Solis Flores

Solar energy is harvested, traditionally, either through photovoltaic technology or through the ingestion of crops. Since the two functions are utilized in distinct areas of human lives, it is assumed the two cannot coexist. This paper proposes a design for the integration of photovoltaic technology and plant physiology. The Solis Flores is an autonomous solar panel powered system that is intercropped within agricultural fields. This plant inspired photovoltaic system is synchronized with the agricultural crop fields by monitoring their health statuses. The Solis Flores surveys soil moisture levels and pH levels to manage and improve the agricultural plant health without competing for land. Through the inspiration of plant anatomy and function, the Solis Flores utilizes solar energy as its source energy, and rooted sensors to analysis possible health contingencies then communicate to the user the status of the field. The Solis Flores' solar panels, resembling the leaves and flowers of a plant, is designed to sun track and optimize the collection of solar energy. The circuitry is protected by a housing unit resembling a pot which also host the internal battery storage powering the complete system. The Solis Flores implements a wireless ad hoc network or WANET and a sensor based plant health monitoring system to an autonomous solar panel system. The ZigBee XBee platform is the WANET system chosen due to its range capacity and power efficiency. In addition, the XBee is designed to enable a security authentication allowing additional units to join or leave the network. Each Solis Flores has a master microcontroller which will monitor the soil moisture and pH level. Under stressful situations the microcontroller will be alerted and the message will be broadcasted across the network. The user as coordinator of the network can access the status of the field and monitor the crop health. This data can be logged in an external storage for seasonal evaluation and tracking. Through the successful implementation, the union between plant physiology and the technological expansion can be further explored.