KUCHING: Three Bidayuh IT Networking students at Politeknik Kuching have invented a Soil and pH Monitoring System using Internet of Things (IoT) for pepper plantations.
The IoT prototype is used for monitoring black pepper farming through web-based application.
When met at Politeknik Kuching’s Project and Innovation Festival on Wednesday, group leader Greg Ericson from Kampung Skio, Bau together with Filadelfia Jorislen from Kampung Stass and Timothy Alex from Singai said they completed their invention in six months, including research.
“It can be used to monitor the soil of black pepper farming and to notify the farmers regarding soil conditions where the pepper vines are cultivated,” he added.
“Besides that, it is also equipped with a pipeline that functions to water the plants if the soil is too dry.”
Another group of Politeknik Kuching IT Networking students had also successfully developed a homestay smart key using augmented reality (AR) to replace the normal padlock.
Group leader Aida Nurul Wahidah Mustafa said the system would allow homestay guests to open the door by using AR application where guests only needed to enter their surname and password into the system to enable them to open the room’s door.
“This system also enhances the safety of doors as guests would not be able to duplicate the system,” added Aida.
Other members of the team are Nursyazwani Abdul Razak and Nur Aymina Ipandi.
Meanwhile, another group of six mechanical engineering students led by Esme Ezwan came up with their invention of an automatic cat feeder.
“It can supply food to the cat twice a day and it’s designed mainly for (food) pellets.
“The invention will be very helpful to cat owners who may have to leave their pets alone for a certain time and there’s no one to feed their cats.
“It uses real-time timer delay to control the feeding time and it is powered by a 12v stepper motor,” he said.
The device uses the Arduino programming system to control the timer.
“The cat feeder is a simple device that can be used at home even without the (presence of the) owner. It has eight bowls inside so the cat only needs to turn the handle to let the food out.
“We chose this project because keeping pets is a time-consuming responsibility and we want to provide convenience to owners by helping them feed theirs cats easily and smartly,” said Esme.
Cat owners, he said, also faced the problem of how to properly feed them when there are multiple cats in the same house.
“One cat may eat only twice a day, three times a day, or even small bits throughout the day. There are even cats that will eat everything that is given to them, which can lead to obesity.
“Some cats cannot control their diet and will eat as long as there is food for them. The problem occurs when the owner has to leave their cat for a certain time and there is no one there to watch them,” added Esme.
To solve this problem, pet owners could use this automatic cat feeder to manage the animal’s diet.
“The automatic cat feeder is small, light and suitable for indoor use.”
