mW, GSM1800/1900 outputs 1000 mW, and GSM850/900 outputs 2000 mW.
Advantages:
 It avoids intervention from other wireless devices.
 It has lower power consumption.
 It is easily updatable.
 It has range of coverage better than Infrared communication.
 The Bluetooth is utilized for voice and data exchange.
 Bluetooth devices are accessible at very cheap cost.
 It requires no line of sight and hence can connect through any obstacles.
 Free to use if the device is inserted with Bluetooth.
 The technology is embraced in many products such as headphones, in cars, GPS system, web
cam, printer, mouse and keyboard.
Disadvantages:
 It can be deprived of connectivity in certain conditions.
 It has low bandwidth in comparison to Wi-Fi.
 It allows only short distance communication between appliances.
 Security is an important factor as it is possible to hack.

Applications:
 Wireless communication and control between PDAs and hands-free headphones.
 Wireless communication between a smart lock and a smartphone for unlocking doors.
 Wireless transmission of data collected by Bluetooth-enabled fitness devices to computer or
mobile.
 Wireless communication with computer input and output devices, the most common being
the mouse, keyboard and printer.
 Transfer of contact details, files, calendar appointments, and reminders between devices
with OBEX.
 Wireless transmission of audio (a more reliable alternative to FM transmitters)
2.2. Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is a wireless communication protocol that permits appliances to connect without using
direct cables which is based on the 802.11 IEEE network standard. The simplest method to
understand Wi-Fi is to consider a situation in home or business. The primary requirement for Wi-
Fi is that there is an appliance that can send wireless signals, like a router, computer or phone. In
a conventional home, a router forwards the internet connection coming from outside the network,
like an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and delivers that service to nearby devices that is within
the coverage area of the router.
Figure 2:Light Spectrum

Wi-Fi can also be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot so that a computer or phone can share its internet
connection similar to a router. Irrespective of how Wi-Fi is being used or its origin of connection,
the outcome is always the same: a wireless signal that permits other appliances to connect to the
main transmitter for data transmission, like to transfer voice messages or files. Most modern
devices reinforce Wi-Fi so that it has access to internet and is able to share network resources.
Wi-Fi relies on the transmission and reception of radio waves which is a type of
electromagnetic wave in order to connect with devices. The radio frequencies required for Wi-Fi
signals are considerably different from those used in cell phones, car radios or walkie-talkies, as
Wi-Fi frequencies lie in the order of Gigahertz. A Wi-Fi router is an electronic networking
appliance that transmits data packets to computer networks, thus providing Internet access to a
myriad of devices connected to it. In a simpler way, it is an appliance that sends ‘Internet’ from a
cable to a device, i.e. pretending to be an access point that allows the data sent to it through a cable
to be shared with the connected devices wirelessly.
Advantages:
 Wi-Fi is a convenient network: Through a wireless network, multiple users can connect
with the router or through a hotspot technology without any configuration required.
 Flexibility of Wi-Fi: One Wi-Fi device installed at the workplace or house provides internet
connection to each and every user allowing seamless connectivity.
 Enhanced productivity: There are the least chances of having a network IP conflict in case
multiple users are accessing the same network.
 Mobility of Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi lets one to make transactions through mobile as the technology
serves every smart device that integrates with the Wi-Fi network around.
 Expansion and Addition: Addition of new users at any time takes the least of the time on a
Wi-Fi network. All that needs to be done is to grant access to the users with the credentials
of the network to authenticate the users. This significantly reduces time and effort put in
wiring and addition of connector for users.
Disadvantages:
 Security: Wi-Fi networks are most exposed to hacking with the help of hackers who
impersonate their ID as the network ID which might lead to loss at the individual or
business level. Therefore, it is best advised to organise business on a private or business

network only.
 Limited range: Usually the coverage area of Wi-Fi in a building is about 100 to 150 feet.
The range and strength of a Wi-Fi device weakens as one moves farther from the access
point. If not present within the network range, it won’t be possible to connect to the network
which may disturb the workflow.
 Signal interference: The common frequency required for operation of a Wi-Fi device is 2.4
GHz, which can be disturbed or interfered due to the presence of other electromagnetic
devices or walls between user and the source of Wi-Fi.
 Bandwidth usage: The number of gadgets connected is inversely proportional to the
bandwidth. That means, more are the devices connected to a single Wi-Fi network, the
weaker the bandwidth gets. This is also one of the main disadvantages of at workplace as
more users leads to restriction on speed limit in turn leading to slow pace of workflow.
 Effects on human health: According to the recent research, Wi-Fi causes sperm/testicular
damage, oxidative stress, and neuropsychiatric effects on human health. Other Wi-Fi health
issues consists of cellular DNA damage, Apoptosis, calcium overload, and endocrine
changes. These effects are the similar to those caused by EMFs (Microwave Frequency).
Applications:
 Internet of Things: Wi-Fi will be playing an important role in IoT since a huge amount of
smart sensors will be connected to internet. IoT can’t be successful without the assistance
of Wi-Fi networks.
 Industrial and logistics: Various industrial and logistics appliances are becoming smarter
and in the near future will be connected to a wireless network for convenience. Robots and
mobile scanners installed in shipment can use Wi-Fi network to connect to the central
processing station.
 Public Wi-Fi: Public internet access points are coming into picture gradually and the trend
will continue in the future. In order to escape higher cost of mobile data charges, free
wireless internet at public places are substitutes. Service providers can show some
advertisements or get small membership fee from the public to run the service.
 Wi-Fi offloading for 5G: Wi-Fi offloading is a proxy in 5G technology used to transmit
higher data to mobile consumers using WLAN network. It will be possible for users to

