Research/Background

Matthew Tan

•

Hongheng Qian

•

Daksh B

Published February 10, 2025

Automatic System for Urban Farming

We aim to reduce the time spent and reduce the costs of urban farming?

BeginnerWork in progress128

Things used in this project

Hardware components

M5Stack FIRE IoT Development Kit (PSRAM 2.0)

M5Stack Light Unit with Photo-resistance

M5Stack RGB Unit with NeoPixel RGB LED (SK6812)

M5Stack Earth Module Grove Compatible Soil monitoring

M5Stack ENV II

M5Stack I2C Hub 1 to 6 Expansion TCA9548A Module

M5Stack I/O Hub 1 to 6 Expansion

Software apps and online services

M5Stack Uiflow

Story

Driving Question

How can we reduce the time spent and reduce the costs of urban farming?

Project Introduction

This project aims to develop a system to help urban farmers reduce the time they spent on urban farming and the cost incurred. Currently, due to the large expenses of urban farming, the produce sold are more expensive compared to those imported. This reduces the number of products sold and profits earnt from urban farming, making many farmers skeptical to try it out.\

Research/Background

One major expenditure in urban farming is the costs of maintaining a farm.
Inflation and supply chain disruptions have been driving up the cost of seeds, fertilizer and logistics.
High rent for limited space, significant energy expenditure for climate control in indoor farms, labor costs due to the need for skilled workers, specialized equipment for vertical farming, and sometimes additional expenses like water purification systems, depending on the setup; essentially, the major cost drivers are land, energy, and skilled labor, all of which tend to be expensive in urban areas
Another major expenditure in urban farming is Light.
If the light intensity of a growing area is too low, plants may become weak and thin as they are forced to stretch towards the light source, because they are trying to increase their light exposure to compensate for the low light intensity. If the light intensity is too high, it can cause leaf burn and reduce the plant's ability to absorb water. Artificial light can decrease and increase its light intensity so that it doesn't harm the plants.
The energy cost required to power artificial lights can account for up to 70% of the total electricity usage in an indoor farm, making it a significant expense due to the constant need for light to grow crops in controlled environments.
Another major expenditure in urban farming is Humidity and Temperature.
Managing temperature and humidity is vital for urban farming, as it affects crop health and energy costs. To maintain optimal conditions, urban farms rely on heating, cooling, and humidity control systems, which leads to significant energy expenditures, especially in controlled environments like indoor farms. The costs for these systems can range widely based on farm size, local climate, and the crops grown, with monthly energy expenses around $10,000 or more. The choice of crops also impacts energy needs, as some plants require more controlled conditions than others.

Our video

Prototype

Block Diagram for M5Stack

Flowchart

M5Stack Code

from m5stack import *
from m5ui import *
from uiflow import *
import time
import unit

setScreenColor(0x222222)
pahub_2 = unit.get(unit.PAHUB, unit.PORTA)
pbhub_2 = unit.get(unit.PBHUB, unit.PAHUB1)
env2_2 = unit.get(unit.ENV2, unit.PAHUB0)


UpperLimit = None
LightValue = None
EarthValue = None
LowerLimit = None
Upper_LowerLimit = None



label0 = M5TextBox(0, 0, "Temperature", lcd.FONT_Default, 0x000fff, rotate=0)
label1 = M5TextBox(0, 27, "Humidity", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label2 = M5TextBox(308, 0, "C", lcd.FONT_Default, 0x1d00ff, rotate=0)
label3 = M5TextBox(306, 26, "%", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label4 = M5TextBox(180, 0, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0x000fff, rotate=0)
label5 = M5TextBox(180, 26, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label6 = M5TextBox(0, 170, "Upper Limit:", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xff0000, rotate=0)
label7 = M5TextBox(0, 200, "Lower Limit:", lcd.FONT_Default, 0x003bff, rotate=0)
label8 = M5TextBox(105, 170, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label9 = M5TextBox(105, 200, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label10 = M5TextBox(242, 224, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label11 = M5TextBox(64, 224, "+", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label12 = M5TextBox(157, 224, "-", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label13 = M5TextBox(0, 57, "Moisture level", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
image0 = M5Img(205, 116, "res/default.jpg", True)
label14 = M5TextBox(180, 57, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label16 = M5TextBox(180, 86, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label15 = M5TextBox(0, 86, "Brightness", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)

