Team MassiveIO: Mike Hogan

Published September 11, 2015 © GPL3+

Tank Farm - Well and rain water irrigation controller

Tank Farm Manager is a Raspberry Pi 2b based irrigation controller that integrates rain water collection with well water systems.

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Tank Farm - Well and rain water irrigation controller

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B

16gb SSD with Windows 10 core.

Software apps and online services

Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Core

c# code

Story

Tank Farm is a water management system that uses a Raspberry Pi 2 B to perform irrigation, water storage and well management. The Pi is running Windows 10 core with C# code. Associated interface hardware along with the Pi are mounted in a weather proof case. The current prototype supports 4 water valves, 4 input sensors, 4 switch/control memory relays, triple voltage power supply, numeric keypad input, lighted push button switches, text to speech, touch panel display and voice recognition.

The Pi currently supports 12 digital IO pins. I wanted to evaluate whether a stock pi (no shields or expansion) could provide a full featured system. In order to stay within the 12 digital IO line constraint a 4 valve system was chosen. The pins are configured in 3 groups:

4 pins - Output for device toggle
4 pins - Input for device status
4 pins - Input for sensor status

User Interface

TankFarm Windows 10 core operating system runs autonomous operations independent of other CPU's. Autonomous operations include:

valve-pump dependencies
overflow shutoff protection
dry well pump shutoff protection
sensor device triggers
on delay timers
max duration timers
timed event triggers
alerts and announcements
speech recognition engine

System will function in full autonomous mode with or without screen interface. Adding a touch screen at one of the main control stations allows for configuration of the entire controller network. Code originally written for C# Windows Forms apps has been converted to the more mobile and micro controller friendly Universal Windows Application interface.

UWA XAML interface when using optional display

App interface works on phones, tablets and full size monitors.

Basic operational logic

Tank Farm software uses time of day, duration and rain conditions in order to activate irrigation zones. Rain collection storage tank and well levels are monitored to prevent low well conditions causing pump damage and ensuring storage tank is always full. Irrigation zones receive water from well pressure or from tank gravity drain (fields at lower elevation)

All system parameters are set using xml configuration files loaded at startup. Heuristics for for all functions including; pin mappings, delay parameters, timers, defaults and calibrations can be set for each pin, function or device without re-compiling.

Speech Recognition

Microsoft's support for IoT platform continues to advance. Once reserved for full systems, speech recognition now works from micro controllers such as the Raspberry Pi2. A few gotcha's to overcome. The Raspberry Pi's audio connector only supports audio out. A USB based microphone must be used in order to hear commands. Not all USB mics work. Some will bog down CPU and cause system restarts. Simple embedded USB mics work ok (not much distance or sensitivity). MIC's from USB camera's work best but may cause power issues with the Pi's USB bus. The UWA speech recognition engine is very accurate and fast. In the following field test video, commands were 100% reliable up to 20ft.

Connections

The Pi's 40 pin header is connected to daughter board for minor signal conditioning including 4 x 1k resistor pull ups for sensor inputs and 4 x 12v to 3v level converters for remote switches. Connection to devices is provided via screw terminals conveniently placed along one side of the daughter board (connector strip). The connector strip supports connections for power supply input, relay triggers, relay status, remote switch input, panel push button switch, panel lamps, supply voltages and input sensors.

Quick connect interface

Valve connection schematic

Valve control details

Controller Framework

The irrigation controller framework was designed so that all capabilities of the Pi can be integrated into the field test unit as they become ready and stable. In order to run a live system still under development, two Pi's are used. One in the field and one on the test bench. Updates and additions can be tested on bench unit while software is running in simulation mode. This allows testing of operational logic without Pi being physically connected to the panel. Once a build has been tested, it can be pushed to the field unit. Simulation mode logic is fairly simple. All calls to the GPIO pass through a single function that can be set to convert requests and control to simulated pin logic data. In this mode, input output behaviors can be tested without concern for creating additional simulation code.

The physical size of the main panel is large enough so that expansion, updates and general maintenance can be performed safely and reliably. Sub panels with specific functionality will be considerably smaller and less complicated.

1 / 14 • Tank Farm pictured with touch screen display add om

System Features:

Zone control switches and valves operate in manual mode in the event of micro controller issue
Remote switches located at garden areas allow remote activation
Accurate speech recognition control up to 20 feet
Speech to text feedback
Adaptable to 120vac, 24vac, 12vdc and 5vdc devices
Max 240v, 16amp relay contacts
Low well condition automatically shuts down pumps and waits for ready state
Rain and wet conditions automatically cancel timed irrigation events
Runs with or without display monitor
Integrated touch screen dispaly
System events and sensor data log to data file
System attributes, control settings and pin mappings saved in XML config files
Multiple control panels can be meshed into one control network

Tank Farm field tests

IOT water distribution systems

IOT water management

Future additions include:

