The Seedling Sanctuary: Automated Cold Frame for Gardner Elementary

The purpose of this report is to provide the details of the Seedling Sanctuary, a mechanical engineering senior design project. The project in question is an automated cold frame designed specifically for Gardner Academy, a local elementary school in San Jose. A cold frame is a miniature greenhouse that opens like a chest and is made from clear plastic. Automated ventilation and watering systems create a microclimate within this greenhouse structure to create the ideal growing conditions for seeds. The main purposes of the cold frame are to lengthen the growing season, be maintenance free, and enhance garden education. From testing, the project goals were verified to have been achieved through several performance metrics. First, the system’s ability to lengthen the growing season is dependent on germinating seedlings that can be planted earlier in the season. The automated system maintained the seedlings at the proper soil moisture levels to grow. The system also implemented passive temperature control systems to maintain the plants in ideal conditions. With the ventilation and thermal mass, the system is able to be cooler at the hottest times of day and warmer at night than unprotected plants. The system has also successfully automated the care of the seedlings, achieving our goal of being maintenance free. Finally, the enhancement of garden education was incorporated through community engagement with the design and building of the cold frame, as well as the Bluetooth application which will be used in the school curriculum

IOT Technologies Research and Smart Agriculture Prototype

The present Final Project offers sensors-based solutions according to the cheapening of mini-computers and in line with the recent spreading of IOT (Internet Of Things) technologies. The main application field covered is Smart Agriculture, where sophisticated systems that sense environmental conditions and trigger output devices, usually with object on industrial control purposes, are being studied and even implanted nowadays. For this reason, consequently, a prototype has been designed. Due to a modern approach to computing and technology that demands different and more intuitive user-interactions, IOT wireless options were also considered, as well as voice compatibility. A control alternative via MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) protocol was in addition proposed, on using the developed Android app. Finally, this whole project pretends to offer the results of a generic research of the issue, whose conclusions may be only partially exposed in the prototype. Therefore, it is open to the exploitation of further functionalities and may also be adapted to a different economical sector.El presente Trabajo Final sugiere soluciones basadas en sensores, de acuerdo con el abaratamiento de las mini-computadoras y en línea con la reciente expansión de las tecnologías IOT (Internet De Las Cosas). Su principal campo de aplicación es la Agricultura Inteligente, en el que sistemas sofisticados que perciben las condiciones ambientales y activan equipos de salida, de modo habitual bajo el propósito de ofrecer un control industrial, están ya siendo estudiados e incluso implementados, razón por la que, consecuentemente, se ha diseñado un prototipo. Debido al enfoque moderno hacia la informática y la tecnología, el cual demanda más y diferentes interacciones con el usuario, se han considerado también opciones IOT inalámbricas y de control por voz. Se propone igualmente una alternativa de control mediante el uso del protocolo MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) y la aplicación Android desarrollada. Finalmente, la totalidad de este proyecto pretende ofrecer los resultados de una investigación global sobre la materia, cuyas conclusiones pueden estar tan sólo parcialmente reflejadas en el prototipo. Por consiguiente, se encuentra abierto a la integración de futuras funcionalidades así como de a ser adaptado a cualquier otro sector económico.Ingeniería de Sistemas Audiovisuale

Proposal of architecture for IoT solution for monitoring and management of plantations

The world population growth is increasing the demand for food production. Furthermore, the reduction of the workforce in rural areas and the increase in production costs are challenges for food production nowadays. Smart farming is a farm management concept that may use Internet of Things (IoT) to overcome the current challenges of food production This work presents a systematic review of the existing literature on smart farming with IoT. The systematic review reveals an evolution in the way data are processed by IoT solutions in recent years. Traditional approaches mostly used data in a reactive manner. In contrast, recent approaches allowed the use of data to prevent crop problems and to improve the accuracy of crop diagnosis. Based on the finds of the systematic review, this work proposes an architecture of an IoT solution that enables monitoring and management of crops in real time. The proposed architecture allows the usage of big data and machine learning to process the collected data. A prototype is implemented to validate the operation of the proposed architecture and a security risk assessment of the implemented prototype is carried out. The implemented prototype successfully validates the proposed architecture. The architecture presented in this work allows the implementation of IoT solutions in different scenarios of farming, such as indoor and outdoor