from numbers import Number


# Describe this function...
def ReadLightValue():
  global UpperLimit, LightValue, EarthValue, LowerLimit, Upper_LowerLimit
  LightValue = pbhub_2.analogRead(0)
  return LightValue

# Describe this function...
def ReadEarthValue():
  global UpperLimit, LightValue, EarthValue, LowerLimit, Upper_LowerLimit
  EarthValue = pbhub_2.digitalRead(2, 0)
  return EarthValue


def buttonA_wasPressed():
  global UpperLimit, LightValue, EarthValue, LowerLimit, Upper_LowerLimit
  if Upper_LowerLimit == 0:
    UpperLimit = (UpperLimit if isinstance(UpperLimit, Number) else 0) + 1
  elif Upper_LowerLimit == 1:
    LowerLimit = (LowerLimit if isinstance(LowerLimit, Number) else 0) + 1
  pass
btnA.wasPressed(buttonA_wasPressed)

def buttonB_wasPressed():
  global UpperLimit, LightValue, EarthValue, LowerLimit, Upper_LowerLimit
  if Upper_LowerLimit == 0:
    UpperLimit = (UpperLimit if isinstance(UpperLimit, Number) else 0) + -1
  elif Upper_LowerLimit == 1:
    LowerLimit = (LowerLimit if isinstance(LowerLimit, Number) else 0) + -1
  pass
btnB.wasPressed(buttonB_wasPressed)

def buttonC_wasPressed():
  global UpperLimit, LightValue, EarthValue, LowerLimit, Upper_LowerLimit
  if Upper_LowerLimit == 0:
    Upper_LowerLimit = 1
  else:
    Upper_LowerLimit = 0
  pass
btnC.wasPressed(buttonC_wasPressed)


UpperLimit = 37
LowerLimit = 17
Upper_LowerLimit = 0
while True:
  pbhub_2.setColor(1, 0, 3, 0x993399)
  label8.setText(str(UpperLimit))
  label9.setText(str(LowerLimit))
  label4.setText(str(env2_2.temperature))
  label5.setText(str(env2_2.humidity))
  if Upper_LowerLimit == 0:
    label10.setText('Upper Limit')
  else:
    label10.setText('Lower Limit')
  if (env2_2.temperature) > UpperLimit:
    image0.changeImg("res/default.jpg")
  elif (env2_2.temperature) < LowerLimit:
    image0.changeImg("res/default.jpg")
  else:
    image0.changeImg("res/default.jpg")
  if 700 < ReadLightValue():
    pbhub_2.setBrightness(1, 100)
    label16.setText('4/4')
  elif 500 < ReadLightValue():
    pbhub_2.setBrightness(1, 75)
    label16.setText('3/4')
  elif 300 < ReadLightValue():
    pbhub_2.setBrightness(1, 50)
    label16.setText('2/4')
  elif 0 < ReadLightValue():
    pbhub_2.setBrightness(1, 25)
    label16.setText('1/4')
  if 0 == ReadEarthValue():
    pass
  else:
    speaker.sing(220, 1/2)
    wait_ms(300)
  if 0 == ReadEarthValue():
    label14.setText('True')
  else:
    label14.setText('False')
  wait_ms(2)

Credits

Matthew Tan

1 project • 0 followers

Hongheng Qian

1 project • 0 followers

Daksh B

1 project • 0 followers

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Automatic System for Urban Farming​

Automatic System for Urban Farming​

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Research/Background

Code

M5Stack Code

Credits

Matthew Tan

Hongheng Qian

Daksh B

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Automatic System for Urban Farming

Automatic System for Urban Farming