CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces a smart agricultural system using IoT. This chapter
describes how the entire system works as well as the main aim and objectives. The
details overview of the system and the implementation program are also described.

1.1. Introduction of Smart Agricultural System Using IoT

Agriculture is one of the oldest and prime activities of the human being. In
developing countries agriculture sector has been a major source of employment and it
is contributed to the economy. The fundamental aim of agriculture is to lift stronger
and more fruitful crops and plants and to help them for their growth by improving the
soil and supplying water. IoT smart farming solution is a system that is built for
monitoring the crop field with the help of sensors (light, humidity, temperature, soil
moisture, crop health, etc.) and automating the irrigation system. Water is essential for
plant growth and the distribution of mineral nutrients. Irrigation involves the
application of water to the soil through a system of pumps, tubes, and sprays. The
Internet of Things (IoT) is any application that requires data collection, automation, or
control. With the growing popularity of IoT, there has been an increase in the ideas
surrounding smart agricultural technology.
In this mini-thesis, a smart IoT enabled agricultural system using an ESP32
microcontroller. The system comprises an ESP32, soil moisture sensor, temperature
and humidity sensor, rain sensor, and water pump. The Blynk IoT mobile app and
web dashboard collect irrigation data, turn the automatic irrigation feature ON or
OFF, manually open the pump if needed, and plot temperature, soil moisture content,
and air humidity graphs. Opening the pump allows water to reach the roots of the
plants. The soil moisture sensor constantly checks if the soil is dry. If the soil is dry
and the temperature is ideal, the ESP32 can automatically open the pump and irrigate
the field. The irrigation for the plant was conducted automatically by the system with
no interference from the users. The reduction of heavy labor and tedious tasks can
also lead to improvements in the health and work or life balance of farming staff.
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1.2. Overview of the System

The block diagram of smart agriculture system using IoT is shown in Figure
1.1. An IoT-based smart agriculture system will be implemented to control watering
system of the farm. An ESP32-based smart agriculture system can be implemented
using the Blynk platform to monitor and control environmental conditions and
irrigation. The system includes a DHT11 sensor for temperature and humidity, a
moisture sensor for soil moisture levels, a raindrop sensor for detecting rainfall, and a
water pump controlled via a relay. The ESP32 collects data from these sensors and
sends it to the Blynk app, where users can monitor real-time conditions and manually
or automatically control the pump. These sensors will find the various situations of
the soil and based on soil moisture percent and land gets automatically irrigated. It
means when the field needs water then automatically the motor will get ON and it will
get OFF when it is got enough. The system can automatically irrigate based on soil
moisture levels and prevent watering during rainfall, enhancing water conservation
and crop management efficiency. This setup provides remote monitoring and control,
helping optimize agricultural practices.

Figure 1.1. Block Diagram of the System

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1.3. Aim and Objectives

This mini-thesis aims to design and implement a Smart Agricultural System
Using IoT.
These objectives needed to accomplish this mini-thesis. These objectives will
act as a guide and will restrict the system to be implemented for certain situations.
The objectives of the smart agricultural system using IoT are as follows:
 To provide DHT11 sensor for humidity and temperature values of the farm.
 To detect moisture sensor for moisture level of the farm.
 To shut off an irrigation system temporarily by the rain sensor.
 To monitor the system by using a smartphone.
 To control the relay for the water pump.
 To learn ESP32 (Node MCU) and programming for controlling the whole
system.

1.4. Scope of the Thesis

In this mini-thesis, traditional farming methods often require farmers to
manually monitor soil moisture levels and manually pump water into the fields when
necessary. This process can be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and inefficient,
leading to suboptimal irrigation practices and potential crop yield losses. Moreover,
the increasing global demand for food production, coupled with the need for
sustainable agricultural practices and calls for innovative solutions have been used to
improve farming efficiency and reduce resource wastage.

1.5. Implementation Program

The implementation program of the Smart Agricultural System Using IoT
System are as follows:
 Making user accounts on the cloud platform.
 Managing the ESP32 board repositories in the IDE (Integrated Development
Environment).
 Installing the necessary libraries in the IDE (Integrated Development
Environment).
 Creating the template for the mini-thesis on the cloud platform.
 Creating the UI (User Interface) on the web dashboard and mobile dashboard.
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 Configuring the internet access for the system.

 Interfacing the controller and interconnection of hardware devices.

1.6. Outlines of the Thesis

This mini-thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter one briefly introduces
the smart agricultural system using IoT. Chapter two describes the literature review
and discusses the related theory of associated components of this system. Chapter
three explains the design of the system and implementation of the system and
program code of this mini-thesis. The test and results of the system are presented in
chapter four. Finally, discussions, conclusion and further extensions are discussed in
chapter five.