A System for Watering and Autonomously Monitoring Plants

To alleviate the challenges of plant care, the Great Roboticz Ladiez’ Plant Watering Robot (GRL PWR) team developed SWAMP, a mobile robotic System for Watering and Autonomously Monitoring Plants. SWAMP replicates the plant care a human provides with minimal user input and allows plant owners the freedom to keep their plants anywhere in their homes. From stakeholder analysis, the team categorized the main functionalities required to meet user needs into Customizing Plant Care, Accessing Plants, Assessing Plant Condition, Providing Water, and System Monitoring. The user can input unique watering instructions and plant characteristics. The robot uses a differential drive to autonomously navigate and localize within its environment while safely avoiding obstacles. The robot has an articulated arm to reach plants up to 24 -inches off the ground and set back no more than 2.5 -inches from the edge of the surface. These design choices allow SWAMP to accurately meet the watering needs of each plant, reducing the time commitment required from plant owners. GRL PWR will demonstrate the system in the WPI Gordon Library, providing a real-world environment to assess SWAMP’s ability to map its surroundings, navigate around obstacles, and accurately deliver water to plants.