The use of Sensor Networks to create smart environments

Internet of Things is taking the world in order to be the next big thing since the Internet, with almost every object being connected to gather data and allow control through mobile and web devices. But this revolution has some barriers with the lack of standardization in communications or sensors. In this dissertation we present a proposal of a system dedicated to creating smart environments using sensor networks, with a practical application developed to achieve automation, efficiency and versatility, allowing real-time monitoring and remote control of any object or environment improving user experience, tasks efficiency and leading to costs reduction. The developed system, that includes software and hardware, is based on adaptive and Artificial Intelligence algorithms and low cost IoT devices, taking advantage of the best communication protocols, allowing the developed system to be suited and easily adapted to any specification by any person. We evaluate the best communication and devices for the desired implementa tion and demonstrate how to create all the network nodes, including the build of a custom IoT Gateway and Sensor Node. We also demonstrate the efficiency of the developed system in real case scenarios. The main contributions of our study are the design and implementation of a novel architecture for adaptive IoT projects focus on environment efficiency, with practical demonstration, as well as comparison study for the best suited communication protocols for low cost IoT devices.A Internet of Things está a atingir o mundo de modo a tornar-se a próxima grande revolução depois da Internet, com quase todos os objectos a estarem ligados para recolher dados e permitir o controlo através de dispositivos móveis. Mas esta revolução depara-se com vários desafios devido à falta de standards no que toca a comunicações ou sensores. Nesta dissertação apresentamos uma proposta para um sistema dedicado a criar ambientes inteligentes usando redes de sensores, com uma aplicação prática desenvolvida para oferecer automação, eficiência e versatilidade, permitindo uma monitorização e controlo remoto seguro em tempo real de qualquer objecto ou ambiente, melhorando assim a experiência do utilizador e a eficiência das tarefas evando a redução de custos. O sistema desenvolvido, que inclui software e hard ware, usa algoritmos adaptáveis com Inteligência Artificial e dispositivos IoT de baixo custo, utilizando os melhores protocolos de comunicação, permitindo que o mesmo seja apropriado e facilmente adaptado para qualquer especificação por qualquer pessoa. Avaliamos os melhores métodos de comunicação e dispositivos necessários para a implementação e demonstramos como criar todos os nós da rede, incluindo a construção de IoT Gateway e Sensor Node personalizados. Demonstramos também a eficácia do sistema desenvolvido através da aplicação do mesmo em casos reais. As principais contribuições do nosso estudo passam pelo desenho e implemen tação de uma nova arquitectura para projectos adaptáveis de IoT com foco na eficiência do objecto, incluindo a demonstração pratica, tal como um estudo com parativo sobre os melhores protocolos de comunicação para dispositivos IoT de baixo custo

Architecture and communication protocol to monitor and control water quality and irrigation in agricultural environments

