FloraLink
Overview
FloraLink is an intelligent plant-monitoring system designed to help users understand their plant’s environment through real-time feedback, presence-aware behavior, and expressive on-screen animations.The device integrates multiple sensors—including soil moisture, mmWave radar, light, temperature, and humidity—to continuously measure plant health conditions and respond instantly with visual cues on a bright OLED display.
FloraLink is built as a fully connected, low-power system with modular firmware, enabling automatic watering reminders, environmental alerts, and interactive animations that react when a person approaches the plant.The goal of the project was to create not only a smart plant assistant, but a device with personality, something that feels alive and engaging while providing real, meaningful plant-care insights.
Key Features
- Multi-Sensor Environmental Monitoring | FloraLink combines soil moisture, temperature, humidity, light intensity, and radar presence sensors to deliver a complete, real-time understanding of the plant’s environment.
- Presence, Distance & Motion Detection (mmWave Radar) | Using the LD2410C radar module, FloraLink detects when someone is near, how far they are, and whether they are moving allowing the device to react and shift animations instantly.
- Intelligent OLED Display Animations | A crisp OLED screen shows custom GIF-style animations that visually communicate plant needs: watering alerts, sun/moon cycles, temperature warnings, mood expressions, and idle loops.
- Soil Moisture Insight & Alerts | The moisture sensor continuously monitors soil health and triggers visual cues when the plant needs water, helping maintain optimal hydration levels.
- Ambient Light Awareness | A light sensor tracks brightness throughout the day, alerting the user when the plant is placed in insufficient light conditions.
- Temperature & Humidity Tracking | The integrated temperature and humidity sensor provides early indication of harsh conditions that could stress the plant.
- Adaptive State Machine Logic | FloraLink’s firmware uses a structured state machine to intelligently switch between modes—default, dry, hot, cold, sun, moon, and presence-activated states—based on live sensor data.
- Modular Firmware Architecture | All components (radar, soil, display, sensors, animations, logger) are built as independent modules, making the system clean, maintainable, and easy to expand.
- Personality-Driven User Experience | FloraLink feels alive responding with expressive, character-like animations that make plant care more fun, emotional, and interactive.
Challenge
Most plant-monitoring products on the market provide only basic data—usually moisture readings—without offering real-time feedback or an engaging user experience. The challenge was to build a compact system that can: -Accurately measure soil moisture -Detect user presence, distance, and motion -React to environmental changes such as low light or extreme temperature -Communicate statuses clearly through animations instead of plain numbers -Operate reliably and efficiently as a long-term indoor device We wanted FloraLink to become more than a sensor hub: It had to feel alive, responsive, and enjoyable to interact with.
Solution
To address these challenges, we engineered a multi-sensor platform powered by ESP32 and custom firmware architecture: -Soil Sensor: Tracks moisture levels and triggers animations or alerts when watering is needed. -mmWave Radar: Detects presence, distance, and movement—allowing the device to greet the user, switch modes, or display motivational messages when someone walks by. -Light Sensor: Monitors light exposure and provides feedback when the plant needs better lighting. -Temperature & Humidity Sensor: Ensures environmental conditions remain within healthy ranges. -OLED Display With Animations: The device communicates through expressive GIF-style animations — from sun/moon modes to water alerts, temperature warnings, and idle ambient loops. -Modular Firmware: Cleanly organized C++ codebase with separate sensor modules, state machine, and dynamic animation system. The final result is a playful, responsive, and informative smart companion that helps users care for their plants effortlessly while creating a fun, interactive experience.
Results
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