Written by the Girls of the 2024 Minas em Tech Group
01. Overall goal
The students of Minas em Tech developed the Automated Garden with the aim of increasing productivity and the healthy growth of plants. The project sets out to be effective and autonomous, helping to protect the plants against ultraviolet rays and heavy storms.
Prototype of the Automated Garden built by the Minas em Tech students of the 2024 group.
02. Sustainable Development Goals
addressed in the project
The SDGs addressed in the project were:
03. Strands that make up the “Automated Garden”
The Minas em Tech students structured the Automated Garden through different strands of work:
Virtual Reality: creating a VR model to simulate the automated garden.
Assembly: arranging the sensors and motors.
Materials: use of components such as an Arduino Uno, rain and humidity sensors, a stepper motor, a water pump, among others.
Flowchart: defining the automatic operation for irrigating and protecting the plants.
Demonstration: hands-on testing of the working prototype.
Result: implementation of a sustainable garden with applied technology to optimise resources.
Improvements: adjustments to the water pump, the protective door and the aesthetic structure.
Assembly of the Automated Garden prototype built by the Minas em Tech students of the 2024 group.
04. How it works
The Automated Garden is controlled by sensors that monitor external conditions and trigger the necessary mechanisms:
- Rain Sensor: detects the presence of water and drives the motor in different directions to protect the plants.
- Soil Humidity Sensor: identifies when the soil is dry and switches on the water pump for irrigation.
05. Showcase site and Virtual Reality
The Automated Garden is part of the build of the Fazenda Sustentável Minas em Tech (Minas em Tech Sustainable Farm). The students created a website and a virtual reality experience, where they explain in detail how the farm was built and how the food exchange system works. . They can be reached through the links:
“Fazenda Sustentável Minas em Tech” site: https://fazendaminasintech.glitch.me
“Fazenda Sustentável Minas em Tech” Virtual Reality: https://vrfinal-projeto.glitch.me/
This project is part of the series of MVPs developed by the 2024 group at the end of the technical STEAM training delivered in the Minas em Tech project.When girls reach for technology to solve real problems, they transform the present and build the future!