An IoT SoC for Agricultural Applications

Abstract

The constant growth of the population and the diminution of the arable land is a threat for the Humankind. Technology applied to agriculture can save the Humankind from a food and climate crisis. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommends to increase agricultural production by 70 % in 2050. On the other hand, agriculture is one of the major contributors to the global warming while it is one of the most adversely affected by this global warming. Therefore, it is important to increase productivity while preserving planetary boundaries. In this challenging context we propose to monitor the growth and health of plants by handling on the field parameters such as soil moisture, soil pH, soil temperature, soil salinity, etc. In order to do this, an Internet of Things (IoT) system has been designed. This system is based on a versatile System on a Chip (SoC), using the LoRa protocol for transmission and a low-power energy scheme to operate independently. The SoC processes locally the parameters on the edge and sends data to the cloud for analysis and prediction. It takes automatic actions and provides recommendations to the farmer. Low power, versatility, adaptability, edge computing, ease of use and low cost are the main constraints of the IoT system and the designed SoC. This paper details the design of the SoC architecture including the used design flow and the main results based on the specifications.