Abstract
Agricultural research involves study of the complex soil–plant–atmosphere–water system, and data relating to this system must be collected under often-harsh outdoor conditions in agricultural environments. Rapid advancements in electronic technologies in the last few decades, as well as more recent widespread proliferation and adoption of electronic sensing and communications, have created many options to address the needs of professional, as well as amateur, researchers. In this study, an agricultural research project was undertaken to collect data and examine the effects of different agronomic practices on yield, with the objectives being to develop a monitoring system to measure soil moisture and temperature conditions in field plots and to upload the data to an internet website. The developed system included sensor nodes consisting of sensors and electronic circuitry to read and transmit sensor data via radio and a cellular gateway to receive node data and forward the data to an internet website via cellular infrastructure. Microcontroller programs were written to control the nodes and gateway, and an internet website was configured to receive and display sensor data. The battery-powered sensor nodes cost $170 each, including electronic circuitry and sensors, and they were operated throughout the cropping season with little maintenance on a single set of batteries. The solar-powered gateway cost $163 to fabricate, plus an additional cost of $2 per month for cellular network access. Wireless and cellular data transmissions were reliable, successfully transferring 95% of sensor data to the internet website. Application of open-source hardware, wireless data transfer, and internet-based data access therefore offers many options and advantages for agricultural sensing and monitoring efforts.
Highlights
Experimental research relies on observation, collection, and interpretation of data and information in order to better understand or quantify the subject under study
Agricultural research involves study of the complex soil–plant–atmosphere–water system, and data relating to this system must be collected under often-harsh outdoor conditions in agricultural environments
The hardware component includes sensor nodes consisting of sensors and electronic circuitry to read and transmit sensor data via radio installed in different field locations and a cellular gateway installed adjacent to the field that receives node data and forwards the data to an internet website via cellular infrastructure
Summary
Experimental research relies on observation, collection, and interpretation of data and information in order to better understand or quantify the subject under study. Sensing and data collection, which often required manual and time-consuming efforts, can be automated to collect more measurements more frequently. These hardware devices, in concert with the concept of “open-source hardware” in which ideas, designs, projects, and information are freely shared, has gained interest in scientific and research communities [1,2] as a means to further the acquisition of data and information. Open-source hardware has been referred to as “open science hardware” as it has enabled more open access to instrumentation and exploration that was previously limited mainly to professional researchers [3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
