Greenhouse Control Interface

Question

I'm working on a control system for my school's tropical greenhouse based on the Arduino. It'll just do basic logging things, along with allowing someone to selectively water sections of the greenhouse.

Since I'm not doing a touchscreen (due to dirt and water concerns), I'm thinking of sticking an XBee onto the board (or using a Jeenode) and allowing people to connect to a server stack running on the Arduino to control the system.

Is it feasible to use an XBee as an access point? Is there an easier way to do the interface where I wouldn't have to replace it every few months? Keep in mind that I'm trying to keep costs down, as I'm funding this personally as a high school student.

Answer 1

A sealed membrane keyboard can be made tropical greenhouse and sensible-student* proof. Not as flexible as a touch screen but easy to do.

*ie not immune to stupid abuse.

Answer 2

You could use something like an Arduino Ethernet (or a Nanode which is cheaper, or Nanode RF which is more capable) to make a web-based interface... Honestly if you can run an Ethernet cable from your Nanode to a router, I'd recommend a regular Nanode as your cheapest solution. Otherwise you'll need two Nanode RFs: one acting as a server for your web interface, and relaying commands wirelessly to your greenhouse control board. The Nanode RF also includes an SD card and RTC which is useful for logging, but it's a tad more expensive.