[ES] La introducción de soluciones tecnológicas en la agricultura permite reducir el uso de recursos y aumentar la producción de los cultivos. Además, la calidad del agua de regadío se puede monitorizar para asegurar la seguridad de los productos para el consumo humano. Sin embargo, la localización remota de la mayoría de los campos presenta un problema para proveer de cobertura inalámbrica a los nodos sensores y actuadores desplegados en los campos y los canales de agua para regadío. El trabajo presentado en esta tesis aborda el problema de habilitar la comunicación inalámbrica entre los dispositivos electrónicos desplegados para la monitorización de la calidad del agua y el campo a través de un protocolo de comunicación y arquitectura heterogéneos. La primera parte de esta tesis introduce los sistemas de agricultura de precisión (PA) y la importancia de la monitorización de la calidad del agua y el campo. Asimismo, las tecnologías que permiten la comunicación inalámbrica en sistemas PA y el uso de soluciones alternativas como el internet de las cosas bajo tierra (IoUT) y los vehículos aéreos no tripulados (UAV) se introducen también. Después, se realiza un análisis en profundidad del estado del arte respecto a los sensores para la monitorización del agua, el campo y las condiciones meteorológicas, así como sobre las tecnologías inalámbricas más empleadas en PA. Además, las tendencias actuales y los desafíos de los sistemas de internet de las cosas (IoT) para regadío, incluyendo las soluciones alternativas introducidas anteriormente, han sido abordados en detalle. A continuación, se presenta la arquitectura propuesta para el sistema, la cual incluye las áreas de interés para las actividades monitorización que incluye las áreas de los canales y el campo. A su vez, la descripción y los algoritmos de operación de los nodos sensores contemplados para cada área son proporcionados. El siguiente capítulo detalla el protocolo de comunicación heterogéneo propuesto, incluyendo los mensajes y alertas del sistema. Adicionalmente, se presenta una nueva topología de árbol para redes híbridas LoRa/WiFi multisalto. Las funcionalidades específicas adicionales concebidas para la arquitectura propuesta están descritas en el siguiente capítulo. Éstas incluyen algoritmos de agregación de datos para la topología propuesta, un esquema de las amenazas de seguridad para los sistemas PA, algoritmos de ahorro de energía y tolerancia a fallos, comunicación bajo tierra para IoUT y el uso de drones para adquisición de datos. Después, los resultados de las simulaciones para las soluciones propuestas anteriormente son presentados. Finalmente, se tratan las pruebas realizadas en entornos reales para el protocolo heterogéneo presentado, las diferentes estrategias de despliegue de los nodos empleados, el consumo energético y la función de cuantificación de fruta. Estas pruebas demuestran la validez de la arquitectura y protocolo de comunicación heterogéneos que se han propuesto.[CA] La introducció de solucions tecnològiques en l'agricultura permet reduir l'ús de recursos i augmentar la producció dels cultius. A més, la qualitat de l'aigua de regadiu es pot monitoritzar per assegurar la qualitat dels productes per al consum humà. No obstant això, la localització remota de la majoria dels camps presenta un problema per a proveir de cobertura sense fils als nodes sensors i actuadors desplegats als camps i els canals d'aigua per a regadiu. El treball presentat en aquesta tesi tracta el problema d'habilitar la comunicació sense fils entre els dispositius electrònics desplegats per a la monitorització de la qualitat de l'aigua i el camp a través d'un protocol de comunicació i arquitectura heterogenis. La primera part d'aquesta tesi introdueix els sistemes d'agricultura de precisió (PA) i la importància de la monitorització de la qualitat de l'aigua i el camp. Així mateix, també s'introdueixen les tecnologies que permeten la comunicació sense fils en sistemes PA i l'ús de solucions alternatives com l'Internet de les coses sota terra (IoUT) i els vehicles aeris no tripulats (UAV). Després, es realitza una anàlisi en profunditat de l'estat de l'art respecte als sensors per a la monitorització de l'aigua, el camp i les condicions meteorològiques, així com sobre les tecnologies sense fils més emprades en PA. S'aborden les tendències actuals i els reptes dels sistemes d'internet de les coses (IoT) per a regadiu, incloent les solucions alternatives introduïdes anteriorment. A continuació, es presenta l'arquitectura proposada per al sistema, on s'inclouen les àrees d'interès per a les activitats monitorització en els canals i el camp. Finalment, es proporciona la descripció i els algoritmes d'operació dels nodes sensors contemplats per a cada àrea. El següent capítol detalla el protocol de comunicació heterogeni proposat, així como el disseny del missatges i alertes que el sistema proposa. A més, es presenta una nova topologia d'arbre per a xarxes híbrides Lora/WiFi multi-salt. Les funcionalitats específiques addicionals concebudes per l'arquitectura proposada estan descrites en el següent capítol. Aquestes inclouen algoritmes d'agregació de dades per a la topologia proposta, un esquema de les alertes de seguretat per als sistemes PA, algoritmes d'estalvi d'energia i tolerància a fallades, comunicació per a IoUT i l'ús de drons per a adquisició de dades. Després, es presenten els resultats de les simulacions per a les solucions proposades. Finalment, es duen a terme les proves en entorns reals per al protocol heterogeni dissenyat. A més s'expliquen les diferents estratègies de desplegament dels nodes empleats, el consum energètic, així com, la funció de quantificació de fruita. Els resultats d'aquetes proves demostren la validesa de l'arquitectura i protocol de comunicació heterogenis propost en aquesta tesi.[EN] The introduction of technological solutions in agriculture allows reducing the use of resources and increasing the production of the crops. Furthermore, the quality of the water for irrigation can be monitored to ensure the safety of the produce for human consumption. However, the remote location of most fields presents a problem for providing wireless coverage to the sensing nodes and actuators deployed on the fields and the irrigation water canals. The work presented in this thesis addresses the problem of enabling wireless communication among the electronic devices deployed for water quality and field monitoring through a heterogeneous communication protocol and architecture. The first part of the dissertation introduces Precision Agriculture (PA) systems and the importance of water quality and field monitoring. In addition, the technologies that enable wireless communication in PA systems and the use of alternative solutions such as Internet of Underground Things (IoUT) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are introduced as well. Then, an in-depth analysis on the state of the art regarding the sensors for water, field and meteorology monitoring and the most utilized wireless technologies in PA is performed. Furthermore, the current trends and challenges for Internet of Things (IoT) irrigation systems, including the alternate solutions previously introduced, have been discussed in detail. Then, the architecture for the proposed system is presented, which includes the areas of interest for the monitoring activities comprised of the canal and field areas. Moreover, the description and operation algorithms of the sensor nodes contemplated for each area is provided. The next chapter details the proposed heterogeneous communication protocol including the messages and alerts of the system. Additionally, a new tree topology for hybrid LoRa/WiFi multi-hop networks is presented. The specific additional functionalities intended for the proposed architecture are described in the following chapter. It includes data aggregation algorithms for the proposed topology, an overview on the security threats of PA systems, energy-saving and fault-tolerance algorithms, underground communication for IoUT, and the use of drones for data acquisition. Then, the simulation results for the solutions previously proposed are presented. Finally, the tests performed in real environments for the presented heterogeneous protocol, the different deployment strategies for the utilized nodes, the energy consumption, and a functionality for fruit quantification are discussed. These tests demonstrate the validity of the proposed heterogeneous architecture and communication protocol.García García, L. (2021). Architecture and communication protocol to monitor and control water quality and irrigation in agricultural environments [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/17422

