Arduino-based automatic watering system with soil moisture sensing and 3D-printed Onshape hardware, built and presented as a 4-person team project.
Technical Overview
Engineered an Arduino-based plant watering system that reads real-time soil moisture data from an Adafruit capacitive sensor and automatically triggers a water pump when levels drop below a set threshold.
Defined and verified design requirements against a 6-inch diameter/depth pot target, an 8-hole micro-mesh-filtered drainage pattern, and a reservoir sized to 20% of pot volume to prevent overwatering.
Iterated from a cardboard-and-wire proof of concept through a breadboarded electronics test to a final Onshape-modeled pot, 3D printing all structural and mounting hardware.
Led calibration, testing, and verification across five full watering cycles as part of a 4-person team, tuning sensor thresholds and pump timing for reliable operation.
Presented the project at the First Year Design Showcase, achieving a 92% engineering scorecard.
Skills & Hardware
Arduino
Adafruit Capacitive Moisture Sensors
Onshape (3D-Printed Hardware)
MATLAB
Build Gallery
01Early design iterations, working through internal piping and where the reservoir and fill line should sit.
02First-pass cardboard-and-wire prototype, used to test pot geometry and drainage before committing to a final design.
03Benchtop electronics test: Arduino, breadboard, moisture sensor, and pump tubing wired into an early pot prototype.
04Onshape model of the pot base, showing the final drainage hole pattern.
05Finished system, moved into test display pot before design showcase.
