Static Sensor Nodes Research Articles

Optimal interference mitigation with deep learningbased channel access in wireless body area networks

SummaryWireless body area networks (WBANs) are essential for medical applications, especially in remote health monitoring, as they transmit crucial and time‐sensitive data collected by nodes positioned around or within the body. However, the coexistence of WBANs with wireless channels can degrade performance due to interference. This study introduces OIM‐DLCAM, an optimal interference mitigation scheme for WBANs, which utilizes a deep learning‐based channel access method. OIM‐DLCAM addresses interference through the multiobjective Hungarian optimization (MOHO) algorithm, considering design constraints such as node transmission power, packet delivery ratio, and interference range. Additionally, it employs a deep probabilistic neural network‐based channel access method (DPNN‐CAM) to effectively mitigate interference by making decisions regarding contention window size, frame length, and buffer size. The proposed OIM‐DLCAM scheme ensures fairness between users while enhancing system performance. Simulation results from both static and dynamic sensor node scenarios demonstrate its effectiveness under various conditions, showcasing its potential to improve WBAN performance in medical applications. The simulations reveal that OIM‐DLCAM outperforms existing state‐of‐the‐art schemes across various scenarios, with efficiency gains of up to 86.187%, 72.452%, and 47.954% for WBAN node density, mobility, and packet arrival rate, respectively. Moreover, it significantly reduces the average end‐to‐end delay and packet drop rate while improving throughput and packet delivery ratio compared with existing schemes. Additionally, comparisons with industry standards, such as the IEEE 802.15.4e norm, validate the suitability of OIM‐DLCAM for cofounded WBANs.

Improved Grey Wolf Optimization Based Node Localization Approach in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) are established by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) or static Sensor Nodes (SN) that collect and transmit information over the underwater environment. Localization plays a vital role in the effective deployment, navigation and coordination of these nodes for many applications, namely underwater surveillance, underwater exploration, oceanographic data collection and environmental monitoring. Due to the unique characteristics of underwater transmission and acquisition, this is a fundamental challenge in underwater networks. However, localization in UWSNs is problematic due to the unique features of underwater transmission and the harsh underwater environment. To address these challenges, this paper presents an Improved Grey Wolf Optimization Based Node Localization Approach in UWSN (IGWONL-UWSN) technique. The presented IGWONL-UWSN technique is inspired by the hunting behavior of grey wolves with the Dimension Learning-based Hunting (DLH) search process. The proposed IGWONL-UWSN technique uses the Improved Grey Wolf Optimization Based (IGWO) algorithm to calculate the optimal location of the nodes in the UWSN. Moreover, the IGWONL-UWSN technique incorporates the DLH search process to improve the convergence and accuracy. The simulation results of the IGWONL-UWSN technique are validated using a set of performance measures. The simulation results show the improvements of the IGWONL-UWSN method over other approaches with respect to various metrics.

Surrogate-assisted sine Phasmatodea population evolution algorithm applied to 3D coverage of mobile nodes

Deploying static wireless sensor nodes is prone to network coverage gaps, resulting in poor network coverage. In this paper, an attempt is made to improve the network coverage by moving the locations of the nodes. A surrogate-assisted sine Phasmatodea population evolution algorithm (SASPPE) is used to evaluate the network coverage. A 50×50\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$50 \ imes 50$$\\end{document} hill simulation environment was tested for the number of nodes of 30 and 40 and radii of 3, 5 and 7, respectively. The results show that the SASPPE algorithm has the highest coverage, which can be up to 23.624% higher than the PPE algorithm, and up to 5.196% higher than the PPE algorithm, ceteris paribus. The SASPPE algorithm mixes the GSAM with LSAMs, which balances the computational cost of the algorithm and the algorithm’s ability to find optimal results. The use of hierarchical clustering enhances the stable type of the LSAMs. In addition, LSAMs are easy to fall into local optimality when they are modeled with local data, and the use of sine Phasmatodea population evolution algorithm (Sine-PPE) for searching in LSAMs alleviates the time for the algorithm to fall into local optimality. On 30D, 50D, and 100D, the proposed algorithm was tested by 7 test functions. The results show that the algorithm has significant advantages on most functions.

