HydroFarm

Smart irrigation · Urban agriculture · IoT

Problem: Urban farmers needed a way to use water more efficiently without adding complexity to their workflow.

Design Philosophy

Sustainable Farming Practice

Accessible

Human Centered

Improve water efficiency while maintaining the yield production.

Lower the techology barrier for new urban farmers

Combat food insecurity together as well as stimulate a local economy.

Built For Your Needs

Our solutions

Drip Irrigation

Smart Automated Irrigation System

Improve water use + Increase yield production

A low-cost, low maintenance smart solution that aims to lower barrier to entry for urban farmers.

Hardware and Software Architecture

Our architecture combined LoRa, Raspberry Pi, Azure IoT Hub, Azure Stream Analytics, Power BI, sensors, and automated drip irrigation.

MONITOR

Power BI provides visibility into system and environmental data.

ACT

The system triggers a relay and water pump when irrigation is needed.

ANALYZE

Azure IoT and Stream Analytics process the incoming information.

CONNECT

LoRa boards transmit data through the network to a Raspberry Pi.

SENSE

Sensors collect soil moisture, temperature, and humidity data.

How It Works

Translate user problems into technical requirements

Balance usability, cost, and technical feasibility.

Design for real-world constraints- not ideal conditions.

WHAT I LEARNED

Technology is only valuable when it fits the user's reality.

Awards

GIX Innovation Competition 2021 Champion

Selected through a two-stage review process from 60+ submissions representing 14 countries worldwide.

Sponsored by Microsoft FarmBeats, the UW MS in Technology Innovation Program, and the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.

Azure IoT Hackathon for Sustainability Finalist

Finalist + Honorable mention, 327 participants