connect to a wireless LAN instead of connecting with mobile base stations and enjoy all
services provided by the mobile operators.
2.3. ZigBee
ZigBee technology is specifically used for control and sensor networks on IEEE 802.15.4
standard for wireless personal area networks (WPANs). It operates at 868 MHz, 902-928MHz and
2.4 GHz frequencies. The data rate of 250 kbps is suitable for periodic as well as intermediate two-
way exchange of data between collectors and sensors.
ZigBee is low-powered and low-cost mesh network prevalently employed in controlling and
monitoring applications by covering 10-100 meters of distance. This system is cheaper and simpler
than the other proprietary short-distance sensor networks. ZigBee aids different network
configurations for master to master or slave connection. It can also be operated in different modes
in order to conserve battery power. ZigBee networks can be expanded with the help of routers and
can permit many nodes to interconnect with each other for forming a wider area network.
ZigBee Architecture:
ZigBee structure consists of three kinds of devices such as Router, ZigBee coordinator, and
End device. Every ZigBee network should contain at least one coordinator which pretends as a
source and bridge of the structure. The coordinator is accountable for managing and storing the
data while receiving and transmitting data. ZigBee routers act as mediators that allow data to pass
to and fro through them to other appliances. End devices have restricted functionality to
communicate with the parent nodes to reduce power consumption.
Figure 3:ZigBee system structure

ZigBee Operating Modes and Its Topologies:

ZigBee employs two-way communication in two modes: Non-beacon mode and Beacon
mode. In non-beacon mode, the routers and coordinators constantly keep track of active state of
incoming data leading to more power consumption. The routers and coordinators do not sleep in
this mode as any node can wake up at any time and communicate. Therefore, it requires more
power supply but its overall power consumption is low as most of the nodes inactive for a long
duration.
In beacon mode, the routers and coordinators enter into sleep state when no data
communication is witnessed from end devices. At regular intervals this coordinator wakes up and
forwards the beacons to the routers in the network. These beacons work for time slots i.e., they
operate when the communication needed outcomes using lower duty cycles and longer battery
usage. These beacon and non-beacon modes of ZigBee can manage periodic, intermittent and
repetitive data types.
Figure 4:ZigBee Communication Operation
Advantages:
 The ZigBee has pliable network structure.
 It provides long battery life.
 It results in less power consumption.
 It comes with easy installation.
 It is easily implementable.
 It aids huge amount of nodes i.e. 6500 nodes on an average.

 It is very economic.
 It is self-healable and reliable.
 Installation of the network is very simple and easy.
Disadvantages:
 It poses security threat when used in case of official private information.
 It comes with low data rate.
 Replacement with devices adaptable with ZigBee is not economic.
 It does not have sufficient end devices yet.
 It is not feasible to be used outdoor because of its short coverage capability.
 It is less secure when compared to Wi-Fi based security system.
Applications:
 Industrial Automation: A communication link constantly monitors variety of parameters
and critical equipment in manufacturing and production industries. In this case ZigBee
significantly decreases this communication cost as well as optimizes the control process to
make it more reliable.
 Home Automation: ZigBee is apt for remotely controlling appliances at home as a lighting
control, device control, temperature control, operation of safety equipment and control,
control of surveillance cameras, and so on.
 Smart Metering: ZigBee remote operations in this case consists of security over power
theft, pricing support, energy consumption response, etc.
 Smart Grid monitoring: ZigBee operations include fault locating, reactive power
management, remote temperature monitoring, and so on in this smart grid.
2.4. Visible Light Communication

The RF communication is affected by intervention and issues related to high latency along
with the requirement of a separate setup for transmitting and receiving RF waves. Visible Light
Communication (VLC) is chosen as a preferred communication technique to overcome these
limitations, the reason being its large bandwidth availability and resistance to interference from
electromagnetic devices. VLC systems use visible light spectrum for communication that occupy

the wavelength ranging from 380 nm to 750 and the corresponding frequency spectrum of 430
THz to 790 THz.
The VLC receiver only receives signals from the transmitter resided in the same room i.e.
supports only Line of Sight (LOS) communication. Hence, the receivers outside this room will not
be able to receive these signals which in turn gets rid of the security issues that one faces in RF
communication. As a visible light source can be used for both lighting and communication, no
extra power is required for communication purpose. Considering the above benefits, VLC is the
most optimistic technology due to its characteristics of channels requiring no license, reduced
power consumption and availability of high bandwidth.
Figure 5:VLC frequency spectrum
Advantages:
 It comes with larger bandwidth and as a result overcomes bandwidth restriction of RF
communication.
 VLC communication works when both transmitter and receiver are in LOS within the
same room. This avoids interception by receivers in other rooms and hence, providing
more secured communication in comparison to RF communication.
 VLC source is utilized for both lighting and communication. It has reduced power
consumption and therefore is a power efficient system.
 As VLC is based on light it is not affected due to EM radiations from other systems using
RF waves.
 It is not hazardous to health of human beings.
 It comes with easy installation.

Disadvantages:
 VLC technology faces intervention from other ambient light sources.
 VLC communication aids short range communication.
 Integration of VLC with Wi-Fi system is challenging.
 Other drawbacks include shadowing, atmospheric absorption, beam dispersion and so on.
 It requires both transmitter and receiver to be in LOS making non-LOS communication
strenuous to be executed.
Applications:
 Li-Fi makes use of visible light as a medium for communication to facilitate high speed
internet till 10Gbps.
 It is used in Vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication for pre-crash sensing, lane changing
and to warn traffic signal violation in order to escape accidents. These applications demand
communication with less delay for which VLC proves to be promising because of its
bandwidth availability and east to install as the vehicle lights and traffic signals already
exist.
Figure 6:VLC for vehicular networks
 VLC can be used in areas that are susceptible to electromagnetic waves like hospitals and
aircrafts where the signals interact with the waves of other electromagnetic devices.

