A Smart Planter Made Out of Recycled Materials

Aerospace engineering student Arpan (AKA “Makestreme") and company purchased a few nice looking plants, which pleasantly offset all the electronic gadgets in the house. In order to keep that lively feeling, the plants will of course need to be watered intermittently, so he came up with brilliant recycled solution to remind him when it’s a bit thirsty

The build features a base that lights up with the water level, using a moisture sensor constructed with an NPN transistor. These are normally available from a dead CFL bulb, but in this case was taken off of a broken RC car. A resistor is implemented between the base and the emitter of the transistor, and soil probes are connected to the base and the 5V input voltage from a phone-style power supply. Probes are made from galvanized iron wire to minimize rusting, and the circuit itself is stuffed in a small Tic Tac container.

The indicator LED is placed under of the cut-off base of an instant noodle cup, which is used as a light diffuser and a stand for the plant. The blue glow provides a accent, while alerting Arpan to water the plant when the light grows too dim!