DEVELOPMENT OF SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM BASED ON INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT)

Chinenye A. Ihendinihu
Department of Electrical Electronic Engineering Technology
Abia State Polytechnic, Aba Nigeria
integralofihendi@gmail.com

Kelechi Inyama
Department of Electrical Electronic Engineering
Abia State University, Uturu Nigeria
kcinyama@gmail.com

Abstract:

The seasonal nature of water resources for agricultural activities has been a problem for increased production especially during the dry seasons. To sustain an all-year round farming system with optimal management of water resources with less human intervention requires the application of modern technology in irrigation systems, which is successfully implemented in a small potato farm in Abia State Polytechnic, Aba Nigeria based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The system which uses a circuit combination of soil moisture, temperature/humidity sensors connected to a Microcontroller Arduino Uno with a GSM/Wi-Fi module and an electromagnetic relay switch for energizing a connected water pump. The system operation requires the sensors sensing the soil conditions and transmitting same to the Microcontroller which in turn gives command to the switching relay to ON/OFF the water pump automatically while the generated farm condition data are transmitted to the farmer via the GSM/Wi-Fi module. The real time data as obtained by the sensors can also be viewed in thingspeak cloud in graphical form. The device which is cost effective, easy to operate and maintain has the advantage of making irrigation farming system enjoyable, less burden and increases productivity with lesser manpower management

Key Words: IoT, Smart Irrigation, Farm Automation, Microcontroller, Sensors.