Netleaf Project Charter

NetLeaf

Project Charter

Automated Hydroponic Greenhouse

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Project Vision

Project Purpose

Problem / Opportunity

Project Description

Current Situation

Key Stakeholders

Project Scope

Scope

Out of Scope

Project Objectives

Terminology

Project Team

Project Stakeholders

Risk Assessment

Project Schedule

Project Facilities and Resources

Project Budget

Equipment and Facilities

Operating Costs

Promotion and Communication

Intellectual Property

Offer and Approvals

Offer

Approvals

Project Charter Signoff

References

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Executive Summary

This project is to address issues with growing crops within a hydroponic greenhouse. Environmental factors critical to growing plants such as temperature and light conditions are difficult to manipulate in remote locations so the ability to monitor these factors through a web browser connected to the growing system will give better results for the grower.

The successful completion of this project will meet the core business need of demonstrating the project team’s skills in the IT field, including aspects of hardware, coding, networking and security.

Our project team has partnered with an industry client, Thomas King. Our client is interested in creating a monitoring system for hydroponics that is less expensive than existing alternatives. The project seeks to take advantage of this niche within the competitive environment.

The project timeline covers the period of the Winter/Spring semester of 2016. This period is defined as beginning on January 11th 2016 and ending April 8th, 2016.

Primary project risks involve the inexperience of the project team. Potential risks with the greatest severity include connectivity between the different hardware components of the project deliverable and the software that will interface with the attached sensors and outputs.

The key elements of the project scope are:

Control Module

A control module that interfaces with the sensor components, analyzes and records data from them, transmits the data to the server component, and controls the switching of the output components

Sensors

Sensor components that measure environmental conditions and communicate that data to the control module.

-Water Temperature

-Air Temperature

-Light Intensity

Outputs

Output components that control environmental conditions and be switched on and off by the control module.

-Water Temperature (Heater)

-Light Intensity (Lighting rig)

Server

A web server that accepts data transmitted by the control module and presents it to end users via a secured browser-based interface.

The final budget for the project will total $981.00 which we seek to get approval.

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Project Vison

The final deliverable is a greenhouse which is fully monitored via Web interface capable of sustaining suitable growing conditions such as light level and timing, Water temperature, and air flow. Aspects of growth like light spectrum and duration will be key for creating a scheduling program which suits specific plant growth. Depending on the plants stage of growth the lighting will adapt to different needs such as longer durations for sprouting plants and longer periods of rest for mature plants.

Establishing a safe threshold that promotes growth will be set for all monitored conditions. This will trigger a warning to be issued to the grower that conditions have been compromised. Having multiple warning types from low to high severity is also key to establishing proper protocol for the grower to correct the issue at hand. Wasted time has been an issue for growers, systematically checking growing conditions will save countless man hours, and improve overall quality of the plants.

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Project Purpose

The purpose of our project is to address issues with growing and sustaining vegetation in remote locations through hydroponic means. Issues related to growing plants like temperature, and light conditions are difficult to manipulate in remote locations so the ability to monitor these factors through a web browser connected to the growing system will give better results for the grower.

The key stakeholders in the project will be our sponsor Thomas King and team members Mark Greer, Chris Shepard and Brad Hamm. Our project begins January 11th and the duration of the project will be 13 weeks. We are creating the system with the help of our industry sponsor Thomas King who will apply the growing system to a remote location.

Problem / Opportunity

Growing conditions in remote regions of Canada have always been unpredictable and the ability to sustain the proper conditions costs growers many wasted hours checking test data on site as opposed to remotely. Our system will allow the grower to monitor the needed conditions via web browser instead of physically in person saving countless hours and expenses for travel to location.

Project Description

Our growing system will provide ease of access to monitor growing conditions within a self-contained greenhouse via web browser. The ability to monitor live conditions as well as recall statistics based upon date and timewill save growers countless hours. Simple tasks like quality control which used to be done manually can be done with through camera feeds and live data analytics.

Current Situation

Current “All-in-One” growing systems exist however are still somewhat new. Other companies offer home units which monitor most aspects of growth and can be bought in pieces in order to build one of a kind systems. The commercial systems however have been in existence longer and on a lot larger scale; however cost a lot and consume a lot of other resources such as power and water.