Figure 7:HOSPI Robot
 Underwater communication – As sea water is a good conductor, it is not possible to

transmit RF waves. In this case it is feasible to use VLC communication for underwater
communication. The Un Tethered Remotely Operated Vehicle (UTROV) is another
application of the VLC in underwater communication. The different jobs that can be
realized using UTROV consists of observatory maintenance of the oceans and deployment
opportunity from the ships.
Figure 8:Operations of UTROV

3. METHODOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION

3.1. Block diagram
Figure 9:Block diagram of VLC
3.2. Project flow
Figure 10:Project Flow

3.3. Hardware architecture

3.3.1. Circuit diagram
Figure 11:VLC transmitter circuit diagram
Figure 12:VLC receiver circuit diagram

3.3.2. Components description

1. Arduino Nano:
The Arduino Nano is a compact, comprehensive, and user -friendly board consisting
of the ATmega328. The Arduino Nano can be powered either using the Mini-B USB connection
of 6-20V at pin 30 or 5V regulated external power supply at pin 27. The ATmega328 on the board
has 32 KB with 2KB for bootloader. Furthermore, it has 2 KB of SRAM and 1 KB of EEPROM.
The 14 pins on the controller can be used as an input or an output by configuring it as required in
the program. Functions like pinMode(), digitalWrite(), and digitalRead() help the user in
programming the pins as input or output. All pins operate at 5 volts and 40mA. It has external pull
up resistors of 20-50 kohm. Some of the pins have specialized functions. Few of these specialized
functions are mentioned below:
 Tx and Rx pins on the board are used for serial communication.
 SPI Communication is also available on the component through pins 10, 11 and 12. However,
this feature is only available on hardware level and not software level.
 There is an in-built LED on the board which is given to digital pin 13.
The Nano has 8 analog inputs that measure from ground to 5 volts. Analog pins 6 and 7 cannot
be used as digital pins.
The Arduino Nano can be programmed using the Arduino software. The Arduino Nano
facilitates different types of communication either with a system, another Arduino, or other
microcontrollers. Pins Tx and Rx can be used for Serial Communication over USB and virtual
ports provided by the software on computer. The Arduino software provides with an option of
serial monitor that allows users to send and receive data in the form of texts to the board. The
communication is indicated by flashing of LEDs on Tx and Rx pins correspondingly. Software
Serial library allows for serial communication on any of the Nano's digital pins. In addition, the
I2C and SPI communications are also supported by the device.
Figure 13:Arduino Nano

2. LM358:
LM358 is an integration of two Op-Amps into a single component. It supports wide range of
power supply, that is, dual supply of 1.5 and 16V and single supply of 3V to 32V with a low supply
current of 700uA. As common supply is given to both the Op-Amps in the package, it ensures
reliable operation. The component works in ambient temperature of 0 to 70 degree Celsius. There
are many available packages of the component namely, SOIC, PDIP, DSBGA, TO-99, CDIP. The
default input offset voltage for the package is very low of magnitude 2mV. It is used for different
applications such as Integrator, Differentiator, Conventional Op-Amp circuits, Transducer
Amplifiers, Summer, Voltage follower, Digital Multimeters, Oscilloscopes and Comparators.
Figure 14:LM358 comparator
3. LCD:
16*2 LCD module operates at 4.7V to 5.3V with current consumption of 1mA. It is an
Alphanumeric LCD display module that is used to display alphabets and numbers. It consists of
two rows where each row can display about 16 characters. Every character is constructed using
5*8 pixel box. The LCD can work on both 8 bit and 4-bit mode and is available in two backlights,
namely, blue and green. It can be used to display any customized characters as the user configures.
LCD modules are cheap and easily available. Hence, these are used in most embedded projects.
They are easy to program as well. The LCD module consists of HD44780 IC that helps in
transmission and reception of data from MCUs and can help in displaying faster as it is hectic task
to handle everything.
Figure 15:16x2 LCD

4. LDR:
An LDR is a component that has capability to vary resistance based on the light intensity.
Hence it allows users to incorporate the component in light sensing circuits. In most of the LDRs,
the resistance decreases as the light intensity falling on it increase. It has about 5000 ohm resistance
value in daylight and about 20 mega ohms of resistance in the dark. There are many applications
for Light Dependent Resistors. For example, it is used in Lighting switch. In this application, it
automatically turns on light when the surrounding light level decreases. Hence it can be used in
street or garden lighting. Another application is in Camera Shutter Control where LDRs can be
utilized to control the speed at which shutter operates in the camera. The LDR can sense the light
intensity to adjust the speed at which camera shutter operates.
Figure 16:Light Detecting Resistor
5. Keypad:
A 4*4 has eight terminals where there are four rows and four columns. It consists of 16 buttons
on the module and gives users an optional to press 16 alphanumeric buttons. The module is as
shown in the figure below. The component allows for a maximum voltage of 24 volts and
maximum current of 30mA. It operates between temperatures 0 to 50 degree Celsius. It has long
life and easy to interface with arduino. Therefore, it is used in multiple applications as input device
or additional component to input device for professional look. Some of the applications of keypad
are Security systems, Measuring instruments, Engineering Systems, Industrial machines and many
more. Keypad gives an opportunity for easy human interaction with the system in cases like

choosing options by users. Basically, anywhere an input device is required; the designer can go
for Keypad.
Figure 17:4x4 Keypad
6. LED:
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source that emits light
when current flows through it. The current when passes through the component allows for
recombination of electrons resulting in the emission of photons. The color of the LED is based on
the energy requirement of the electrons to overcome the band gap of the semiconductor. White
light is obtained by using multiple semiconductors. LEDs are used instead of incandescent lamps
as consume lower energy, has longer shelf life and are smaller and faster. LEDs are used in a
spectrum of applications. For example, as lighting source, traffic signaling, cameras. Medical
devices, etc. The LED glows only when connected in forward mode of the diode. Reverse mode
does not allow flow of current in the device.
Figure 18:Light emitting Diodes