Intelligent rainwater reuse system for irrigation

Os avanços tecnológicos na área da Internet das Coisas têm vindo a criar cada vez mais soluções na área da agricultura. Estas soluções são bastante importantes para a vida, uma vez que conduzem à poupança do recurso mais precioso, a água, sendo esta necessidade de poupar água uma preocupação mundial. A dissertação propõe a criação de um sistema Internet das Coisas, baseado numa rede de sensores e actuadores interligados que monitorizam automaticamente a qualidade da água da chuva que é armazenada dentro de um tanque, a fim de ser utilizada para irrigação. O principal objectivo é promover a sustentabilidade, reutilizando a água da chuva para sistemas de irrigação, em vez da água que normalmente está disponível para outras funções, tais como outras produções ou mesmo tarefas domésticas. Foi desenvolvida uma aplicação móvel, para o Android, para que o utilizador possa controlar e monitorizar o seu sistema, em tempo real. Na aplicação é possível visualizar os dados que traduzem a qualidade da água inserida no tanque, bem como realizar algumas acções sobre os actuadores implementados, tais como iniciar/parar o sistema de rega e despejar a água em caso de má qualidade da água. O sistema implementado traduz uma solução simples com um elevado nível de eficiência e testes e resultados obtidos, dentro do ambiente possível.The technological advances in the area of Internet of Things have been creating more and more solutions in the area of agriculture. These solutions are quite important for life, as they lead to the saving of the most precious resource, water, being this need to save water a concern worldwide. The dissertation proposes the creation of an Internet of Things system, based on a network of sensors and interconnected actuators that automatically monitors the quality of the rainwater that is stored inside a tank, in order to be used for irrigation. The main objective is to promote sustainability by reusing rainwater for irrigation systems, instead of water that is usually available for other functions, such as other productions or even domestic tasks. A mobile application was developed, for Android, so that the user can control and monitor his system, in real time. In the application it is possible to visualize the data that translate the quality of the water inserted in the tank, as well as perform some actions on the implemented actuators, such as start/stop the irrigation system and pour the water in case of poor water quality. The implemented system translates a simple solution with a high level of efficiency and tests and results obtained, within the possible environmen

Exploring IoT in Smart Cities: Practices, Challenges and Way Forward

The rise of Internet of things (IoT) technology has revolutionized urban living, offering immense potential for smart cities in which smart home, smart infrastructure, and smart industry are essential aspects that contribute to the development of intelligent urban ecosystems. The integration of smart home technology raises concerns regarding data privacy and security, while smart infrastructure implementation demands robust networking and interoperability solutions. Simultaneously, deploying IoT in industrial settings faces challenges related to scalability, standardization, and data management. This research paper offers a systematic literature review of published research in the field of IoT in smart cities including 55 relevant primary studies that have been published in reputable journals and conferences. This extensive literature review explores and evaluates various aspects of smart home, smart infrastructure, and smart industry and the challenges like security and privacy, smart sensors, interoperability and standardization. We provide a unified perspective, as we seek to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of smart cities while overcoming security concerns. It then explores their potential for collective integration and impact on the development of smart cities. Furthermore, this study addresses the challenges associated with each component individually and explores their combined impact on enhancing urban efficiency and sustainability. Through a comprehensive analysis of security concerns, this research successfully integrates these IoT components in a unified approach, presenting a holistic framework for building smart cities of the future. Integrating smart home, smart infrastructure, and smart industry, this research highlights the significance of an integrated approach in developing smart cities