Key Stakeholders

Stakeholders / Comment
Project Manager / Mark Greer,Brad Hamm, Christopher Shepard
Client / Tom King
Performing Organization / NetLeaf
Sponsor / Tom King
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Project Scope

This project represents a prototype system intended to demonstrate the capability to measure and control environmental conditions within a small hydroponic greenhouse. The project does not include considerations of deployment or scalability. The specific conditions monitored and the types of data processing included within the scope of this project are outlined below.

Unless stated to be within the project scope, all other potential aspects of the project are considered to be out of scope.

Scope

Control Module

A control module that interfaces with the sensor components, analyzes and records data from them, and transmits the data to the server component. The control module will also interface with the output components and turn each on and off based on conditions measured by the sensor components. The control module includes both the physical hardware based on the Raspberry Pi platform and the software that interfaces with the sensors, outputs and server.

Sensors

Sensor components that measure environmental conditions and communicate that data to the control module.

The environmental conditions measured within the scope of the project are:

-Water Temperature

-Air Temperature

-Light Intensity

Outputs

Output components that control environmental conditions and be switched on and off by the control module.

The environmental conditions controlled within the scope of the project are:

-Water Temperature (Heater)

-Light Intensity (Lighting rig)

Server

A web server that accepts data transmitted by the control module and presents it to end users via a secured browser-based interface.

The specific elements within the scope of the project are:

-Physical web server using Apache Software

-Ethernet communication between the server and the control module

-A browser-based interface for presenting collected data to end users

-For security we will be using VPN and Firewall for network purposes, and user credentials for login authentication.

Out of Scope

While it may be possible to expand the list of conditions measured by the sensor components or controlled by the output components, only those listed above as within the project scope are considered a required project deliverable. Further conditions measured/controlled are considered “value added” options and will only be pursued if the within-scope conditions have been met and project time and resources remain.

Environmental conditions specifically considered out of scope are:

- Humidity

- Air flow

- Air CO2 concentration

- Water pH

The web-based interface through the server is considered to be for monitoring purposes only. For this project, remote control of the control module and attached sensors and outputs are considered out of scope.

This project is intended to produce a prototype system. Consideration of scalability, portability or deployment of the system outside a controlled test environment are considered to be out of scope.

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Project Objectives

By the project end date (April 8th, 2016), the project deliverable will demonstrate the completion of the following objectives:

-Successfully capture measurements of water temperature, air temperature and light intensity at one-minute intervals within the greenhouse

-Transmit measurements captured from the control module to the remote server over the internet.

-Access the data stored on the server from a client web browser

-Demonstrate controlled switching of heater and lighting rig outputs based on collected data.

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Terminology

Hydroponic - The cultivation of plants by placing the roots in liquid nutrient solutions rather than in soil; soilless growth of plants.

Raspberry Pi - A low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python.

Light Spectrum – A band of colors, as seen in a rainbow, produced by separation of the components of light by their different degrees of refraction according to wavelength.

Thermocouple - A device consisting of two dissimilar conductors or semiconductors that contact each other at one or more points. A thermocouple produces avoltagewhen the temperature of one of the contact points differs from the temperature of another, in a process known as thethermoelectric effect. Thermocouples are a widely used type oftemperature sensorfor measurement and control, and can also convert a temperature gradientinto electricity.

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Project Team

Mark Greer

Setup Client Website
Parts inventory
Server Setup
Configure/Implement Database
Server troubleshooting

Brad Hamm

Building green house
Keep a watch on the project greenhouse and plant
Communication setup from raspberry pi to server
Documentation

Christopher Shepard

Hardware configuration
Software input configuration
Hardware output configuration
Software output configuration
Troubleshooting Hardware and Software

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Project Stakeholders

8
Stakeholders / Comment
Project Manager / Mark Greer, Brad Hamm, Christopher Shepard
Performing Organization / NetLeaf
Sponsor / Tom King
Project Mentor / Tom King, Tim Williams, Jason Fisher
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Risk Assessment

