Abstract
We report small scale and large scale sensory systems that can monitor climatic conditions in greenhouses, laboratories, or crops that affect plant growth. An ultra-lightweight flexible sensory platform using bare die CMOS chips having a light, temperature, and humidity sensor on a flexible polymer substrate is demonstrated. It is made up of flexible and transparent materials and weighs merely 0.44 gram. Thus, the standalone multisensory platform can be seamlessly placed on a plant leaf without affecting its functions. Furthermore, a strain sensor using our unique fabrication strategy with 10 fold enhanced linear strain range (22%; conventional metal-based strain gauges have 2-5% linear range) is used to monitor physical plant growth over long time intervals. A framework is further provided for large-scale deployment of these sensors for remote monitoring of large cultivated areas of crops. The sensory platform is equipped with biodegradable paper wings to soften the landing during their deployment, dropped using a compact dropping mechanism. The sensors are equipped with IoT enabled electronics to allow real-time online data representation and monitoring.
Highlights
The sharp rise in the global population has put pressure on the agriculture industry to sustain the food supply
We present solutions for both microclimate monitoring at a smaller level using ultra-lightweight flexible and transparent sensory platform that can be placed on the leaf of a plant for microclimate monitoring[8] and a strategy for large-scale deployment strategy of multisensory platforms for remote macroclimate sensing of large-scale cultivated lands
We have worked on a strain sensor made from thin, lightweight and flexible materials that can measure the growth of a plant at a micrometer level [9]
Summary
The sharp rise in the global population has put pressure on the agriculture industry to sustain the food supply. The quality and quantity of food extracted from planted crops depend upon a variety of factors that affect the process of photosynthesis including humidity, light and temperature levels [1]. These factors have a direct effect on the growth of the plant, and dictate the consumable crop yield from a given area of cultivated land. Current techniques use drones equipped with highresolution cameras to obtain a heat map of crops from the air Such methods have been shown to be inconclusive as false readings and failure rates are predominant due to complex topographical landscapes, and limitations of the image processing methods used [2]. A small BLE chip in each platform relays data wirelessly to the drone that can upload the collected data from all the deployed sensors to web platforms for integration into IoT systems
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