Agricultural Monitoring System Design

Agricultural Monitoring System Design

Based on your requirements, we’ll design a smart agriculture system that uses a combination of technologies to monitor temperature, humidity, and light, control devices, and manage everything remotely. The core features are: smart nodes that monitor environmental data, manual and automatic control modes, data transmission over LoRa and 4G, and remote control from a phone or PC.

1. System Module Overview

The agricultural monitoring system consists of the following main modules:

1. Smart node (sensors and control unit):

   • Read temperature, humidity, and light sensor data.
   • Start and stop the fan, and display the current fan status.
   • Support switching between manual and automatic mode.
   • Display temperature/humidity, light level, fan status, and mode status.
   • Send data to the 4G node over LoRa.

2. 4G gateway node:

   • Receive sensor data from the smart nodes.
   • Upload the data to the MOTT server over the 4G network.
   • Display every sensor reading on the screen.

• MOTT server:

  • Store the data sent from the 4G node.
  • Provide a remote access interface.

• Application software (PC or mobile):

  • Display temperature/humidity, light level, fan status, manual/automatic mode, and other data.
  • Provide login, manual control, automatic control, and other features.

2. System Function Design

2.1 Smart Node Functions

1. Sensor data collection:

   • Temperature/humidity sensor: read temperature and humidity data in real time.
   • Light sensor: read light intensity data in real time.

• Mode switching:

  • Manual mode: the user can start or stop the fan manually with the buttons.
  • Automatic mode: the fan starts and stops automatically once temperature or light level crosses the configured threshold.

• Fan control:

  • In manual mode, the user toggles the fan with the buttons, and a green LED shows the fan status.
  • In automatic mode, the system controls the fan based on the configured temperature and light thresholds, and uses a green and a red LED for status indication.

• Data transmission:

  • Use the LoRa wireless module to upload sensor data and fan status to the 4G gateway node.

• Display:

  • Show the current temperature/humidity, light level, mode status, and fan status.

2.2 4G Gateway Node Functions

1. Data reception:

   • Receive the sensor data uploaded by the smart nodes over LoRa (temperature, humidity, light level, fan status, manual/automatic mode status).

• 4G network transmission:

  • Upload the smart node data to the MOTT server over the 4G network.

• Display output:

  • Show temperature/humidity, light level, mode status, and fan status on the 4G gateway node’s screen.

2.3 MOTT Server Functions

1. Data storage:

   • Store the temperature/humidity, light level, fan status, and other data coming from the 4G gateway node.

• Remote management interface:

  • Provide a RESTful API or WebSocket interface for client applications to access.

2.4 Application Software Functions

1. User login:
   • Provide a login screen where the user signs in by entering a username and password (username: admin, password: admin123).

• Manual control:

  • After signing in, the user can start and stop the fan manually through the UI; the action triggers a red LED and a buzzer.

• Automatic control:

  • The user can set temperature and light thresholds; once the smart node enters automatic mode, the system controls the fan based on sensor data and shows the status through the LED indicators.

• Display:

  • Show temperature, humidity, light level, fan status, and manual/automatic mode status in real time.

3. Prototype Design

3.1 Smart Node Prototype

+-------------------------+
|    Temp/Humidity Sensor |
|                         |
|    Light Sensor         |
|                         |
|   Button Panel (5 keys) |
|                         |
|    Display (LCD)        |
|                         |
|  Fan Ctrl (LED+Buzzer)  |
+-------------------------+

• Display: shows temperature, humidity, light level, the current mode (manual/automatic), and fan status.
• Button panel: 5 buttons, including:
  • A mode toggle button (manual/automatic)
  • A control button to start the fan
  • A control button to stop the fan
• LED: indicates whether the fan is running (green for running, red for stopped).
• Buzzer: sounds at 1Hz while the fan is running.

3.2 4G Gateway Node Prototype

+-------------------------+
|  LoRa Receiver Module   |
|  (receive data)         |
|                         |
|    Display (LCD)        |
|                         |
|  4G Network Module      |
|  (upload data)          |
+-------------------------+

• Display: shows temperature/humidity, light level, mode status, and fan status.
• LoRa receiver module: receives the sensor data sent by the smart nodes.
• 4G network module: uploads the received data to the MOTT server.

3.3 Application Software Prototype (PC or mobile)

+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Login Screen                                          |
|   - Username input                                    |
|   - Password input                                    |
|   - Login button                                      |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Main Screen                                           |
|   - Live temp/humidity, light, fan, manual/auto mode  |
|   - Manual fan control buttons (start/stop)           |
|   - Auto-mode thresholds (temperature, light)         |
|   - Status: current mode (manual/auto), fan (on/off)  |
+-------------------------------------------------------+

4. System Design Steps

4.1 Hardware Design and Development

• Choose suitable sensors: a temperature/humidity sensor (such as DHT22), a light sensor, a fan control module, LED indicators, and a buzzer.
• Smart node circuit design: design the power management circuit to make sure all sensors and control components work properly.
• LoRa module integration: integrate the LoRa module into the smart node to enable wireless data transmission.

4.2 Software Development

1. Smart node program:

   • Write code to read the sensor data.
   • Control the fan and the LED indicators.
   • Implement switching between manual and automatic mode.
   • Implement LoRa data transmission.

• 4G gateway node program:
  • Receive LoRa data and upload it to the MOTT server over the 4G network.
• MOTT server development:
  • Provide data storage and a remote management interface (API).
• Application software development:
  • Implement user login, manual control, automatic control, data display, and other features.

4.3 System Integration and Testing

• Hardware integration: connect the sensors, LoRa module, display, and other hardware to the smart node and the 4G gateway node.
• Functional testing: test manual mode, automatic mode, data transmission, and so on.
• Performance tuning: make sure the system stays stable during real-time data transmission and control.

4.4 Deployment and Maintenance

• Deploy the smart node and the 4G gateway: roll the system out into the actual agricultural environment for on-site testing and debugging.
• Maintenance and updates: inspect the system regularly and apply the necessary feature updates and optimizations.