DIANA – Greenhouses monitoring and control device

Abstract

Agriculture is an important sector of the Brazilian economy, fundamental for the growth of the country. Many rural producers suffer from climatic variations in their plantations, accounting for losses in production, a fall in product quality and consequent increase in the price of horticultural crops. The cultivation in agricultural greenhouses without the proper monitoring, due to the lack of humidity and temperature, makes it impossible for the farmer to produce certain foods. The DIANA project aims to provide the user with an electronic system that acts in the search to ensure ideal climatic conditions for the crop, providing a good development of the production. The device allows the user to view the weather data in real-time and the system acts by automatically controlling these properties. It has compatibility for expansion of the control and monitoring, allowing one or more greenhouses to enjoy the same system, being analyzed and controlled independently. This system has a group of sensors that perform the functions of climate analysis. Climate control is done through irrigators, exhaust fans, heating, cooling, and lighting systems. Both the monitoring and control systems are controlled through a PIC microcontroller, with algorithms and electronic circuits developed during the project. The equipment is being deployed in a medium-scale greenhouse for testing purposes by a team of students and teachers in a research nucleus. By observing the operation of the system, we intend to compare cultures performed within the controlled environment with cultivated externally. Therefore, DIANA is an easy-to-use system accessible to several producers. The device allows the user to enter the desired climatic data, providing a system compatible with various crops. A certain saving of water is emphasized since the system only uses what is necessary for production. In addition, the device does not require solar lighting for production, thus making it possible to use indoor controlled greenhouses.