PlantSense - Smart Indoor Plant Care System

The PlantSense system operates as an integrated closed-loop monitoring and control platform designed to maintain optimal indoor botanical conditions. At the core of the system is the Sipeed Maixduino microcontroller paired with an AI vision camera module, which processes sensory inputs and environmental data. Environmental variables are tracked continuously using a DHT11 sensor for ambient temperature and relative humidity, an LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) to measure light intensity, and a resistive soil moisture sensor placed directly in the plant's potting medium. These analog and digital sensors interface with the Maixduino to evaluate current plant health metrics against predefined thresholds. When the soil moisture drops below the target level, the microcontroller triggers a relay module. The relay acts as an electrically isolated electronic switch that safely activates the water pump, drawing water from the reservoir to irrigate the plant until optimal moisture is restored. Simultaneously, the system can regulate supplementary illumination by controlling the LED grow lights based on real-time ambient light readings captured by the LDR. Furthermore, firmware running on the Maixduino formats this collected telemetry and streams it to a cloud-based monitoring interface via IoT protocols. This allows undergraduate engineers and users to remotely observe environmental parameters, evaluate system responsiveness, and ensure continuous automated care for indoor botanical environments.