7. Resistor, breadboard and Connecting wires:

Resistor is an electrical component that is basically used to reduce the electric current. And
this ability of resistor to reduce the current in the path is called resistance. Resistance is always
measured in units of ohms. A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component. Variable
Resistors or Potentiometer are also used in circuits along with fixed resistance. Potentiometer
allows designer to vary resistance in the circuit as per requirement. Resistors are common elements
that are part electrical and electronic circuits. Resistors are also used within integrated circuits.
A breadboard is a rectangular plastic board with many tiny holes in it. These holes allow us to
insert components in it to build the circuit. As the circuits can be dismantled easily, breadboard is
easier to construct than PCBs. Hence, we can use the breadboard without having to start over in
case of errors. We can observe the use of breadboard in many different projects as the connections
are not permanent.
As per requirement, we can use different types of connecting wires or jumper to connect
different components on breadboard to complete our circuit diagram for continuous flow of
current.
Figure 19:Resistors
Figure 20:Breadboard
Figure 21:Jumper Wires

3.4. Software architecture

3.4.1. About software
 Proteus Design Suite: The Proteus Design Suite was developed by a company called Labcenter
Electronics Ltd in England. It is a software tool that is used mainly for designing electronic
automation. The software is used primarily by electronic engineers for designing circuits and
technicians to produce schematics for manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCB). It is now
available in many languages like French, English, Chinese and Spanish.
This Design Suite is application software used in operating systems like Windows to mainly
simulate any designs before implementing hardware either by schematic capture or PCB (Printed
Circuit Board) layout design. The software can be purchased in different specifications based on
requirements for simulations and size of the projects working on. All Printed Circuit Board Design
products include mainly a router and different simulation capabilities to support the design.
Schematic capture in the Proteus Design Suite is used for simulation of designs which can be
converted into a platform to verify the working so as to build a Printed Circuit Board layout for
project. It is therefore a core phase for development of a project and is equipped with different
product specifications to help designers.
The microcontroller simulation is also possible in the software by using either a hex file
generated in IDE or uploading a debug file to the microcontroller part of the schematic. It is then
simulated along with any digital or analog electronics circuit connected to the controller to study
the design. This gives engineers an opportunity and platform to use this software in a broad range
of project simulation in different fields using variety of components such as motor
control, temperature control and user interface design. As no hardware is required during
simulation phase, this software is suitable to use as training or teaching tool. The tool supports co-
simulation of different components and controllers. For example,
 Freescale HC11, Parallax Basic Stamp, 8086 Microcontrollers.
 ARM7, NXP 8051, ARM Cortex-M3 and ARM Cortex-M0 Microcontrollers.
 Microchip Technologies PIC10, PIC12, PIC16, PIC18, PIC24, dsPIC33 Microcontrollers.
 Texas Instruments MSP430, PICCOLO DSP and ARM Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers.
 Atmel AVR (and Arduino), ARM Cortex-M3 and 8051 Microcontrollers
As mentioned before, Proteus is the software that supports both schematic simulation as well
as PCB designing. ISIS is the software that enables designers to explore and build schematic

captures and simulate designs to analyze real time working. The simulation allows humans to
access design during run time, thus providing real time simulation. ARES, on the other hand, is
used for PCB designing. It has the feature that allows us to observe our output in 3D view of the
designed Printed Circuit Board along with different components used in the design. The designers
can also develop 2D drawings for the product as per their requirements.
ISIS has wide spectrum of components in the library for designers to work with. Some of the
commonly used components are active and passive components, sources, signal generators, loads
like motors and lamps, measurement devices. It also provides analysis components like ammeter,
voltmeter, oscilloscope, probes for observing and measuring of the parameters, displays, switches,
digital and analog Integrated circuits, semi-conductors, microcontrollers, processors, different
sensors etc. The components that are not part of the library by default can be downloaded from
different sources to use them in the design.
ARES offers PCB designing up to 14 inner layers, with thorough packages. It is equipped
with the foot prints of different category of components like ICs, transistors, headers, connectors
and other vital and frequently used components. ARES offers two types of routing, namely, manual
routing and auto routing. PCB Designer can choose the routing option as per his requirement and
ease. The schematic that is drawn in the ISIS can be directly developed into PCB by transferring
into ARES.
Figure 22:Proteus design suite

 Arduino IDE: The Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is an application

supported by different Operating systems like windows, Mac, Linux. It is a cross-
platform application where functions are written in C and C++. It is primarily used to write
programs for Arduino boards. The programs are then uploaded to Arduino compatible boards and
also to other vendor development boards with the help of 3rd party cores. The Arduino IDE
supports the languages C and C++ to program with specially defined structures for the codes. The
Arduino IDE is supported by different libraries from Wiring Project which has many common
input and output procedures.
User-written code has two important functions, that is, starting sketch and the main program
loop. The starting sketch deals with functions that are written to execute once in the program and
the functions written in loop are repeated for the defined number of times by the coder. The
program is then converted into executable file which is later converted into text file by avrdude
employed by Arduino IDE. By default, avrdude is used as the uploading tool to flash the user code
onto official Arduino boards. The popularity of Arduino IDE has risen to a level where different
vendors have started to implement compilers and tools with customization to support different
MCUs. In October 2019 the Arduino organization started giving access to Arduino Pro IDE with
features including debugging and other advanced control to users.
Figure 23:Arduino IDE

