“We didn’t forget the plant. We just weren’t there when it needed us.”

It started with a plant we forgot to water — even though the watering can was right there.

It wasn’t a failure of care. It was a failure of presence.

So we built Ploonty — a system that doesn't just detect dryness, but acts on it. It’s not just smart. It’s empathetic.

Ploonty is an autonomous plant health system that senses and responds:

• 🌡️ Monitors soil moisture, temperature, and humidity
• 🚰 Activates a relay-controlled pump pulling from a rainwater reservoir
• 📺 Displays the plant’s mood using a minimalist OLED screen
• 🧠 Applies smart logic to avoid overwatering
• 🧘‍♂️ Designed to work without notifications or manual input

• ESP32: main controller
• DHT11 Sensor: temperature & humidity
• Soil Moisture Sensor
• Relay Module + Pump
• Rainwater Reservoir
• OLED Display
• PKMUR160 Diode for motor protection

• Written in Arduino/C++
• Debounced logic for clean sensor events
• Smart thresholds for watering intervals
• OLED “emoji face” system for plant feedback 🙂

We built the pump system ourselves.

From scratch.
From burnt wires to a working flow.
From silence to life-giving motion.

Once the sensors and pump began talking...
It wasn’t just a project anymore.
It was care. It was presence.

• 🔁 Relay misfires & motor glitches
• 💦 Designing a rainwater-safe system
• 🔥 Fried sensors (RIP DHT11)
• 🤯 Logic bugs that made the plant smile… while dying

• Fully autonomous watering system
• Built from raw components
• Sustainable & off-grid friendly
• Designed with compassion in mind, not just code

“We didn’t finish a project — we gave something the ability to care.”

• Hardware is... humbling
• A diode is not optional. Ever.
• Debugging NaN humidity at 2am builds character
• The most powerful tech solves small, real problems

• 📊 Firebase/Blynk dashboard monitoring
• 🌐 Mesh networking between plants
• ☀️ Solar integration for total autonomy
• 🪴 Multi-plant syncing for smart gardens
• 📱 A companion app that says:
  “Hey, I just drank a little. Feeling better now.”

This wasn’t about automation.
It was about presence.
It was about building something that listens when we can’t be there.

A plant can’t speak.
But it still needs care.

Ploonty doesn’t just listen.
It acts.

This isn’t just smart home tech.
It’s compassion, embedded in code.
Ploonty. Peace of mind, with roots.

• Amal Alhaj
• Shrish
• Swapnil Deb
• Yasmeen Shalabi

MIT License – Feel free to fork, grow, and share.

If this project helped or inspired you, consider watering your own plant. Or someone else’s. 🌧️