Process

The initial idea was to use the motion detection that will assist the plant towards a healthy growth. To implement this, I used the motion detector; once the motion is detected, soil moisture sensor detects the water level and coveys the state via piezo sensors and LED. 

The information is displayed by also expressing the emotions of the plant at the same time: 

LOW WATER- RED LED- CRYING TONE

OPTIMUM WATER-GREEN LED-HAPPY TONE

EXTRA WATER-BLUE LED-NO TONE

The major challenge encountered was the extra sensitivity of the motion detector, which made it difficult to gauge the accurate results. Eventually, the design decision was to consider the state: motion detected at all times and work on the further conditions. 

The process evolved when trying to resolve the issue of making the tones stop. This was analogous to empathising with the plant through the touch, hence, the fsr sensor came in picture. In addition to stopping the tone, the idea was to also put a happy/lively/excited LED, that is, RGB, which talks about the state of the plant when the owner is around to nourish it.

Another challenge was to make the RGB work on the fsr sensor and how to convert the fsr sensor into a button such that the output changes once there is no force reading on the fsr pin (no one is touching the fsr). This was resolved by adding a toggle variable (0 and 1 value) and using it with every changing state.

Following is the design process flow: