Case study · AgriTech / IoT

A cellular network-based irrigation system.

An automated irrigation controller a farmer can operate from any mobile phone. Soil and reservoir sensors feed a microcontroller; a GSM module carries commands and readings over SMS so the field is managed remotely, precisely, and with far less water waste.

ATmega / ArduinoGSM · SIM900Embedded CProteus VSM
The problem

Manual irrigation wastes water and depends on one being there.

Traditional farmer-managed irrigation waters land at fixed intervals often too much, sometimes too late, leaving crops dried out. Water is the scarcest and most under-managed input on a farm, and a person has to be on site to monitor soil moisture around the clock.

Most shortfalls in yield trace back to human error: workers neglecting duties across large areas of land. Automating and remotely accessing the irrigation system removes that dependency more consistent watering, fewer hands on the farm, less theft, and higher, more economical yield.

Try it · Interactive

Run the controller.

Move the field sensors and text commands to the controller the way a farmer would. The board reads each sensor against its limit and drives a single relay — this schematic runs the real firmware logic.

SMS · +2348130359477
GSM is ready now.
Signal path
RELAY D11 · ON
SOIL MOISTURE A145%TEMPERATURE A230CWATER LEVEL A040%ATMEGA328PARDUINOGSM · SIM900SMS ↔RELAY · D11CLOSEDPUMP / SPRINKLERRUNNING
Soil moisture below limit
Soil moisture45% · limit 50%
Soil temperature30C · limit 50C
Reservoir / water level40% · limit 50%
MOISTURE LIMIT (@M)
50%
TEMP LIMIT (@T)
50C
WATER LIMIT (@W)
50%
INTERVAL (@I)
8Hr

Logic (from firmware): temperature > limit → relay ON · water level > limit → relay OFF · moisture < limit → relay ON. Later rules take priority. Commands are wrapped @…# and sent over SMS.

How it works

From a text message to a wet field.

01

Set limits by SMS

The farmer texts thresholds for water level, soil moisture, temperature and watering intervals.

02

Sense & display

At each interval the controller reads the sensors and shows current values on the LCD.

03

Decide & act

Readings are compared to the limits; the sprinkler and reservoir pump switch on or off accordingly.

04

Report back

Old and new readings are texted to the farmer before and after watering for manual override.

System architecture

One microcontroller, at the center of everything.

The ATmega32 acts as the brain: it takes input from the sensors, runs the control logic stored in its ROM, and drives the outputs. The GSM module bridges it to the farmer's phone over the cellular network.

Input

Soil moisture sensor

Measures moisture via soil resistivity, converted to a digital reading.

Input

Temperature sensor

Reports soil/ambient temperature to time watering correctly.

Input

Water level gauge

Tracks the reservoir so the pump refills before it runs dry.

Link

GSM SIM900 module

Sends and receives SMS commands over the cellular network at 9600 bps.

Output

Sprinkler & pump

Relay-driven pumps water the crop and refill the reservoir.

Output

LCD 16×2 display

Shows live readings on the controller for on-site checks.

Build & tools

How it was built

  • Control logic written in embedded C on the Arduino IDE
  • Circuit designed and simulated in the Proteus Design Suite (ISIS)
  • Firmware linked and debugged through VSM Studio
  • Waterfall methodology, phase by phase
Outcome

What it delivers

  • Efficient, precise water management across the field
  • Remote control over any cellular network, from any phone
  • Fewer hands on the farm less human error and theft
  • Real-time readings that inform better crop decisions
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