byitl
← All samples

Smart Home

·

2026-06-30

·

Original byitl build

Smart Plant Pot 2026

USB-C self-watering soil pot. Capacitive moisture probe + BH1750 light sense; ESP32-C6 in a remote desk-side enclosure with a built-in 1 L reservoir doses water via a 5 V peristaltic pump when the soil reads dry.

Heads up: samples are here to be fun and spark ideas. They may be incomplete or unverified — use as a starting point, not a finished product.
Smart Plant Pot 2026 — hero render
Interactive

Built for real

Photos and video from the actual prototype during development — not the render.

Inside the chassis: 12 V pump, Raspberry Pi Zero, and motor driver — all sitting on the 3D-printed shelf under the soil bed.
Inside the chassis: 12 V pump, Raspberry Pi Zero, and motor driver — all sitting on the 3D-printed shelf under the soil bed.
Assembled pot on the kitchen counter with the integrated grow light running.
Assembled pot on the kitchen counter with the integrated grow light running.
Walkthrough of the finished pot.

Gallery

A USB-C powered self-watering soil pot for one plant. The pot itself is a clean square planter — no wires hanging off it, no battery taped to the side — paired with a separate desk-side enclosure that holds the brain, the reservoir, and the pump. Connect the two with a single sleeved cable + tubing bundle. Pot lifts off the saucer for re-potting; everything else stays put.

The change

Earlier versions wrapped the electronics around the pot itself, which always looked tacked-on. The 2026 build moves everything off the pot:

  • Square soil pot (180×180×220 mm) with drainage holes in the floor, a raised rim, and a +X rim saddle that takes the Adafruit 4026 STEMMA Soil probe upright.
  • Matching drainage saucer (210×210 mm tray with a raised outer rim and a central recess) — pot drops on top, drips drain into the recess.
  • Remote desk-side enclosure (170×100×120 mm) houses a built-in 1 L reservoir (fill cap on top), the ESP32-C6 Feather (inner +Y wall), an LM2596 buck (inner -Y wall), a BH1750 ambient-light sensor at the +Y lens window above the Feather, and a 5 V peristaltic pump on the floor between.
  • Single tether runs from the pot's +X rim grommet, down to the desk, and into the enclosure's -X face. Carries the soil-probe wire and the dose tubing.

What's in the pack

Print-ready STL for every printed part (pot body, saucer, electronics enclosure, pump module, cable-bundle template), editable STEP, six angle renders + interactive WebGL viewer, a wired BOM with verified vendor pricing, and assembly instructions.