 Virtual Serial Port Driver: Virtual Serial Port Driver is developed by Eltima. This tool allows us
to create spectrum of virtual COM ports. It is useful software that can be used to fully imitate serial
port behaviour. Virtual Serial Port software is not just a simple COM port simulator. It also allows
us to create flexible ports. Its adaptability enables us to manage and remove virtual ports, allows
us to test serial software, support control lines and also provides medium for high speed data
transfer between virtual COM ports. Various applications utilize this platform to communicate and
exchange data using virtual serial ports connected with the help of a virtual null-modem cable.
Serial data sent from one port to another will be received temporarily.
Virtual COM Port Driver is a useful technology designed especially for those who develop,
test, or debug serial port hardware and software. This solution will supply users with as many
virtual COM interfaces as the consumer requires. Virtual Serial Port Driver is a software solution
that doesn't require any additional hardware or cables to simulate and test model. It does not have
the need to occupy real COM ports. Virtual ports fully simulate and mirror the real ones, so that
applications don't see any difference which is essential to analyze behavior of the project. With
Virtual Serial Port Driver, users can create as many pairs of virtual ports as they require.
Any data or information that is sent to one port in the pair is temporarily received by the other
port. Virtual COM ports work as same as the real ones and can be used in any application without
any physical connection with the device. Every pair of virtual serial ports helps in setting of the
line to transmit and receive hardware signals. If the device in the circuit works at a fixed speed,
then appropriate baud rate can be fixed in Virtual Serial Port Driver. A virtual COM port works in
the same way as that of the physical port in terms of interfacing components to the device. In order
to create a virtual serial port, the following steps should be followed:
1. Download the required software and install in the device.
2. Open the software and go to the “Manage ports” option.
3. Select different ports’ names from drop down menu to pair them as virtual ports.
4. Click “Add pair”.
Now the two newly-created virtual serial ports are created in the Serial Ports Explorer and Device
Manager of the computer.

Figure 24:Virtual Serial Port Driver
3.4.2. Simulation
 Bluetooth Simulation: Simulation is always important and beneficial before actually
implementing the Hardware of the system. Simulation can save both time and money for the
designer because with the help of simulation, the embedded system designer can look for the
problems or errors in the design coding and also in the circuit. In order to analyse the behaviour
of the circuit, we have to make sure that all the components required for the design are available
in the library of the software. Without these simulation models, the software will be not be able
to analyse and interpret the behaviour of the circuit.
The simulation model consists of the information that shows how an electronic component
behaves which is helpful for the person designing the system. So it is important that the
simulation model should be available in the library of the software. However, simulation model
of the Bluetooth module is not available in the library of the Proteus by default. So we need to
download the files for Bluetooth module in order to carry out simulation. Once downloading
the required simulation model for Bluetooth module, we need to place these files in the library
folder of Proteus software. After successfully placing the files, we can now start designing the
circuit. Once the design is developed on Proteus software, Arduino controller must be
configured through coding in Arduino IDE to test real time behavior of the design. Either
Virtual Serial port driver can be used to virtually connect two Bluetooth modules or android

application can also be developed to connect at the user end. The following design in Proteus
shows two-way communication using Bluetooth HC-05 module, where the COM ports are
virtually connected via Virtual Serial port driver.
Figure 25:Two-way communication using Bluetooth HC-05 module
Similarly, we can simulate a circuit to display the data on LCD, where data received is
from the sender end through Bluetooth. Hence Bluetooth enables short range wireless
communication. The design is as shown below:
Figure 26:Two-way communication using Bluetooth module and Arduino

The concept behind Bluetooth is to provide a short-range wireless communication.

Bluetooth devices can work within the range of 10m using 2.4GHz band. It has sharing
capacity of 720kbps. Bluetooth is expected to support wide variety of applications, including
data (such as schedules and telephone numbers), graphics, audios and even videos. For
example, Bluetooth allows us to control appliances like lamp or fan without any physical
connection between sender and receiver end. Bluetooth facilitates real-time voice and data
transmissions by providing wireless connection between portable and stationary
communications devices. An Android application allows user to control the working of
appliance in an effortless manner. A device outfitted with a Bluetooth radio can create instant
connection to another Bluetooth radio as soon as it comes into range.
Figure 27:Controlling the appliances using Bluetooth of mobile
 ZigBee simulation: The technology defined by the ZigBee arrangement is proposed develop
an easy, simple and cost efficient devices than other wireless personal area
networks (WPANs), such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Simulation of XBee module in Proteus
software can be done using this XBee Library for Proteus. Once adding the libraries for XBee
module in the corresponding path, design can be developed in the Proteus Design Suite
software. XBee is a module that mainly uses a radio communication transceiver and receiver.
XBee refers to a family of devices developed from Digi that share form factor, host interface
and a group of protocols you can select from (ZigBee being one of these). ZigBee, on the other
hand, is a mesh networking protocol built upon the 802.15.4 IEEE standard. XBee supports
peer-to-peer as well as point to multi-point network communications wirelessly with the speed

of 250 kbits/s. XBee can be designed easily in Proteus because of only two pins available on
the module as seen in the design. However, the two modules of XBee used in the design should
be virtually connected by choosing the connected COM port from Virtual Serial Port Driver.
Figure 28:Two-way communication between XBee modules
Like Bluetooth, ZigBee can also be used to transmit data including audio and video but at
a faster rate. Few examples of ZigBee applications are as shown in the pictures below where
the data transmitted by user is displayed on LCD and we can also use it for home automation
applications.
Figure 29:Two-way communication between XBee modules using Arduino

