IoT-Based Smart Motor Controller for Agricultural Pump Automation — PCB to Cloud Dashboard
Agri-Equipment Manufacturer
A manufacturer of agricultural pump controllers serving farmers across Gujarat and Maharashtra. 1,000+ units deployed in the field. Their previous generation GSM controller had reliability and power consumption issues.
The Challenge
Previous GSM Controller Was Unreliable, Power-Hungry, and Had No Remote Monitoring — Farmers Were Losing Crops
The client's previous generation pump controller used a basic GSM module with SMS-based ON/OFF commands. Problems: (1) SMS commands would sometimes not deliver due to network congestion — farmer sends 'ON' at 6 AM, pump doesn't start, farmer doesn't know until 10 AM when they visit the field. 4 hours of irrigation lost. (2) The GSM module was always-on, consuming 3x more power than necessary — in solar-powered installations, the battery would drain in 2 cloudy days. (3) There was zero remote visibility — no way to know if the pump was actually running, how long it ran, or if there was a fault. (4) The firmware was not OTA-updatable — fixing a bug meant sending a technician to the field to replace the controller. With 1,000+ units across rural Gujarat and Maharashtra, this was unsustainable. They needed: reliable communication with GSM fallback, ultra-low power consumption, cloud dashboard for farmers and fleet managers, and OTA firmware updates.
Our Solution
ESP32-Based Smart Controller with MQTT + GSM Fallback, Ultra-Low-Power Design, Cloud Dashboard, and OTA Updates
We designed a complete next-generation controller: (1) Hardware: Custom PCB designed in KiCad with ESP32 as the primary MCU, GSM module (SIM800) as fallback communication, motor control relays with opto-isolated protection, current sensor for pump health monitoring, and solar charge controller integration. The PCB was designed with industrial-grade protection — TVS diodes on all I/O, conformal coating for humidity resistance, and wide input voltage range (6V-36V) to handle unstable rural power. (2) Firmware: Written in C++ with ESP-IDF framework. Primary communication via MQTT over WiFi. Automatic fallback to GSM (SMS commands + GPRS data) when WiFi is unavailable. Ultra-low-power sleep modes — the ESP32 deep-sleeps between commands, waking only on scheduled intervals or incoming MQTT messages. OTA firmware update capability via WiFi. (3) Cloud: MQTT broker (Mosquitto) on AWS EC2 receiving data from all controllers. Node.js backend processing pump status, runtime, energy consumption, and fault alerts. React dashboard for farmers (mobile-first — most farmers access via smartphone) and fleet management dashboard for the manufacturer. Pump ON/OFF control via dashboard with confirmation feedback — farmer knows within 10 seconds if the pump actually started. (4) Outcome: The new controller uses 60% less power than the previous generation. MQTT + GSM fallback provides >99% command delivery reliability. Farmers see real-time pump status on their phones. The manufacturer can monitor their entire fleet of 1,000+ controllers remotely — identifying pumps that need maintenance before they fail.
The Result
60% Less Power Consumption. >99% Command Reliability. Full Fleet Visibility for 1,000+ Deployed Units.
“The previous controller was causing us warranty claims every month — SMS failures, battery drain, farmers unhappy. Dhaara's team didn't just fix the problems — they built a completely new controller with cloud monitoring that's become our competitive advantage. We now sell the dashboard as a feature, not just the hardware.”