A Review on Data Collection Strategy and Power Consumption using Mobile Vehicles and UAVs In Smart Cities

Cities can identify trends and needs by analyzing data from IOT devices and sensors. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are generally used in numerous field of interest to detect phenomena, process the detected data and take appropriate actions. Due to the limited sources of stationary sensor nodes, WSNs must work with mobile robots such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles(UGVs) in their development. Consequently, it is necessary to maintain the energy efficiency of UAVs since they are approved by data centers so they must be deployed and charged frequently. Researchers worked on this area and came across various schemes for efficient data collection with minimal energy usage. This paper gives a structured and extensive review of different schemes proposed by different authors around the globe. This paper also evaluates the datasets utilized by different researchers for data collection method. Finally, the challenges involved in data collection method and power consumption are highlighted in conclusion section. We have also listed the future work in conclusion section.

Performance Analysis of Sink Mobility Models for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Comparative Study

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs), deployed in the area of interest to gather data unattended, comprise numerous tiny, ponderous, and battery-operated sensor nodes (SNs). Numerous research publications presented strategies for extending the lifespan and performance of wireless sensor networks because SNs lifetime depends on limited battery life. One strategy for enhancing the performance of wireless sensor networks is to deploy an energy-rich sink capable of mobility to gather data sensed by stationary SNs. Therefore, several mobility models (MMs) were suggested. The primary objective of this investigation is to compare the effectiveness of wireless sensor networks using two MMs for mobile sinks (MSs): Kohonen’s self-organizing map-based model and the genetic algorithm-based model, in order to find the most suitable conditions under which each one of them can be used. As a result, network performance is investigated using the NS-2 simulator under various scenarios and MS speeds. Additionally, throughput, packet delivery ratio (PDR), and end-to-end (E2E) delay are the metrics used to analyze performance. Finally, messages are forwarded from their sources to the MS using the AODV routing protocol. The results show that the Kohonen-based model is suitable for small networks with moderate speeds of the mobile sink. On the other hand, the genetic algorithm-based model is suitable to be used with medium-sized networks with low speeds of the mobile sink.

Mobile Structural Health Monitoring Based on Legged Robots

With the advancements in information, communication, and sensing technologies, structural health monitoring (SHM) has matured into a substantial pillar of infrastructure maintenance. In particular, wireless sensor networks have gradually been incorporated into SHM, leveraging new opportunities towards reduced installation efforts and enhanced flexibility and scalability, as compared to cable-based SHM systems. However, wireless sensor nodes are installed at fixed locations and need to be employed at high density to reliably monitor large infrastructure, which may cause high installation costs. Furthermore, the limited power autonomy of wireless sensor networks, installed at fixed locations for unattended long-term operation, still represents a significant constraint when deploying stationary wireless sensor nodes for SHM. To resolve the critical constraints stemming from costly high-density deployment and limited power autonomy, a mobile structural health monitoring concept based on legged robots is proposed in the study reported in this paper. The study explores the accuracy and cost-efficiency of deploying legged robots in dense measurement setups for wireless SHM of civil infrastructure, aiming to gain insights into the advantages of mobile wireless sensor nodes in general and of legged robots in particular, in terms of obtaining rich information on the structural condition. As is shown in this paper, the legged robots, as compared to stationary wireless sensor nodes, require a smaller number of nodes to be deployed in civil infrastructure to achieve rich sensor information, entailing more cost-efficient, yet accurate, SHM. In conclusion, this study represents a first step towards autonomous robotic fleets advancing structural health monitoring.

Intrusion Detection Mechanism for Empowered Intruders Using IDEI

In the past, intrusion detection has been extensively investigated as a means of ensuring the security of wireless sensor networks. Anti-recon technology has made it possible for an attacker to get knowledge about the detecting nodes and plot a route around them in order to evade detection. An "empowered intruder" is one who poses new threats to current intrusion detection technologies. Furthermore, the intended impact of detection may not be obtained in certain subareas owing to gaps in coverage caused by the initial deployment of detection nodes at random. A vehicle collaboration sensing network model is proposed to solve these difficulties, in which mobile sensing cars and static sensor nodes work together to identify intrusions by empowered intruders. An algorithm for mobile sensing vehicles, called Intrusion Detection Mechanism for Empowered Intruders(IDEI), and a sleep-scheduling technique for static nodes form the basis of our proposal. Sophisticated intruders will be tracked by mobile sensors, which will fill in the gaps in coverage, while static nodes follow a sleep schedule and will be woken when the intruder is discovered close. Our solution is compared to current techniques like Kinetic Theory Based Mobile Sensor Network (KMsn)and Mean Time to Attacks (MTTA) in terms of intrusion detection performance, energy usage, and sensor node movement distance. IDEI's parameter sensitivity is also examined via comprehensive simulations. It is clear from the theoretical analysis and simulation findings that our idea is more efficient and available.

