Check out the gallery install here at 2W 13th Street Parsons.
Gallery Installation
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Author Archives: chris piuggi
Gallery Installation Hardware Unit
Gallery installation hardware unit, tracking co2, humidity, air, water and bed temperature, ph, oxygen reduction potential, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity
Windowfarm Hardware install
Some snapshots of the hardware with the Windowfarm unit. On D12. There is so much uART clogging with this prototype still. Anyone run into serial errors like that? Current solution is to hunt down the Serial buffer. We’ll see how that goes.
Parsons Windowfarm Live
After a few hickcups the hardware prototype is live. Install tomorrow – 
Potential Exhibition Layouts
Here are two thoughts as to how the my project could be implimented in the MFAdt Thesis show. I’m leaning towards one in particular, see if you can guess.
Use Case Scenarios
Here are three I have Identified and will be targeting this is they synthesis of a great round of prototyping and feedback, from User Testing Prototype 3… hang tight for the connection.
1. Professional Urban Farmer
As an urban aqua or hydroponic farmer, as such I am not afforded the space of a traditional farmer. With a dozen systems spread around the borough, daily maintenance is burdensome and tedious from multiple locations a day. Hydronet Modules are installed in each of my ‘fields’ providing real-time scientific-grade crop data, allowing me to deal with emergencies, remotely manage the ecosystem, and tailor growth plans based on environment trends.
2. Community / School
We are interested in learning to grow our own crops for our community. We have/will be building an aqua or hydroponic system where multiple people will be involved with care and maintenance, many of whom will be learning/volunteering. With real-time accurate environmental information we can better understand and react to what is occurring. This helps us understand if certain people need re-training or are neglecting systems, before crop loss occurs.
3. Individual/Family
I love having fresh vegetables in my home aqua or hydroponic system. Sometimes I need reminders about what my crops like – from nutrients to light and co2. Having my gardens data gives me access tailor nutrient plans for my crops, and learn to maximize my yields.
User Testing Presentation
Spring Prototype 03
Once the data is up it was important to see what it looks like and how to interface with it. User flow:
Dashboard Skeleton:
Single Values Skeleton:
Spring Prototype 02
Moving forward with my data collection prototype I began to grow frustrated with all of the wires associated with the prototype. As a means to being to make these modules self standing I moved to the Xbee wireless protocol to connect the data. Traditionally to connect these units through to the internet a Digi Connect Port can be used. This was not a great option for me or my project as its importance to remain low cost and easily accessible. With connect ports running in the $200 range this would instantly put my project out of price range for most people.
My solution, was to set up a series 2 xbee with an ethernet shield and arduino. My system is now wirelessly connected to the network, through radio signals.
With this I can significantly cut down the price to allow individuals modular connected devices. I still need to refine the library more, but I will post it up for you all when its ready.
100 Word Thesis Statement
Urban farmers are a small but growing population. Their role in harvesting the world’s food is revolutionizing the way we produce, distribute and even consume nourishment. Research and development at both independent and community levels is ongoing to promote and facilitate greater participation in urban cultivation. In response HydroNet provides a semi-autonomous data collection system for user education and support. Remote management of environmental data is vital to successful crop growth in urban contexts. By tracking and sharing the statistics associated within these ecosystems, HydroNet seeks to support research, education and innovation in the field of urban agriculture.