An IoT Based Smart Irrigation System

Smart home applications are fast becoming a staple of modern houses, leading to an increased interest in consumer electronics which enable the automation of common household tasks. However, high initial costs, complex solutions, and closed systems mean home automation is still out of reach for a large number of potential customers. A cheap, open, extensible solution is therefore a must if IoT is to become a standard option for modern homes. In this article, we present an innovative solution to this problem in the form of an IoT framework called qToggle: a system for interconnecting sensors, actuators, and other data sources based on open source solutions and easily accessible components. To give a practical example of the uses of the new framework, we implemented a smart irrigation system, which can simplify garden care, while reducing water and energy consumption. The article describes details of the design, instrumentation, and software (mobile application) for the real time control of this system.