8 x valve/pump controls
Email/text/sms alert status
Integrated touch panel display - Competed
Voice recognition - Completed
Temp/humidity/moisture conditions
Full featured WEB service
Solar powered remote stations
Station intercom, music and announcement network

Code

private void LoadXML_appConfig()
        {
            using (XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create(@"appconfig.xml"))
            {
                while (reader.Read())
                {
                    if (reader.IsStartElement())
                    {
                        switch (reader.Name.ToString())
                        {
                            case "RainDetect":
                                RainDetect.IsOn = Convert.ToBoolean(reader.ReadElementContentAsString());
                                break;
                            case "TankFeed":
                                toggleTankFlow.IsOn = Convert.ToBoolean(reader.ReadElementContentAsString());
                                break;
                            case "VoiceOn":
                                HearVoice.IsOn = Convert.ToBoolean(reader.ReadElementContentAsString());
                                break;


                        }

                    }

                }
            }
        }

 // detect keypad presses
        private void KeyDown_1(object sender, Windows.UI.Xaml.Input.KeyRoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            keyActions(e.Key.ToString());
        }
        
        
        // process keypress actions
        private void keyActions(string key)
        {
          
          if (key == "Subtract")
            {
                if (HearVoice.IsOn == false)
                {
                    LogMCMsg("Voice on", true);
                    HearVoice.IsOn = true;
                }
                else
                {
                    LogMCMsg("Voice off", true);
                    HearVoice.IsOn = false;
                }

            }
            .......
       }

 private void OpLogic()
        {
            // check to see if automation is turned off
            if (Automate.IsOn == true)
            {
                // lower plot
                if (mcData[6].Value == "0" && autoWaterPlot1 == false)
                {
                    autoWaterPlot1 = true;
                    //turn on water pressure if feed from well
                    if (mcData[4].Value == "1" && toggleTankFlow.IsOn == false)
                        DevToggle(4, true);
                }

                // turn off water pressure if garden last off
                if (mcData[6].Value == "1")
                {
                    if (mcData[4].Value == "0" && autoWaterPlot1 == true && autoFillTank == false && autoWaterVinyard == false && IrrigateSeries1Started == false && toggleTankFlow.IsOn == false)
                        DevToggle(4, false);

                    autoWaterPlot1 = false;
                    
                }
                
                ...............
                
          }
          
        }

private void toggleSwitch_Toggled(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            if (toggleValve1.IsOn == true && mcData[4].Value == "1")
                DevToggle(4, true);
            if (toggleValve1.IsOn == false && mcData[4].Value == "0")
                DevToggle(4, false);
        }
        
        
         private void DevToggle(int devNum, bool state)
        {
            if (mcData[devNum].Value == "1" && state == true)
            {
                PinOn(devNum - 4);
                if (simActive == true)
                {
                    mcData[devNum].Value = "0";
                    mcData2[devNum].SimPin = "0";
                    mcData2[devNum].PinChangedToOn = true;
                }
            }

            if (mcData[devNum].Value == "0" && state == false)
            {
                PinOn(devNum - 4);
                if (simActive == true)
                {
                    mcData[devNum].Value = "1";
                    mcData2[devNum].SimPin = "1";
                    mcData2[devNum].PinChangedToOff = true;
                }
            }
        }
        
         private int PinOn(int pinNum)
        {
            if (pinNum > -1 && pinNum < 13)
                dev[pinNum].Write(GpioPinValue.High);
            return -1;

        }
        
        private void Timer_Tick(object sender, object e)
        {
            // manage digital pulse outputs
            for (int i = 0; i < 12; i++)
            {
                if (mcParams[i].Type == "DPO")
                {
                    if (mcData2[i].PinSet == true)
                    {
                        dev[i].Write(GpioPinValue.Low);
                        mcData2[i].PinSet = false;
                    }

                    if (dev[i].Read() == 0)
                    {
                        //next step
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        mcData2[i].PinSet = true;
                    }
                }
            }
        }

Credits

Mike Hogan

9 projects • 49 followers

Interested in hardened massive io frameworks

Tank Farm - Well and rain water irrigation controller

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

User Interface

Basic operational logic

Speech Recognition

Connections

System Features:

IOT water distribution systems

Schematics

Board Layout

Valve connection

Code

Tank Farm read XML file sample code

Tank Manager read keypad sample code

Tank Farm valve control sample code

Tank Farm UI toggle device sample code

Credits

Mike Hogan

Comments

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Tank Farm - Well and rain water irrigation controller

Tank Farm - Well and rain water irrigation controller

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

User Interface

Basic operational logic

Speech Recognition

Connections

System Features:

IOT water distribution systems

Schematics

Board Layout

Valve connection

Code

Tank Farm read XML file sample code

Tank Manager read keypad sample code

Tank Farm valve control sample code

Tank Farm UI toggle device sample code

Credits

Mike Hogan

Comments

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