9
Project Risk Assessment / Probability / Impact / Severity
Hardware components are damage/unavailable / Medium / High / High
Mitigation Strategy / Have a local source to replace parts quickly, have multiple sources for parts in case components are unavailable from primary supplier
Test garden plants die / fail to grow / Medium / Low / Low
Mitigation Strategy / Start test greenhouse as early as possible, leaving time to replace failed plants.
Conflict of purpose with client / Low / High / Medium
Mitigation Strategy / Do not incorporate proprietary information into mission-critical aspects of projects such as control software
Control module software fails to interface properly with hardware / Medium / High / High
Mitigation Strategy / Leave options for programming structure and language open during initial stages. Budget time and resources for replacing incompatible hardware.
Server services cannot communicate with control module or client browser / Low / High / Medium
Mitigation Strategy / Leave options for using different services or server OS. Test configurations using VMs where possible.
Temperature Control Failure / Low / High / Medium
Mitigation Strategy / Establish a two stage threshold which is set for medium and high risk. When each threshold is reached a warning will be displayed via web browser.
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Project Schedule

Refer to attached project Gantt:

project charter – Automated hydroponic GreenhousepAGE 1

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Project Facilities and Resources

The existing resources and facilities that we will be provided by Sait are the project lab room, the server for our website and the operating system images for the server. The team has personal access to use a Raspberri Pi for the project.

The resources that we will have to acquire from phidgets are an analog input interface kit with an enclosure, the temperature sensor with a thermocouple probe, an ambient air temperature sensor, a light sensor and a relay interface kit. We are choosing to buy these products from Phidgets because they have all of the sensors and materials to make these sensors work. They are also located locally. We will also need to acquire a grow light, a submersible heater and the materials needed to build the greenhouse.

If we have time to add in some out of scope options to our project we would need to acquire a pH, CO2, air humidity and airflow sensor.

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Project Budget

Equipment and Facilities

The cost of the equipment is in the chart below. We did not include facilities because they are covered by SAIT. All of the prices are an estimate.

Item / Cost
1019_1 Phidgets interface Kit 8/8/8 w/6 Port Hub / $160.00
3824_0 Phidgets Interface Kit Enclosure for 1019_1 / $13.00
1143_0 Phidgets Light Sensor 70000 lux / $10.00
1051_2 Phidgets Temperature Sensor 1-input / $75.00
3108_2 Phidgets Immersion Probe K-type Thermocouple / $38.00
1142_0 Phidgets Temperature Sensor / $15.00
1014_2 Phidgets Interface Kit 0/0/4 / $75.00
3802_1 Phidgets Acrylic Enclosure for 1014 / $12.00
Greenhouse Materials / $100.00
HollenStar Hydroponic Grow Light / $300.00
Aqueon Submersible Aquarium Heater / $31.00
SubmersiblePump / $75.00
Misc. / $30.00
Taxes / $47.00
Total / $981.00

Operating Costs

The cost and the amount of hours that each team member with contribute to the project is in the chart below.

Item / Hours / Rate / Cost
Mark Greer / 195 / $80/hr. / $15,600.00
Brad Hamm / 195 / $80/hr. / $15,600.00
Christopher Shepard / 195 / $80/hr. / $15,600.00
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Promotion and Communication

When releasing information to the public both the project team (Mark Greer, Brad Hamm, and Christopher Shepard) and the client (Tom King) have to agree on the information being released.

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Intellectual Property

All intellectual property created by the project team in the course of the project will be considered to be jointly owned by all three project team members jointly. If a team member intends to use project-related intellectual property beyond the scope or timeframe of the project, written permission from the other two team members is required.

Any intellectual property including proprietary information from the client (Tom King) will be subject to the Non-Disclosure agreement signed with the client.

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Offer and Approvals

Offer

The NetLeaf Project will provide a Hydroponic growing system thatmonitorsa variety of conditions affecting plant growth.The system will relay information to a database that will then be displayed to the user over a web based application.

Approvals

We would formally like to request this project beginning January 11th, 2016 and have it completed by April 8th, 2016.

By signing the documentation below you, it signifies that you approve the budget concerning the project ‘Automated Hydroponic Greenhouse’ as well as the construction and implementation of thetechnology required.

Project Charter Signoff

Offering / Signature / Date
Mark Greer
Chris Shepard
Brad Hamm
Approval
Tim Williams
Jason Fisher
Tom King
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References

SAIT Polytechnic, “AC 3.10.1: Ownership of Student-Produced Work” 2012. [Online]. Available:

project charter – Automated hydroponic GreenhousepAGE 1