A quick look into GrowNode systems

This page describes how the GrowNode platform is structured and the technology behind it.

Architecture

A full GrowNode system architecture is composed by

one or more grownode boards (called nodes)
each board is connected to several sensors (called leaves)
a messaging server where each board talks using MQTT
an automation server - like openhab, home assistant - that orchestrate the node operations
several clients to display and manage nodes
other systems, like home automation, gardening, that works together with grownode

GrowNode aims to use most common development tools. Actual release is composed by:

ESP32 and above microcontrollers
Common sensors and actuators (relay, PWM output, temperature probes, capacitance sensors..) with any esp-idf compatible libraries
(optional) Various displays tested (ILI9341) with touch screen (tested XPT2046) capabilities
(optional) A server like a raspberry to host the server side components in case you want to develop a network solution

ESP-IDF (release 4.4) programming environment
(optional) MQTT broker as a messaging system - if you want to exchange info between boards and servers
(optional) LVGL as display library - if you want to attach a screen to display your sensor values
(optional) OpenHab/Home Assistant as a controller

Grownode provides functionalities that lets you kickstart your projects in minutes:

SoftAP/Bluetooth Provisioning to join and change your wireless network without any hardcode configuration through a mobile app
High level device configuration through makefile
Firmware update Over The Air
NTP clock sync
Persistent storage of parameters
Sensor and Actuators configuration abstracting the hardware level
Transparent networking protocol (presentation, keepalive, logging)
Client/Server and Client/Client parameter retrieval and update through MQTT