Figure 30:Controlling the appliances using XBee module
 Wi-Fi Simulation: This technology is used widely today due to its various advantages like,
mobility, cost and convenience. Wi-Fi is mainly used for wireless communication and data
transmission. It is mainly the speed of transmission due to which Wi-Fi is used over other
technologies.
Simulation of Wi-Fi module entirely is impossible as the Wi-Fi module (ESP8266) is
required to connect physically to the Wi-Fi access. The ESP8266 Wi-Fi module is a self-
contained SOC that is integrated with TCP/IP protocol stack. This helps any microcontroller
to get an access to the Wi-Fi network. The ESP8266 module has capability of acting as host
for any application or is also capable of offloading Wi-Fi networking nodes from different
application controller. Wi-Fi uses Radio Frequency (RF) band of the electromagnetic
spectrum. Hence, the radio frequency module consisting of transmitter and receiver is used in
Proteus for simulation.
The RF module library is not available by default in Proteus hence the transmitter and
receiver of radio frequency communication were downloaded and installed. The transmitter
consists of 3 pins, which are ground Vcc and Data pins. Vcc is given virtually +5 volts. Data
pin usually connected to the Arduino. Receiver consists of 7 pins out of which 3 are ground
pins and 2 are Vcc pins. The output pin is given to a display or output device. The Arduino
board is configured using the Arduino software and the link is provided to the Arduino model

in Proteus. Following this protocol various applications have been implemented. As shown
below transmission of data from transmitter to receiver with the help of virtual terminal.
Figure 31:Transmission of data from RF transmitter to receiver
Similarly, using the same components it can be designed to control an LED to high or low by
entering H or h for high and L or l for low as shown below.
Figure 32:Controlling LED using RF module

This module can also be interfaced with encoder and decoder to turn on specific LEDs as
shown below:
Figure 33:Controlling the LEDs using encoder and decoder with RF module
Logic states are used to switch on or off the LED’s. The inputs of these logic states are given to
the decoder and the output given to the RF transmitter. The receiver receives the data and gives it
to the encoder with which it controls the LED’s.
 VLC simulation: The VLC system consists of a transmitter module with LED light source and
a receiver module with photodiode. For data transmission, this technology relies on modulation
of light at high frequencies which are not detected by human eye. Visible light communication
modulates the data and sends through optical medium at very high frequency. The system was
simulated in Proteus Design Suite. The Keypad and Arduino uno library is not available in the
software by default. Hence, these libraries must be downloaded from reliable sources. The
transmitter was constructed as follows:
Figure 34:VLC transmitter

Here, input was taken by the user through keypad and the data was then transmitted
through LED connected to Arduino board. The transmitted data was displayed on LCD at
transmitter end to compare the data with received information. The Arduino controller was
configured to get the input from keypad and display corresponding string at the LCD by
uploading hex file of the code. As shown in the simulation result the data transmitted was
observed on LCD at transmitter end.
Figure 35:Output of VLC transmitter
The receiver was constructed with LDR module that detects the data received through
LED and transmits the same to the microcontroller to be displayed on the LCD. The feature
of LDR to detect the changing intensity of LED is the key to receive the data in visible light
communication. The circuit design for receiver is as shown below:

Figure 36:VLC receiver
However, LDR cannot be simulated to detect the data received from external source.
Without this property of LDR in the software, it is impossible to complete the VLC system.
Hence, the data transmitted could not be received at the other end. As no output was observed
at the receiver end, we concluded that it is not possible to simulate visible light communication
design in this software which led to hardware construction of the VLC system.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

 Bluetooth: Observations made by simulation of Bluetooth technology:
1) It can lose connection in certain condition such as when the devices are not in range.
2) It is easy to design, cost efficient and communication is free if the device has installed
Bluetooth.
3) Data rate of Bluetooth is less compared to Wi-Fi but it has capacity to transmit different
kinds of data including audios and videos.
4) Security is poor in Bluetooth technology when compared to other technologies as any
device within the range of the sender can receive the data. However, an option to
disable Bluetooth's discoverability feature is always available. The sender can send
identification signals to all devices within range, inviting for a connection. The receiver
can remove Bluetooth connection settings on devices paired with unknown accessories
to avoid data considered as threat.
 ZigBee: Observations made through simulation of ZigBee technology:
1) It can be easily designed because of only two terminals on the module.
2) It cannot be implemented outdoors because of short range communication.
3) It requires virtual connection between receiver and transmitter which is hard to
maintain under all circumstances.
4) It cannot have many end devices.
5) ZigBee has low transmission rate and it is risky to use this technology for highly
secured communication.
 Wi-Fi: Observations made while simulating RF wireless communication:
1) Once the library is installed it is easy to develop and design as it has few pins and can
be interfaced with most of the components
2) The range limited to 30 meters as beyond this the signal strength reduces.
3) The speed of transmission is faster than most of the other technologies.
4) This can be implemented anywhere as the RF signals are capable of penetrating walls,
hence need not be a route directly from transmitter to receiver.
 VLC: Observations made from simulation and hardware implementation for VLC:
1) The whole circuit cannot be simulated unlike other technologies because LDR
functionality cannot be simulated.

2) The system works until the receiver is in the range of light of the transmitter.
3) The cost of the hardware implementation is economic compared to other
technologies.
4) The data cannot be transmitted when the path of light is obstructed which makes this
method more secure.
5) A simple setup for transmission of audio using VLC was also implemented where solar
panel is used as photoreceptor to receive the signal from LED used at transmitter. The
transmission was carried out in different lighting and variations in quality of reception
were observed. The observations are as follows:
Figure 37:Graph showing observations in varying conditions

5. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

5.1. Conclusion
From the analysis of all the four technologies, we can conclude that VLC can be implemented
in places where EM waves seem to be harmful and the communication is LOS. This helps in taking
the load off other technologies which can be put to use in more essential situations. The VLC setup
has been tested for transmitting image, audio and video as well which shows that transmission of
large data is possible by using light. To increase the range of communication, an array of LEDs or
LED bulbs with higher intensity can be used at the transmitter side and an array of photo detectors
with higher sensitivity can be used at the receiver side.
Comparison of the four technologies:
Figure 38:Graphical analysis of communication parameters
Parameter Bluetooth ZigBee Wi-Fi VLC
Range 10m 10m-20m 45m-100m Around 5cm for

text transmission
Data Rate 3Mbps 20-250kbps 11Mbps- Upto 100Gbps

450Mbps
Frequency(Bandwidth) 2.402 GHz - 2.4GHz 2.4GHz and 300GHz

2.480 GHz 5GHz bands

Energy efficiency Low power Low power Need to Energy efficient

consumption consumption configure router technology as
battery technology by connecting to LED uses less
driven power source energy
technology
Cost Cheap Cheaper expensive efficient
Privacy(Security) Requires Highly risky Does not ask Consumer can

consumer’s to be used consumers’ choose to receive
consent to for official permission data. Suitable for
pair but poor private explicitly. private
security information. information.
Compatibility All Devices Compatible with Compatible with

Bluetooth must WLAN 802.11 IrDa devices
enabled support a/b/g/n/ac/ad
devices ZigBee devices
protocol
5.2. Future work

Light Fidelity or Li-Fi is a visible light communication that is built on an idea of using light
bulbs as routers. With faster transmission rate and its capability to maintain private information,
we can surely see this technology being the future of Internet. With increasing connection to the
internet every day, we can expect traffic issues in the current technology setup. However, with the
help of existing light bulb we can have access to faster and secured technology without the
interference with radio signals. There are multiple applications of Li-Fi proposed, such as,
Military, Underwater communication, Vehicle to Vehicle communication, Internet of Things,
Street Lighting etc.
The following block diagram showcases Li-Fi used in home automation. There are few
disadvantages of Li-Fi as well. It cannot be used outdoor easily because of sunlight or in darkness
in the absence of LED bulbs. However, with the combination of different technology we can
develop a home automation design that overcomes disadvantages and uses advantages of these
technologies to the fullest. Home Automation or Smart Home controls appliances, lighting,
climate and home security systems. Wi-Fi can be used to control the environment around and
security systems that can help us in maintaining required ambience at home. ZigBee with mesh

topology and its support to multiple nodes on single network will enable us to use it in controlling
different appliances like HVAC systems. Bluetooth on the other hand can be used to control
different low powered devices that do not require lot of bandwidth. Li-Fi can be used to control
appliances where security is a key as Wi-Fi is prone to hacking. With Li-Fi we can download about
five movies standing under a light bulb for a minute.
Figure 39:Block diagram of home automation system

REFERENCES
Papers:
[1] “Visible Light Communications: Modulation and Signal Processing.” First edition.
Zhaocheng Wang, Qi Wang, Wei Huang, and Zhengyuan Xu. Copyright © 2017 by the
Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), Inc. (base paper)
[2] “Visible Light Communication: Concepts, Applications and Challenges”, Luiz Eduardo
Mendes Matheus (UFJF), Alex Borges Vieira (UFJF), Luiz F. M. Vieira (UFMG), Marcos
A. M. Vieira (UFMG), Omprakash Gnawali (University of Houston), April 23, 2019, 1553-
877X (c) 2018 IEEE
[3] “Visible Light Inter-Vehicle Communication for Platooning of Autonomous Vehicles”,
Mohammad Y. Abualhoul, Oyunchimeg Shagdar and Fawzi Nashashibi, 2016 IEEE
Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) Gothenburg, Sweden, June 19-22, 2016.
[4] “Li-Fi based Data and Audio Communication”, Rekha R, Priyadarshini C, Pooja R, R
Prashanth and Suma V Shetty, International Journal of Engineering Research &
Technology (IJERT), ISSN: 2278-0181, Vol. 8 Issue 05, May-2019.
[5] “Transmission of Data, Audio Signal and Text Using Li-Fi”, A. Vinnarasi, S. T. Aarthy,
International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, Volume 117, No. 17 2017, 179-
186.
[6] “An Indoor Positioning System Based on Visible Light Communication Using a Solar Cell
as Receiver”, Ameur Chaabna1, Abdesselam Babouri, and Xun Zhang, © Springer
International Publishing AG 2018 M. Hatti (ed.), Artiﬁcial Intelligence in Renewable
Energetic Systems, Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems 35.
[7] “Lifi Based Smart Library System”, Sanjitha S and Dr.Sumathi R, International Research
Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), Volume: 05, Issue: 03 | Mar-2018.
Website links:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proteus_Design_Suite
2. http://www.circuitstoday.com/proteus-software-introduction
3. https://projectiot123.com/2019/03/25/bluetooth-module-simulation-in-proteus/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino_IDE
5. https://www.virtual-serial-port.org/

6. https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2016/01/xbee-library-proteus.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
8. https://www.polytechnichub.com/advantages-disadvantages-bluetooth/
9. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352864816300335
10. https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Terminology/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-
VLC-Visible-Light-
Communication.html#:~:text=%E2%9E%A8VLC%20based%20communication%20has,
%2C%20shadowing%2C%20beam%20dispersion%20etc.https://www.cisco.com/c/en_in
/products/wireless/what-is-wifi.html
11. https://www.elprocus.com/what-is-ZigBee-technology-architecture-and-its-applications/
12. https://www.polytechnichub.com/advantages-disadvantages-ZigBee/
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_light_communication