A Systematic Review of IoT Solutions for Smart Farming

The world population growth is increasing the demand for food production. Furthermore, the reduction of the workforce in rural areas and the increase in production costs are challenges for food production nowadays. Smart farming is a farm management concept that may use Internet of Things (IoT) to overcome the current challenges of food production. This work uses the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews (PRISMA) methodology to systematically review the existing literature on smart farming with IoT. The review aims to identify the main devices, platforms, network protocols, processing data technologies and the applicability of smart farming with IoT to agriculture. The review shows an evolution in the way data is processed in recent years. Traditional approaches mostly used data in a reactive manner. In more recent approaches, however, new technological developments allowed the use of data to prevent crop problems and to improve the accuracy of crop diagnosis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eficiencia del uso de muros verdes para disminuir los efectos negativos de la pérdida de áreas verdes en las ciudades con el uso de materiales reciclados

Los sistemas de naturaleza urbana, como los muros verdes, se utilizan con frecuencia como una característica estética en los edificios, sin embargo, esta tecnología también puede ofrecer diversos beneficios ambientales. A grandes escalas, los muros verdes contribuyen a la introducción de vegetación en el espacio urbano sin ocupar ningún espacio a ras del suelo. La implementación de muros puede mejorar el entorno urbano contribuyendo a la gestión de aguas pluviales, a la calidad del aire, a la reducción de la temperatura y mitigación del efecto isla de calor. Al mismo tiempo, la aplicación de sistemas de naturaleza urbana también genera beneficios sociales y económicos. Esta tesis se divide en cuatro capítulos, donde se ofrecen alternativas para la preparación de muros verdes tanto en lo relativo a los medios de crecimiento como al sistema de riego, puesto que los sistemas de muros verdes comercialmente disponibles en el mercado son poco sustentables y costosos. Se diseñó un prototipo para este estudio que fue instalado en el Campus Rabanales de la Universidad de Córdoba entre abril 2016 y agosto de 2017. El proyecto utilizó ocho prototipos de muro verde construidos en aluminio, los cuales poseían canales de recolección de agua de PVC y revestimiento de fieltro para mantener la humedad. El primer capítulo abarca el efecto de los muros verdes en las edificaciones mostrando los diferentes beneficios de la implantación de estos, haciendo énfasis tanto en los beneficios ambientales, temperatura, ruido y aire, como en los beneficios económicos y sociales que el establecimiento de esta tecnología ofrece a las edificaciones. El segundo capítulo busca encontrar materiales alternativos disponibles en Andalucía que puedan utilizarse como medio de crecimiento en muros verdes, utilizando residuos orgánicos generados por la agricultura como en este caso la cáscara de arroz, en comparación con los materiales convencionales ya usados como medio de cultivo, en muros verdes como fibra de coco y lana de roca. En este capítulo se estudiaron las características fisicoquímicas de estos materiales y también se analizó el agua mediante la recolección del exceso de agua de riego, luego de pasar por los prototipos de muros verdes. Tras un proceso de selección, se eligieron dos especies diferentes de material vegetal Lampranthus spectabilis y Lavandula stoechas, teniendo en cuenta la exposición solar del lugar de establecimiento del prototipo de muro verde y la fácil adquisición de estas plantas en la región. Los resultados demostraron que los sustratos utilizados en los prototipos del experimento con lana de roca y fibra de coco tuvieron una influencia significativa en las características del agua, mientras que el efecto del sustrato de cáscara de arroz fue mínimo. Los resultados obtenidos también en este capítulo recomiendan el uso de una mezcla de fibra de coco y cascarilla de arroz, debido a que sus características y su desarrollo son apropiadas para el uso en medios de cultivo en los muros verdes, brindando así una alternativa ambiental utilizando subproductos agrícolas. En el tercer capítulo se buscó una solución para la reducción de costos para el sistema de riego inteligente donde se propuso el uso de programadores de riego de bajo coste automatizados, mediante herramientas como el Arduino Uno y Raspberry Pi utilizando sensores de humedad del suelo, humedad relativa, temperatura, intensidad lumínica, lluvia y actuadores como relé los cuales ayudaron a las plantas a alcanzar su máximo potencial y el uso eficiente del agua. El sistema se diseñó de tal manera que los sensores encendían el sistema de riego dependiendo de la información recolectada por estos sobre el estado del sustrato o las condiciones climáticas y enviados al Arduino para activar el relé de la electroválvula según el estado del sustrato o las condiciones climáticas. Esto no solo proporcionó comodidad, sino que también ayudó a reducir el consumo de energía, aumentó la eficiencia del riego y ahorró tiempo. A esto también se le agregó la tecnología de internet de las cosas para recopilar los datos del desempeño del muro verde a través de la plataforma ThingSpeak, la cual recogió los datos y los gráficos de forma sencilla lo que permite realizar un monitoreo en tiempo real desde internet. El sistema de automatización de riego para muros verdes con Arduino y Raspberri Pi cumplió con los objetivos definidos, pues mantuvo el bajo coste en su implementación, en comparación con los sistemas de riego automatizados disponibles en el mercado. También cumplió con el objetivo de acceder con cualquier dispositivo móvil que disponga de conexión a internet. En el cuarto capítulo se estudió la diferencia entre sustratos alternativos elegidos, como la cascarilla de arroz mezclada con cascara de coco, ya analizados en el segundo capítulo, comparándolos con el musgo Sphagnum, sustrato comercial habitual, como medio de crecimiento en muros verdes para la región de Andalucía, puesto que el musgo Sphagnum tiene un alto coste y dificultad de adquisición en la región. En este capítulo se estudiaron las