Mobile IoT solution for greenhouses

Project background  

A smart greenhouse is a new concept in agriculture that cultivates crops without human involvement. The global smart greenhouse market reached $1.37 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $3.23 billion by 2027. 

As a rule, micro-climate and other parameters in average greenhouses are recorded manually with limited data and time. Equipped with modern technologies and sensors, smart greenhouses automatically deliver crop-related information as per needed parameters.

Our client is an urban crop growing startup with the main focus on smart solutions for greenhouses – premises used for growing plants. The main aim of this product is to make agriculture and cultivation fun and provide a unique technology with an easy-to-use interface. 

The main task was to make all processes in this smart agricultural system automated, with minimum manual work. Our client was also looking for a Mobile IoT solution to control a greenhouse both locally and remotely.

Business needs

Our client was looking for a smart greenhouse solution to: 

– Minimize manual labor; 

– Improve efficiency in resource and chemical use; 

– Maintain an ideal microclimate in greenhouse premises;  

– Improve security;  

– Have an option to control a greenhouse locally and remotely; 

– Have an effective software solution for the Android platform.

Product features

1. Set up sensors and switches
2. Turn on/turn off the sockets
3. Set the rules in order to turn on/off the sockets at a given time or according to certain conditions
4. View the history of particular sensors

Solution

Our development team provided the following solution:

– Created two Android applications for smartphone users and custom tablets

– Developed a custom control board with a set of internal interfaces to connect various types of sensors

– Developed a website including the backend part for the entire smart greenhouse solution

– And also synchronized the backend and related devices in one system

Our technology stack

• C++
• Android
• RxJava
• SQLite Provider/Analyzer
• SQLite
• Data Binding
• WebSockets
• Retrofit2

Key achievements delivered

1. Our development team automated the functions of setting up the switchers and turning on/off the sockets
2. We developed firmware for control sockets and sensors
3. Added logic to control all sockets and create rules for them
4. Created an Android app and an app for a custom tablet to operate with a custom control board
5. We developed a backend remote control with complex real-time logic to control and sync everything