ANNEXURE
1. Paper presented certificates

2. Data sheets
i. Bluetooth module:
Hardware Features
 Typical -80dBm sensitivity
 Up to +4dBm RF transmit power
 Low Power 1.8V Operation ,1.8 to 3.6V I/O
 PIO control
 UART interface with programmable baud rate
 With integrated antenna
 With edge connector
Software Features
 Default Baud rate: 38400, Data bits:8, Stop bit:1,Parity:No parity, Data control: has.
 Supported baud rate: 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400, 460800.
 Given a rising pulse in PIO0, device will be disconnected.
 Status instruction port PIO1: low-disconnected, high-connected;
 PIO10 and PIO11 can be connected to red and blue led separately. When master and slave
are paired, red and blue led blinks 1time/2s in interval, while disconnected only blue led
blinks 2times/s.
 Auto-connect to the last device on power as default.
 Permit pairing device to connect as default.
 Auto-pairing PINCODE:”0000” as default
 Auto-reconnect in 30 min when disconnected as a result of beyond the range of connection.
HC-05 Default Settings

 Default Bluetooth Name: “HC-05”
 Default Password: 1234 or 0000
 Default Communication: Slave
 Default Mode: Data Mode
 Data Mode Baud Rate: 9600, 8, N, 1
 Command Mode Baud Rate: 38400, 8, N, 1

 Default firmware: LINVOR
ii. XBee module

Features and Electrical Characteristics:
 Transmission Frequency: 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz
 Number of Channels: 16 Direct Sequence Channels
 Featured with UART (250 Kb/s maximum) and SPI (5 Mb/s maximum) interface
 Featured with software adjustable transmitting power
 Indoor/Urban Range: 200ft
 Outdoor RF line-of-sight Range: up to 4000ft
 Transmit Power Output: 6.3mW (8dBm) in Boost mode,2mW (3dBm) in Normal mode
 RF Data Rate: 250,000 bps
 Receiver Sensitivity: -102dBm in Boost mode, -100dBm in Normal mode
 Supply Voltage Range: +2.1V to +3.6V
 Operating Current: 33mA (at3.3V, for Normal mode) , 45mA (at 3.3V,for Boost mode)
 Idle Current: 9mA
 Maximum output current on all pins together: 40mA
 Power-down Current: <1uA @25C
 ESD protection: 3000V
 Operating Temperature: -40ºC to 85° C

iii. RF module:
Features of RF Module:
 Receiver frequency 433MHz
 Receiver typical frequency 105Dbm
 Receiver supply current 3.5mA
 Low power consumption
 Receiver operating voltage 5v
 Transmitter frequency range 433.92MHz
 Transmitter supply voltage 3v~6v
 Transmitter output power 4v~12v

iv. LM358:
Features
 Available in 8-Bump micro SMD chip sized package, (See AN-1112)
 Internally frequency compensated for unity gain
 Large dc voltage gain: 100 dB
 Wide bandwidth (unity gain): 1 MHz (temperature compensated)
 Wide power supply range:
o single supply: 3V to 32V
o dual supplies: ±1.5V to ±16V
 Very low supply current drain (500 μA)—essentially independent of supply voltage
 Low input offset voltage: 2 mV
 Input common-mode voltage range includes ground
 Differential input voltage range equal to the power supply voltage
 Large output voltage swing

v. Arduino Nano:

3. Hardware implementation pictures

4. Expenditure table
S.No Component Cost (Rs.) Total Cost
1. Arduino nano 225 450
2. Mini USB cable 60 120
3. LM358 Comparator 10 10
4. LCD 16*2 125 250
5. Potentiometer 5 10
6. Keypad 90 90
7. LDR 10 10
8. Miscellaneous 200 200
TOTAL 1140

PLAGIARISM REPORT

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SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM

VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, BELGAUM

Prajwal Vishwanath 1BM16EC080

Varun K V Ithal 1BM16EC118

Under the Guidance of

January - May 2020

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

We undersigned students of final semester B.E in Electronics and Communication

B.M.S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

Mr. Harish V Mekali Dr. Arathi R Shankar

External Examination: Signature with date:

This Work Is Dedicated To All The Farmers Of The Nation

We express profound gratitude to respected principal Dr. B. V. Ravishankar, BMS College

Figure 1: Percentage of irrigation in the world 09

Table 1: Capacity of data logger 31

Chapter 2: Literature Survey 19

Chapter 3: Problem Analysis 22

Chapter 4: Methodology And Implementation 25

Chapter 5: Results And Discussion 45

Chapter 6: Conclusion And Future Work 51

Chapter 8: Plagiarism Report 54

Figure 1: Percentage of irrigation in the world

1.2 Smart Irrigation Concepts

1.2.1 SOIL CHARACTERISTICS:

As mentioned before, the four important soil characteristics are:

Now, to calculate Available Moisture (AM), it is given by:

Now, to calculate the Readily Available Moisture (RAM), it is given by:

The soil characteristics are shown in the figure below.

Figure 3: Soil Characteristics

Figure 4: Watering Cycles

1.2.2 PLANT CHARACTERISTICS:

Figure 5: Different Stages of Growth of a Plant

LINEAR ROOT DEPTH MODEL

Beginning of Flowering Stage

Figure 6: The Linear Root Depth Model

t/T = d/D (or) d=tD/T

1.2.3 WEATHER CHARACTERISTICS

Each of these parameters can be further calculated as follows:

Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD):

Net Solar Radiation (Rn):

Wind Speed (u2):

Slope Vapor Pressure Curve (Δ):

T is the mean temperature.

Psychometric Constant (γ):

Here, P is the calculation of the atmospheric pressure in KPa.

Soil Heat Flux Density (G):

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE SURVEY

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under

Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was established on 16 July

Kay Smarsly, in 2013, presented Agricultural ecosystem monitoring based on autonomous

CHAPTER 3: PROBLEM ANALYSIS

3.1 Problem Definition

3.2 Proposed Solution

THE PROBLEM OF WATER SUPPLY:

Figure 7: Sensor Placement in Soil

Figure 8: Optimal Sensor Placement

THE PROBLEM OF WEATHER MONITORING:

CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION

4.1 Implementation Block Diagram