Introduction: Connected Flowerpot for Micro:bit

About: Biology teacher

This flowerpot is made with 3D print and have a microbit card in it.

This pot contains a micro: bit card housed under the soil container. This receives the information from the soil moisture sensor (conductivity).

Transcription of the soil moisture value is done by means of a ring of 20 RGB (red, green, blue) programmable LED located on the front.

Step 1: Components

Step 2: 3D Print

I wanted to make a flowerpot that had a storage for the micro:bit card. I used Fusion 360 to draw it.

Download the STL file, you may find mine at thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4031468

Print the led cap and the pot. Don't forget to add supports. For the parameters, I used : 0,2 mm and infill at 25%.

After it is done, remove carefully the supports from the cap, and from the pot.

Step 3: Assembly

- Insert the Grove pin and cable of the LED ring into the space provided.

- Glue the cap onto the LED ring with cyanoacrylate.

- Attach Grove cables from the soil moisture sensor and LED ring to the shield.

- Insert the micro: bit card.

- Attach a velcro strap to the battery compartment to attach it to the back of the pot.

Step 4: Programming

For programming, I used Vittascience website : https://en.vittascience.com/microbit/

In "on start" part :
Define a variable 'led' for the LED ring. It have to be 20 minus 1. It counts from zero for the first LED.

Then, in the "repeat indefinitely" part, insert a variable 'moisture' that recovers the value of the sol moisture sensor, connected in P0.

Insert a condition with as a threshold of value 300.

if there is a value less than 300, display on the ring of LED, the red color in P1 port.

else, for a value greater than 300, display on the ring LED, the color blue in P1.

[note, the soil mositure sensor mesure conductivy between the two pins. The sensor output value in dry soil is less than 300]

Download the program and copy on the card.

You can find a downloadable program at: http://en.vittascience.com/microbit/?mode=blocks&l...

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Thank you for reading my tutorial, I hope it generates inspiration! Feel free to contact me and tell me about your creations, happy tinkering :)