In the previous articles, we covered the implementation of a water pump station as a separate module and did some discovery works on adding WiFi capability for the Soil Moisture Monitoring system. They can be found here and here respectively.

In this article, we will continue to look at integrating the water pumping system with the main system and hook up the pipes to the pots.

Building an irrigation system

Before we start connecting the water pump station to the main system, we need to first build the pipe network that will ensure water is delivered to the right place.

At first, I had…

In the previous articles, we covered the development of a soil moisture sensing system and the addition of a WiFi module so that the soil moisture information could be sent out. Phase 1 of the project is covered here while Phase 2 (Part 1) is covered here. If you are wondering why there’s no part 2 of Phase 2, it’s taking longer than I anticipated to implement whereas part 1 of Phase 3 is much easier to implement.

And as mentioned in our first article, we will be adding plant watering capabilities in Phase 3 of the project. …

In phase 1 of the project, we implemented a soil moisture monitoring device that was capable of only telling us the moisture level of the soil through an OLED display and buzzer.

For phase 2, we will be implementing WiFi connectivity for the Arduino so that it could start sending data to a central location. We can then build a dashboard with the data and give us a better picture of the soil status.

To achieve this, we need a WiFi module that will work with the Arduino. …

I have several pots of Dracaena Sanderiana (Lucky Bamboo) at home and I struggle with watering them.

The genus loves moderately moist soil. Overwatering will lead to root rot and them turning yellow while under-watering can lead to dry soil and the plant can die too.

This is why I got the idea to build an IoT solution that will tell me when the soil is too dry or too moist. This way, I would know when to water and have a rough gauge of how much to water.

Hardware and the plan

This project is split into three different phases.

For the first…

With the COVID-19 pandemic, temperature checking before you enter a premise is a necessary step to ensure you are well and help keep others safe. In Singapore, it is a requirement from the government.

One of the most common way is to use a handheld digital thermometer to find out your own temperature and recording it on some kind of logbook placed near the front door. For a workplace, employees are encouraged to record their temperature twice a day.

This has two potential issues.

The first issue is the amount of surface a person come in contact with: thermometer, logbook…

Software engineers who worked extensively with Java technology might have come across and/or use Spring Framework for their projects (professional or personal). In 2013, the Spring Boot project was started to simplify the deployment of spring-based web application.

Personally, I have used it at the beginning of my programming career back in 2015 after being introduced to it by my supervisor/senior. Before that, I have used JSP/Servlet for my school projects that are for the web and Java Swing for desktop-based applications. I was also exposed to working with EJB as part of my diploma course back in 2006/2007. Through…

Software testing is an important step during its development lifecycle. It ensures that the software function or operate as what the stakeholders wanted, which contribute to the perception of quality software. Failure to properly test a software can lead to disastrous consequences, especially if the software is running in an environment where lives are stake or is responsible for the financial health of an organisation or nation.

What is testing?

Software testing is the process in which a piece of software, be it a module, component or an application, is verified and validated. …

Have you ever taken a look at the Wi-Fi logs generated by your router?

Or if you are on a Mac computer, have you seen the details of the Wi-Fi connection by pressing and holding the Option key while you click on the Wi-Fi icon?

Do you wonder about what do those terms that you see in those places mean? In this article, we will look at 10 Wi-Fi terms that you may come across.

1. HT

HT is short for High Throughput and is the alternative name for 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4). The reason behind the name was due to the speeds…