Plant Waterer
Project Summary
We built a device to automatically water houseplants when the soil becomes too dry.
Project Description
This robot uses the Vernier Soil Moisture Sensor, the NXT Sensor Adapter, and a LEGO Hand Pneumatic Pump to control the soil moisture content for a plant, automatically watering the plant when it is too dry and stopping when it is too wet.
The NXT program specifies upper and lower soil moisture levels. Water is in the bottle reservoir. If the soil is too dry, the motor operates the pump, forcing air into the top of the reservoir. The increased air pressure pushes the water out of the reservoir and onto the plant.
When the maximum soil moisture is reached the motor shuts down and the Soil Moisture Sensor monitors the soil as it dries, repeating the watering cycle as needed.
This is simulated in this movie by moving the Soil Moisture Sensor back and forth between wet and dry soil samples.
Demo Movie
Project Downloads
Download the Plant Waterer MINDSTORMS NXT program »
Project Equipment
Select the equipment you want to purchase for this project.