características fisicoquímicas de los dos medios de crecimiento, se analizaron parámetros como la retención de agua en los sustratos establecidos en el muro verde y la homogeneidad en la distribución del agua dentro de los prototipos por medio de sensores electrónicos, además se comparó el desarrollo de las plantas Aptenia cordifolia y Lampranthus spectabilis en cada uno de los sustratos. Los resultados obtenidos demostraron que el medio de crecimiento de arroz mezclado con fibra de coco puede ser utilizado con éxito en la implementación como medio de cultivo en muros verdes, ofreciendo alternativas para reducir el impacto ambiental generado por la explotación de musgo Sphagnum a largo plazo. Por último, el experimento ofrece directrices para la aplicación a cualquier sistema de control ambiental, siendo el riego de precisión uno de los más importantes, ya que mejora la gestión de los recursos hídricos en áreas con poca agua.Urban nature systems, such as green walls, are often used as an aesthetic feature in buildings, however, this technology can also offer various environmental benefits. At large scales, the green walls contribute to the introduction of vegetation into the urban space without occupying any space at ground level. The implementation of walls can improve the urban environment contributing to rainwater management, air quality, temperature reduction and mitigation of the heat island effect. At the same time, the application of urban nature systems also generates social and economic benefits This thesis is divided into fourth chapters, which offer alternatives for the development of green walls in both growth media and irrigation systems, since the green wall systems commercially available in the market are not very sustainable and expensive. A prototype was designed for this study which was installed in the Campus Rabanales of the University of Córdoba between April 2016 and August 2017. The project used eight green-wall prototypes built in aluminum, which had PVC and water collection channels. felt coating to keep moisture. The first chapter covers the effect of green walls in buildings showing the different benefits of the implementation of these, emphasizing environmental benefits such as temperature, noise and air, as well as the economic and social benefits that the establishment of this technology offers to buildings. The second chapter seeks to use alternative materials available in Andalusia that can be used as a growth medium in green walls, using organic waste generated by agriculture as in this case the rice husk, compared to conventional materials already used as a culture medium, in green walls such as coconut fiber and rock wool, where the physic-chemical characteristics of these materials were studied and water was also analyzed by collecting excess irrigation water, after going through the prototypes of green walls. After to the selection process two different species of plant material, Lampranthus spectabilis and Lavandula stoechas, were used, taking into account the solar exposure of the green wall prototype establishment and the easy acquisition of these plants in the region. The results showed that the substrates used in the prototypes of the experiment with rock wool and coconut fiber had a significant influence on the characteristics of the water, while the effect of the rice husk substrate was minimum. The results obtained in this chapter recommend a mixture of coconut fiber and rice husk, because its characteristics and its development are appropriate for use in growing media on green walls, thus providing an environmental alternative using agricultural products. In the third chapter a solution was sought for the reduction of costs for the intelligent irrigation system where the use of automated low-cost irrigation programmers was proposed, using tools such as the Arduino Uno and Raspberry Pi by means of soil moisture sensors, humidity relative, temperature, light intensity, rain and relay actuators which helped the plants to reach their maximum potential and the efficient use of water. The system was designed in such a way that the sensors turned on the irrigation system depending on the information collected by them and sent to the Arduino to activate the relay of the solenoid valve according to the state of the substrate or the climatic conditions. This not only provides comfort, but also helps reduce energy consumption, increase irrigation efficiency and save time. This was also added the technology of Internet of things to collect the performance data of the green wall through the ThingSpeak platform, which collected the data and graphs in a simple way to perform real-time monitoring from the Internet. The irrigation automation system for green walls with the Arduino and Raspberri Pi system complied with the defined objectives, because it maintained the low cost in its implementation, in comparison with the automated irrigation systems available in the market. It also met the goal of access with any mobile device that has Internet connection. In the fourth chapter, the difference between alternative substrates chosen, such as rice husks mixed with coconut husks, was studied, which were analyzed in the second chapter, to compare them with Sphagnum moss as a growth medium in green walls for the region of Andalusia, since the Sphagnum moss has a high cost and difficulty of acquisition in the region. In this chapter, the physicochemical characteristics of the two growing media were studied, parameters such as the water retention in the substrates established in the green wall and the homogeneity in the water distribution within the prototypes by means of electronic sensors were also analyzed. The development of Aptenia cordifolia and Lampranthus spectabilis plants in each of the substrates was also compared. The results obtained showed that the growth medium of rice mixed with coconut fiber can be used successfully in the implementation as a growing medium in green walls, offering alternatives to reduce the environmental impact generated by the long-term exploitation of Sphagnum moss. The experiment also offers guidelines for application to any environmental control system, with precision irrigation being one of the most important, since it improves the management of water resources in areas with water scarcity

