Smart Microcontroller-Controlled Hydroponic System for Optimized Environmental Monitoring in Small-Scale Farming

Abstract

Smart farming is increasingly popular and serves as a support tool for renewable agricultural cultivation systems. However, hydroponic control tools remain expensive and are primarily limited to large-scale agrarian industries. The novelty of this research lies in addressing the lack of  hydroponic control tools specifically designed for small-scale and affordable cultivation systems. This study aims to design and develop a simple operational hydroponic control system suitable for small-scale cultivation. The method involves adopting a programming system using microcontroller devices and utilizing Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) hydroponic installation components as the working mechanism. The results of this study indicate that the simple hydroponic control tool effectively responds to several testing parameters, including air temperature, water temperature, nutrient concentration, and humidity, with optimal data readings over 24 hours. This work provides  a recommendation for developing cheaper and more affordable tools with mechanism that can be further improved.