The Watering Point
Residents at Seven Hills have varying levels of physical capabilities. Such capabilities come from conditions such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, and more. Recently, Seven Hills acquired several garden beds, and the caretakers want their residents to be engaged in the gardening process. However, the residents would have a difficult time gardening because they would need to turn the hose on and hold it for an extensive period of time. So, the goal of this project is to develop a mechanism that will allow the residents to efficiently and easily activate the watering system. Thus, they will be able to be proactive in gardening and enjoy their new hobby.
We used a solenoid valve to control the water flow through the device. There are adapters on either side to allow it to attach to two hoses. The microcontroller in the box sends the signal from the input (which is a headphone jack) to the solenoid. It is powered by a 9V battery.
We had to undergo significant iteration throughout the process. The lid of the box went through many iterations to make sure that the battery compartment was easy to access and that there were screw holes to secure the lid onto the box. Also, we had to fix leakage issues by using PVC cement and making holes in the bottom of the box.