The Internet of Terrariums Has Arrived

Do you get bored with your surroundings quickly? When you’re in the middle of a snowstorm, do you wish you could be transported to a tropical forest? Or maybe you are in the tropics but are dreaming of the arid solitude of a desert? Jetting around the world on a whim is a good way to drain your savings account, but there is another option. Maintaining a terrarium or two in your home is a great way to experience a variety of wildly different ecosystems — at least on a small scale.

Closed terrariums, in particular, can offer some really exotic scenes anywhere. By perfectly controlling the temperature, humidity, lighting, and a dozen other environmental factors, plants and animals from around the world can be perfectly at home in your home. But getting all of these variables right — and keeping them within safe bounds — often feels like a full time job.

If you want the full terrarium experience without all of the work, then blackdevice has a very interesting solution that might help. Called EnvControl, their system carefully monitors and adjusts the local climate of small, closed living habitats.

The device contains temperature and humidity sensors that monitor the conditions inside a terrarium in real time. Everything is powered by an ESP32 microcontroller, which makes it possible to remotely access the system over Wi-Fi via a web-based user interface. This allows users to check on the status of the terrarium, and also make adjustments to the environment. This is made possible via a set of relays and dimmers that trigger additional hardware, like heaters, to make corrections.

Factors like sunrise and sunset time can be fetched via a web API to mimic the actual conditions in locations all around the world. Customized profiles can also be created, which allow the environment to be controlled in different ways under different conditions — for example, profiles can be created to control day and night conditions appropriately.

With EnvControl, you can take a hands-off approach if you like, or you can watch the environmental conditions like a hawk. Whatever your style may be, it looks like the Internet of Terrariums has arrived.