7
/
Additional Resources
Computing Resources
• Windows-based computer running MPLAB X IDE
• Wi-Fi network
• An account on Medium One, available for a fee
• Wi-Fi GitHub Software Files
• LoRa GitHub Software Files
• AVR
®
and Arm
®
Toolchains (C Compilers)
• Microchip ATmega Series Device Support (2.0.12)
Software Files
The Microchip Technology Xplained board is programmable
using MPLAB X IDE. In addition to the prebuilt libraries that the
parts vendors provide, the project will require additional files
already included in the main project file. The first is the firmware
file that runs on the Microchip Xplained board. A header (.h) file
to store any sensitive data such as passwords and application
programming interface (API) keys, which are things one should
avoid sharing with the entire world on GitHub
®
, located in the
ArduinoCore/Include folder. Lastly, there is an included library
project (ArduinoCore) attached to the main project file that
will include everything necessary for each of the devices. The
original project file was created utilizing Atmel Studio 7 and
gets imported into MPLAB X IDE. To build this program, one
will need to incorporate the AVR toolchain as well as a device
support pack. One can find the primary project file in the
SmartAgFirmware folder.
Tools and Other Resources
Finally, these tools are recommended to help complete the
project:
• Wire strippers
• Digital multimeter
• Needle nose pliers
• Breadboard
• Pull-up resistors if needed for I
2
C bus
Project Technology Overview
The sensor boards used in this project communicate back to
the Xplained microcontroller board in two ways: By digitally
utilizing the Inter-Integrated Circuit (I
2
C) serial communication
protocol or via an analog signal that is read by the
microcontroller's analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
Table 2: This plant health monitoring project BOM lists all the components you will need.
Table 2 lists the BOM, if you wish to use a Wi-Fi Development Tool
QUANTITY MOUSER P/N DESCRIPTION
SCHEMATIC
P/N
1 U1 556-ATMEGA328PBXMIN
Development Boards & Kits - AVR
ATMEGA328PB Eval Kit
1 J5 932-MIKROE-1769
Wi-Fi Development Tools (802.11)
WiFi3 Click
1 J2 932-MIKROE-1978
Temperature Sensor Development Tools
Weather Click
1 J1 485-4026
STEMMA Soil Sensor - I
2
C Capacitive
Moisture Sensor
1 J4 426-SEN0249
Analog Spear Tip pH Sensor / Meter Kit (for
Soil and Food Applications)
1 J3 426-SEN0219 Analog IR CO2 Sensor
1 N/A 854-ZW-MM-20
Jumper Wires ZipWire MI-MI 20cm 40
UnzippWires x20cm
1 N/A 932-MIKROE-1097
PCBs & Breadboards BREADBOARD
CLEAR S/A 830 POINTS
1 U2 485-757 4-Channel Bi Logic Level Eval Board