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At 19, son of farmers created a smart garden with a cistern, sensors, and low-cost system to prevent water waste, and the project won a national science award
Young Brazilian transformed his rural experience into a low-cost technological solution for irrigation, combining cistern, sensors, and automated control in a smart garden nationally recognized for uniting sustainability, water economy, and practical application.
A common problem in homes, urban gardens, and small agricultural productions received a technological response created by a young Brazilian who grew up in a rural environment: reducing water waste in irrigation without relying on expensive systems.
Son of farmers and graduated from Unoesc, Samuel Ferreira da Silva developed a smart garden with a cistern, sensors, and control interface, a project that gained national recognition in the Young Scientist Award.
The proposal attracted attention for combining technology, sustainability, and practical application in a solution designed to facilitate the irrigation of urban gardens, even among people without advanced knowledge in automation.
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Instead of relying on complex equipment, the system aims to make cultivation more efficient, reduce water and energy consumption, and bring small producers and urban dwellers closer to accessible solutions.
Smart garden created by son of farmers won national science award
According to Unoesc, Samuel Ferreira da Silva and his advisor Jacson Matte secured second place in the Higher Education category of the 30th edition of the Young Scientist Award, promoted by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, CNPq.
In the evaluation released by the university, the project proposes an innovative and accessible alternative to make the irrigation of urban gardens more efficient, sustainable, and closer to the reality of small cultivation spaces.
Behind the invention is Samuel’s experience in the field, where he observed the difficulties faced by small producers in adopting agricultural technologies that can save resources and simplify daily management.
Among the barriers he observed were the high cost of equipment and the fear of dealing with automated systems, factors that hinder the adoption of modern solutions by those who need to keep production running.
Cistern, sensors, and automated control reduce water waste
From this reality, the student developed a prototype aimed at irrigation automation, combining rainwater storage, sensor monitoring, and a graphical interface designed to make control simpler.
In the system, a cistern for storing rainwater, sensors to support monitoring, and an intuitive graphical interface work in an integrated manner, giving the project a practical character in the face of an essential resource: water.
The differential of the smart garden appears in the attempt to bring technology closer to people who are usually distant from it, especially when automation and digital control are associated with expensive equipment or large properties.
With a focus on low cost and replicability, the proposal shows that technological solutions can also be adapted to residential gardens, small urban spaces, and smaller-scale crops.
Within this operation, the cistern plays a central role because it allows the storage of rainwater and reduces the dependence on treated water to irrigate plants in domestic or community environments.
Integrated with sensors and automated control, this structure allows water use to be more rational, avoiding common waste in manual irrigations or without constant monitoring.
Low-cost technology brings innovation to urban gardens
In addition to saving water, the project also targets the rational use of energy, as automation allows irrigation to be activated more precisely according to the needs of the cultivation.
In a traditional garden, both excess and lack of water can compromise plant development, increase costs, and complicate the routine of those who care for the space daily.
Recognition in the Young Scientist Award increased the visibility of a solution born from everyday experience and linked to real challenges of urban agriculture, sustainability, and practical life.
For Unoesc, the work shows how applied computing can contribute to solving concrete societal problems, especially when technology is designed to be accessible and effective.
The advisor Jacson Matte highlighted, in a university publication, that the essence of the Information Systems area is to develop solutions capable of making technology simpler, more useful, and closer to people.
According to him, the project is replicable, low-cost, and sustainable, and can be applied to improve urban agricultural production without turning technology into a barrier for the user.
This evaluation reinforces a central point of the invention: technology does not appear as an end in itself, but as a tool to facilitate cultivation, reduce waste, and support more efficient practices.
Project connects rural experience, urban agriculture, and sustainability
Samuel’s journey also draws attention for connecting the countryside and the city, as the inspiration came from rural experience, but the solution was designed for urban gardens.
Homes, schools, condominiums, and small community spaces are among the environments where this type of proposal can engage with people interested in cultivation, economy, and sustainability.
This bridge between different realities broadens the scope of the issue, because the problem of efficient irrigation does not belong only to the countryside and also appears in urban cultivation environments.
The project aligns with a scenario where domestic and community cultivation is gaining ground among people interested in food, natural resource savings, and more sustainable forms of production.
As urban gardens depend on constant management, irrigation is often one of the most sensitive stages, especially when there is no precise control over the amount of water used.
A system capable of storing rainwater, monitoring conditions, and automating part of the process can reduce losses, ease the routine, and make garden maintenance more efficient.
The solution created by Samuel is not based on a distant promise, but on a prototype recognized in a national award and developed from a concrete problem.
According to Unoesc, the student intends to continue improving the project in his master’s degree, with new possibilities for data collection via sensors, security improvements, and the development of a centralized server.
This advancement aims to make the tool more efficient and scalable, maintaining the original focus on accessibility and the practical use of technology in low-cost irrigation systems.
Even though it may still undergo technical improvements, the smart garden already presents a strong combination: rainwater, sensors, simple control, and low cost applied to an everyday need.
For readers outside the academic universe, the appeal lies in understanding how a familiar experience in the countryside transformed into an award-winning technology aimed at common problems.
The strength of the story also lies in the contrast between simplicity and impact, as a cistern, sensors, and a control interface form a system linked to current debates on sustainability.
Instead of being born restricted to laboratories or large companies, the invention stemmed from observing a problem experienced by families and small producers who deal daily with irrigation.
At the center of the agenda is a young person who identified a concrete difficulty and sought an applicable solution, nationally recognized for combining technology, resource savings, and urban agriculture.
The award gave national reach to the idea, but public interest is sustained by the possibility of transforming common irrigation practices into more efficient and accessible processes.
For those who cultivate a garden at home or work with small productions, the question is direct: how much water is still wasted due to the lack of simple solutions like this?
