Team [BLANK]: jakob Monteyne, Benjamin Decoene

Published April 9, 2017 © GPL3+

The composting friend

Our goal is to make composting easier to use and to maintain.

IntermediateFull instructions provided4 hours2,014

Things used in this project

Hardware components

AllThingsTalk IOTOPIA Rapid Development kit

SparkFun ProtoShield Kit

Adafruit 4.7k ohm resistor

soil mosture sensor

temperature sensor

powerbank

Software apps and online services

AllThingsTalk Maker

Arduino IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

3D Printer (generic)

Story

INTRO

Hello, 

We are Jakob Monteyne and Benjamin Decoene, at the moment we study science and technology at VTI-Veurne. We chose for a project about the composting process. After a bit of research we found a specific way of composting, worm composting.

We will try to create the perfect biome for our worms, that way they can produce optimally. We can achieve this by measuring the soil with sensors and send this info with the Arduino to Allthingsmaker. That way the user has complete supervision over the bin. Allthingsmaker sends a notification if something’s horribly wrong with the composting bin, and if you have connection with the internet you can always check if everything’s alright with the worms. We also try to make the bin more appealing for the users so it has a decorative side to it as well. That way we aim at a larger group of people.

VIDEO

INTERVIEW

ALLTHINGSMAKER

pinboard allthingsmaker

There are certain factors that are important for the processing.

The bin needs to be aired enough.

The ph-value must be between 6,5-8,6.

The humidity must be above 75%.

The temperature must be between 15 and 25 for optimal composting

We can monitor this by the sensors.

sensors placed in the middle of the cilinder

If you push the button on the arduino the timer starts and the asset "composting proces" shows how far you are with the composting proces. Also the population of the worms increase over time. If you put the starting count of worms in arduino allthingsmaker will show how much worms currently are in the wormbin. The mass of processed waste depends on the amount of worms.

rules allthingsmaker

This are the rules set for the composting process. You can choose if you want to let allthingsmaker send a notification to your phone/e-mail/pc. That way you can keep an eye on your worms at all time.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORMBIN

Waste allowed to put in the bin:

The wormbin doesn't really produce a lot of compost. However the wormthee (urine of the worms + the compost fluid) that is collected in the bottom part of the bin. be careful! Never poor the pure liquid on your plants. The perfect proportion of wormthee to water is 1/9 wormthee.

Here's an example of what happends when you use the pure liquid...

the massacre at wormcity 2017

CONSTRUCTION OF THE BIN

Here we cut the holes in the side of the upper part of the bin, this is where you will be able to plant spices or flowers or even vegetables.

Here we cut a hole in the bottom this is where the middle cylinder will go through so that the worm tea (this is the urine of the worms) can be collected in the bottom part.

Here we heat up the cuts we made before to stretch them into a gap where we can plant things in.

Now we place a cylindrical object into the cuts to stretch it till the plastic is hard again.

The cylinder that will be placed in the middle needs holes in the side so the worms can move freely through the whole bin, the holes are diameter 14mm they start at 15 cm of the top and 5 cm of the bottom (the length itself depends on your size composting bin.

Here we put the cylinder in the bin and we attach it with 2 components lime.

After the cleaning and the painting your result should be somewhat similar to this.

These are the parts that we will use for the bottom part of the bin.

We attached these parts using glue and vices the planks in the front will be attached with hinges these will be the doors.

Here we use the hinges to attach the 2 planks that will serve as doors so you have access to the container that collects the worm tea (this is the worm urine).

Here we attach doorknobs.

Here is our result after we attached the top part on the bottom part (we planted some spices and flowers in ofcourse). We put all the hardware into the bottom part of the composting bin.

We also had to make a waterproof case for the sensor since it wasn’t waterproof in the first place we printed this with a 3d-printer after we drew it in solid edge.

COMPOSTING MANUAL:

First you turn on the battery in the electrical cabin.

Secondly you need to put some little branches or paper shredding’s at the bottom of the middle cylinder.

Now you can add some waste to the cylinder.

Then you release the worms (tiger worms) in the cylinder in the middle.

The bin is all set now, press the button in the electrical cabin to confirm that the composting process has started.

In the end it is now possible to plant flowers or spices in the anticipated spaces.

Do not forget to water your worms in time.

