I have just designed an Internet of Things system that will manage backyard gardens for GMU students who are at home during the pandemic. Here are some key features:
This is a custom, one-processor, one-core microcontroller running a simple embedded Operating System (OS). Up to five programs will be executed simultaneously by the embedded OS. These programs will let the device process sensor data, update its own webpage, serve the webpage, adjust watering, and allow users to log in to a shell to administer the other four programs. This is a real-time system, so watering will always happen on a set schedule. Even if another process is running now, the OS will switch over to watering and resume the other process after it finishes. This is a networked system that allows multiple users to connect and administer the device at the same time.