IoT-Based Watering Irrigation System Using Simulation Modelling
Managing water supply has become a pivotal task for farmers practising irrigation farming and for water utilities worldwide, especially as they try to run viable enterprises while coping with climate change, which increases the likelihood of drought in many regions. Manual irrigation wastes both water and labour because farmers must visit their fields regularly to decide when and how much to water. This study designs and simulates a low-cost, reliable and efficient Internet of Things (IoT)-based watering irrigation system that automates irrigation by monitoring the moisture content of the soil and the water level of the supply tank. The system was modelled with an Arduino Uno microcontroller, a soil moisture sensor module, an ultrasonic sensor module, a 20x4 liquid crystal display (LCD), 5 V relays driven by NPN transistors (2N2222) and a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) modem (SIM900D), using the Proteus Design Suite and the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The watering pump is switched on when soil moisture falls below 85% and off when it exceeds this value, while the tank pump is controlled from the ultrasonic distance reading using a 65 cm threshold. The status of each pump is displayed on the LCD and sent to the person in charge by Short Message Service (SMS). Simulation results showed that the system responded correctly to changes in soil moisture and tank level and generated the corresponding SMS alerts, indicating that it can meet the water requirements of the field while reducing labour and water wastage.
Download Paper