Schematics

Code

Main Program

#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include "ATT_IOT_FONA.h"
#include "ATT_MQTT.h"

#include "ATT_IOT_GPRS.h"
#include <SPI.h>
#include <OneWire.h> 
#include <DallasTemperature.h>
#include <math.h>

#define deviceId "kJH6Py3Oatj33vRqxwO71jfx"
#define clientId "JakobM_cYGu2moo"
#define clientKey "zWLz4JvK"

#define FONA_APN       "web.pro.be"
#define FONA_USERNAME  ""
#define FONA_PASSWORD  ""

#define FONA_RX 3
#define FONA_TX 2
#define FONA_RST 5
#define ONE_WIRE_BUS 7
#define buttonNr 8 

SoftwareSerial fonaSS = SoftwareSerial(FONA_TX, FONA_RX);
OneWire oneWire(ONE_WIRE_BUS); 
DallasTemperature sensors(&oneWire);
 


ATTDevice Device(deviceId, clientId, clientKey);
#define httpServer "api.AllThingsTalk.io"
#define mqttServer httpServer

int HumidityAssetNr = 3;
int tempAssetNr = 1;
int WormAssetNr = 7;
int procentReadyAssetNr = 5;

int HumidityPin=5;
const int AnalogPinHumidity = A0;

unsigned long time;
unsigned int prevVal =0;

float Temperature=0.0;
int Humidity=0;
unsigned long numberOfHours = 0;
int procentReady = 0;

unsigned long StartNumberOfWorms = 20;
unsigned long NumberOfWorms = 0;

void callback(const char* topic, const char* payload, unsigned int length);


void setup()
{        
    fonaSS.begin(19200);
    Serial.begin(57600);
  
	while(!Serial && millis() < 2000);
  
    while (! Device.InitGPRS(fonaSS, FONA_RST, F(FONA_APN), F(FONA_USERNAME), F(FONA_PASSWORD))) {
        Serial.println("Retrying FONA");
    }
    Serial.println(F("Connected to Cellular!"));
    delay(2000);                                        		// wait a few seconds to stabilize connection
  
    while(!Device.Connect(httpServer))
        Serial.println("retrying");
    Device.AddAsset(tempAssetNr, "tempereturesensor", "tempereturesensor",false, "{\"type\": \"number\", \"unit\": °C }");
    Device.AddAsset(HumidityAssetNr, "moisturesensor", "moisturesensor",false, "{\"type\": \"integer\", \"unit\": % }");
    Device.AddAsset(procentReadyAssetNr, "compost timer", "almost finished!!!", true,"integer" );
    Device.AddAsset(WormAssetNr,"worm count", "worm count", false,"integer");
    while(!Device.Subscribe(callback, mqttServer, 1883))
        Serial.println("retrying"); 
    sensors.begin();
    pinMode(AnalogPinHumidity, INPUT);
    pinMode(buttonNr, INPUT);
    procentReady = numberOfHours/2928*100;
}


void loop()
{
unsigned long curTime = millis();
  if (curTime > (time + 3000))                          // publish readings every 3 seconds
  {
    Temperature = get_temp();
    Device.Send(String(Temperature),tempAssetNr);


int procentReady = analogRead(AnalogPinHumidity)*(-0.0977517107)+100;
    Device.Send(String(procentReady),HumidityAssetNr);
    time = curTime;
bool sensorVal = digitalRead(buttonNr);
if (sensorVal==HIGH){
  sensorVal = HIGH;
  delay(1000);
  numberOfHours = numberOfHours+1;
  Device.Send(String(procentReady),procentReadyAssetNr);
  Serial.println(procentReady + "% ready");
  }
else{
  Serial.println("compostingProces not started");
}
if (procentReady >99){
    Serial.println("proces complete, time to collect the compost!");
    sensorVal = LOW;
}
  NumberOfWorms = StartNumberOfWorms*pow(2,numberOfHours/720);
  Device.Send(String(NumberOfWorms + "wormen"),WormAssetNr);
  }
  Device.Process(); 
}


void callback(const char* topic, const char* payload, unsigned int length) 
{ 
	String msgString(payload);
	int* idOut = NULL;
  
	int pinNr = Device.GetPinNr(topic, strlen(topic));
    
	Serial.print("Payload: ");
    Serial.println(msgString);
    Serial.print("topic: ");
    Serial.println(topic);
    Serial.print("pin: ");
    Serial.println(pinNr);
    

  
	if(idOut != NULL)
		Device.Send(msgString, *idOut);    
}

//functie om de temperatuur op te vragen.
float get_temp()
{ 
 sensors.requestTemperatures(); // Send the command to get temperature readings 
 //Serial.print("Temperature is: "); 
float result;
result=sensors.getTempCByIndex(0);
//Serial.print(resultaat);
return result; 
}

Credits

jakob Monteyne

1 project • 0 followers

Benjamin Decoene

1 project • 0 followers

The composting friend

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Custom parts and enclosures

waterproof case moisture sensor

waterproof case moisture sensor

waterproof case moisture sensor

Schematics

breadboard schematic

elektrical schematic

Code

Main Program

Credits

jakob Monteyne

Benjamin Decoene

Comments

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The composting friend

The composting friend

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Custom parts and enclosures

waterproof case moisture sensor

waterproof case moisture sensor

waterproof case moisture sensor

Schematics

breadboard schematic

elektrical schematic

Code

Main Program

Credits

jakob Monteyne

Benjamin Decoene

Comments

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