Distributed sensing solution for home efficiency tracking

With the rapid increase of smart devices, keeping track of household consumptions is a service that starts to be automated and a need that is becoming more and more constant. In the middle of the 21st century, more and more measures are being debated that can make the world a more sustainable place, and this is part of each one of us, from our own homes. It is through the Internet of Things and its vast concept of connecting all devices, allowing them to communicate with each other, that it is possible to convert a normal home into a smart home in a simple and revolutionary way. This dissertation presents a proposal for a system based on wireless sensor networks designed for the purpose of monitoring and controlling environment parameters of a smart home. In order to obtain an efficient and inexpensive system, a study was made to select the best hardware and software solutions for this system, that also allows the user, through an Android application, to view all the information collected by the sensors, and consequently act in a way to make his home more sustainable. The main advantages of this system, which distinguishes it from the others, are its small dimensions, its efficiency and the low cost associated. In addition, it is a practical system that allows easy installation and it can interact with the surrounding environment.Com a rápida evolução da tecnologia e dos dispositivos inteligentes, monitorizar os consumos domésticos é cada vez mais uma necessidade constante e que começa a ser feita de forma automática. Em pleno século XXI cada vez mais, são debatidas medidas para tornar o planeta um local mais sustentável, e isso depende de cada um de nós, a partir das nossas próprias. É através do conceito da Internet das Coisas e do seu vasto conceito de conectar dispositivos, permitindo que estes comuniquem uns com os outros, que se torna possível converter uma casa normal numa casa inteligente de uma forma simples e revolucionária. Esta dissertação apresenta a proposta de um sistema baseado numa rede de sensores sem fios, desenhada com o propósito de monitorizar e controlar os parâmetros ambientais de uma casa. De forma a obter um sistema eficiente e de baixo custo, foi feito um estudo para selecionar as melhores soluções de hardware e software para este sistema, permitindo ao utilizador, através de uma aplicação Android visualizar toda a informação, obtida pelos sensores, e consequentemente tomar decisões que tornem a sua casa mais sustentável. A principal vantagem deste sistema, que o distingue dos outros, é que todos os componentes são pequenos, eficientes, com um baixo custo. Para além disso, é um sistema prático que permite uma fácil instalação e que se envolve com o meio à sua volta