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College of Engineering Unit: 
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Project Team Member(s): 
Alex Feng, Carson Ehlers, Aiden Olsen and Peter Thompson
Project ID: 
ECE.27
Project Description: 

_______Overview________

EcoSense is an advanced universal product that monitors temperature, humidity, pressure, soil saturation, and light levels. Its integration capabilities allow seamless connectivity with existing systems, enabling automated functionalities such as plant watering, HVAC optimization, and window/shade control. At the core of EcoSense is the Garden Node, which is responsible for collecting data. This data is transmitted via WiFi using the Matter IoT protocol to a central hub. The hub offers user-friendly features, allowing for easy expansion of the network and relaying data to the cloud for automation setup.

EcoSense's comprehensive sensor technology and seamless integration with existing systems make it a versatile solution for efficient environmental monitoring and automation. By harnessing the power of data and cloud-based automation, EcoSense empowers users to make informed decisions and optimize their resources for a sustainable and environmentally conscious future. With EcoSense, users gain valuable insights into their environment, optimizing resource utilization. Cloud-based automations powered by AWS enhances efficiency and promotes sustainability. This cutting-edge solution utilizes advanced sensor technology, seamless integration, and cloud-enabled automation, empowering users with greater control and contributing to a greener future.

_______Example Use Case: Automatic agriculture watering_______

- Farms worldwide account for 70% of annual water consumption. 40% of the water used in farming is lost as a result of poor irrigation systems
- An improperly maintained household irrigation system can waste up to 25,000 gallons of water annually
- Irrigating only when plants need water can help reduce outdoor water use

_______Key Technologies_______

Matter: Matter is a new technology, and it serves as a standardized framework that enables seamless communication and interoperability between various smart devices, regardless of their manufacturers or brands. By adopting Matter, manufacturers ensure that their devices can work together harmoniously, simplifying the setup, control, and management of smart devices.

Automation: Automations are powered by Amazon Web Services to automatically turn on and off actuators like sprinklers, heating, and air conditioning. If a given sensor's threshold is surpassed, such as a soil moisture getting too moist, then all connected actuators will be turned off until the user-configured expiration (e.g., 1 day) has expired. Afterward, all actuators will resume normal operation, given that the sensor has also returned back to a normal state.

_______Challenges / Achievements / Future Developments________

Some of our biggest challenges are as follows:
- Shipment of parts like how the power supply components were delayed
- Lots of bugs in microservices architecture code
- Google Home Matter Android SDK is constantly updating and still in developer mode
- Matter only works on mobile hotspots at OSU
- Learning a new and very extensive Python library in order to code the GUI

Some of our notable achievements are as follows:
- We met every deadline on time
- Used the new Matter protocol, which is still in development
- Created a custom microservices architecture using AWS to handle automation and user management
- Created an easy-to-assemble main pcb with a low cost

Some of the future developments we'd like to continue on are as follows:
- Keep developing on the Matter protocol until it becomes stable and production ready
- Iterate upon the design of the HUB’s GUI in order to bring it up to be on par with the industry standard.
- Use the Thread protocol instead of a WiFi connection in conjunction with Matter


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Project Communication Piece(s): 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon Project Document15.28 MB
PDF icon Poster1.15 MB
PDF icon Executive Summary58.91 KB