DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONTROLLER FOR AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF IRRIGATION

Abstract

The article presents the results of research and development of the irrigation controller for drip irrigation control systems. Thehardware control component and microprocessor device software and user interface are developed. The hardware of the control system is represented by a microprocessor device, which consists of the following functional units: microcontrollers, power supply unit, analog-to-digital converter, analog multiplexers, input/output expanders, real-time clock, display driver, memory, transceivers interfaces CAN, RS232, RS485, I2C, SPI. The system is based on microcontroller with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless interfaces.Wireless connections are used to connect to sensors or connect to the Internet and control the system remotely, for example through a mobile application. The designed device unit is versatile as possible for connecting various sensors without using additional intermediate transducers.The irrigation controller provides connection of up to 16 water outlet valves with independent control (16 zones). The following types of valves are supported: alternating current, direct current (monostable and bistable).The software code was developed in the Visual Studio Code environment. The algorithm of the software operation and theschedule of its structure are given, which contains three main parts: the kernel, the user interface, the program server. The basic control code task occurs when managing the periphery, monitoring the watering system state, sensors survey, ensuring the cyclic mode of the system operation. The user interface software implements dynamic updates and displays the watering areas current status, data from sensors and statistical information, displays errors or warnings.The software server part is responsible for the operation of the mobile and web client, collecting, processing, storing and  sending information, providing remote interaction with the controller. If the connection is lost, the system can continue to run completely. The software of this controller support protocols Modbus RTU/Modbus ASCII/Profibus-DP.