Smart Aquaponics

and its so fun and easy to use

i designed the v2 smart controller boards such that i could connect any inputs(sensors) or outputs(actuators, relays) on any pin without having to update the firmware on the board or external interface components..

the only thing you need to use a v2 smart controller board is a unique hostname and wifi(or ethernet) connection. you can connect any digital, analogue, 1-wire, 12c, serial sensors to the pins and the board will send the raw values of all sensors connected to the backend server . the api for retrieving your raw data is http://api.kijanigrows.com/v2/device/get/kj_v2_01 (where kj_v2_01 is my office garden). in response is the raw pin data sent from the controller (i don't know if it is temp, a float switch, leak, noise etc they are just raw readings)

"pins": {
"D38": 0,
"D30": 0,
"D31": 0,
"A15": 417,
"A14": 456,

user, device and sensor profiles are defined and mapped in the backend. say A4 is assigned to a photocell sensor, and D30 to a float switch, raw values are converted to the to correct values here. say A14:456 could be mean that an ir sensor connected on pin A14 measured 4 feet. or that D30 :0 means that a leak sensor connected on pin D30 has detected no leak yet

the library kj2arduino makes it possible to assign pins dynamic characteristics that you would normally need firmware on the board to do. the sensor mapping interface is show below:

typical ui with mapped sensor elements decoded using kj2arduino

the colors change based on sensor present values. you can change sensor set points, units, conversion code and messages using the sensor screen below::

more visualizations of my kj_v2_01 office garden done with v2 and kj2arduino

grafana graphs of the same data ... this are raw values straight from an influxdb server

and lots of other goodies with the v2 board, video streaming//timelapsing, remote control ui, alerting etc

so ... in short you need to use a v2 for your next project ... comes with all the software

we finally figured out most of the critical bugs on the v2 controller boards, things are never as easy as it seems - i guess building your own custom linux computers from scratch was not going to be as easy as i thought it would be. this one really tiny smt resistor that was picked and placed in the wrong orientation took almost 2 months to catch since i thought it was a kernel or software issue, but we are good to go now. here are some v2 visualizations of my office garden ... ... does your flood and drain garden behave the same as mine http://db.kijanigrows.com:8080/grafana/#/dashboard/db/kj_v2_01

the visualizations are done using influxdb and grafana as per this tutorial in in my website

always takes longer than originally anticipated.. fixed hardware bugs and waiting on new updated boards from the east.

working on software platform ... this is fun - a different kind from electronics ...

see updated video 3 for more information

debug software can be frustrating. debugging hardware can drive you crazy. debugging hardware combined with software is not for those faint at heart. debugging, software, hardware combined with a real life problem that takes at least 60 mins before you can see the results of your debugging efforts is fun to say the least.

spend all day trying to figure bootloader issues on the atmega 2560. my day seems to be filled with  fuses and lock bytes. the bootloader and program seem to be stepping on one another. i am using an arduino as an in circuit programmer.

what would you make if you had a chance to build your own computer from scratch... we came up with the kijarduino  ... an atheros linux atmega 2560 combination. we finally got our first prototypes back from shenzhen. this is the next step in the evolution of our boards. we will talk more about this and others over the next couple of weeks ... back to my debugger for now.

pivoting is fun. changing directions while still sticking to your dreams.

r&d, prototyping  can be an expensive process . below are shown the different devices we have used for linux controllers and also how the shields evolved into stand alone boards. the steps indicate design for prototyping, designing for cost, and designing for production. finally but not shown are the series designed for marketing.

on the left is the origiinal assu wg520 router that we initially hacked as an openwrt router, with arduino and shield.  the middle set shows the wr703n based linux microcontroller with a stand alone atemega controller board. and the one on the right show the oolite gainstrong ar9331 wifi module that we now use for hacking into a linux microcomputer for our projections. guess the price ... under $10 ... for a powerful linux computer.

whereas using the wr708n router as a linux microcomputer  to front for atmega is fun and  cheaper than the current linux microcontoller solutions, it involves hacking the board by modifying surface mounted components. a process that is ok for hobbies but can soon become a  headache  for production. it is also possible to use the  beaglebone, or pi for the same function but this is a more costly solution. the transition from hobby to business has been one of the biggest challenges as prototyping and testing is an expensive endeavor. so how to make cost efficient and more reliable products is one of the daily quests ... it seems looking east is where many answers lay.