Lightweight APIT with Bat Optimization with Simulated Annealing Localization for Resource-Constrained Sensor Networks

In a wireless sensor network, information processing, and information acquisition, localization technology is the key to making it practically possible application. Approximate Point-in-Triangulation (APIT) is the most widely used localization estimation which has high accuracy in localizing the nodes and ease of deployment of nodes in the real-time environment. Though it has numerous key advantages, some of the drawbacks which make it a little setback in preference are the unevenness in the distribution of nodes. Tracking is more appropriate for mobile sensor nodes than tracking is for static sensor nodes. The two main types of localization algorithms are range-based and range-free techniques. In an indoor setting, the projected range (distance) between an anchor and an unknown node is very inaccurate. By utilizing a large number of already existing access points (APs) in the range-free localization approach, this issue can be overcome to a great extent. The utilization of multisensor data, such as magnetic, inertial, compass, gyroscope, ultrasonic, infrared, visual, and/or odometer, is stressed in recent research to further increase localization accuracy. The tracking system also makes location predictions for the future based on historical location data. To overcome this issue, the proposed localization algorithm of APIT with Bat-SA proves its efficiency. Due to its low localization error, the traditional Bat method is more accurate than APIT. The proposed Bat using the SA algorithm is found to perform better than the traditional APIT algorithm in terms of convergence of computing rate and success rate. In order to mimic the suggested APIT method, it is paired with the Bat-SA localization technique. Simulation evaluation proves the performance efficiency of the proposed algorithm. The performance metrics parameters are latency, node distribution map, positioning error map, and neighbor relationship diagram which are used to evaluate the proposed method.

Efficient Mobile Sink Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Bipartite Graphs

Wireless sensor networks (W.S.N.s) are a critical research area with numerous practical applications. W.S.N.s are utilized in real-life scenarios, including environmental monitoring, healthcare, industrial automation, smart homes, and agriculture. As W.S.N.s advance and become more sophisticated, they offer limitless opportunities for innovative solutions in various fields. However, due to their unattended nature, it is essential to develop strategies to improve their performance without draining the battery power of the sensor nodes, which is their most valuable resource. This paper proposes a novel sink mobility model based on constructing a bipartite graph from a deployed wireless sensor network. The proposed model uses bipartite graph properties to derive a controlled mobility model for the mobile sink. As a result, stationary nodes will be visited and planned to reduce routing overhead and enhance the network’s performance. Using the bipartite graph’s properties, the mobile sink node can visit stationary sensor nodes in an optimal way to collect data and transmit it to the base station. We evaluated the proposed approach through simulations using the NS-2 simulator to investigate the performance of wireless sensor networks when adopting this mobility model. Our results show that using the proposed approach can significantly enhance the performance of wireless sensor networks while conserving the energy of the sensor nodes.

Formation of wireless sensor network protection system parameters for intrusion detection in the form of false event flows

Wireless sensor networks with stationary and mobile sensor nodes are studied. For mobile nodes, in addition to sensor nodes, the influence of node movement speed on the duration of the network life cycle for mobile AdHoc networks was also studied. When studying the impact of erroneous events on the sensor field, it was established that providing sensor nodes with mobility allows increasing the life cycle of the network. A model of intrusion into a wireless sensor network with the aim of shortening its life cycle has been developed, which differs from known models in that false event streams are used to achieve this goal. The model is developed based on typical geometric, quantitative and energy parameters of wireless sensor networks using a basic clustering algorithm for a homogeneous mobile sensor network under conditions of Poisson network intrusion and deterministic error event flows. It is established that the duration of the life cycle of a wireless sensor network can significantly depend on the type of the flow of erroneous events and, other things being equal, under the influence of a deterministic flow can be almost half as long as under the influence of a flow of erroneous events. the impact of the flow of false events. the Poisson flow effect. Detection of false events in a wireless sensor network can be considered as a target tracking task, and to detect false events with a given probability, taking into account the limited capabilities of sensor nodes, it is advisable to use the architectural characteristics of the network, the distribution of the density of nodes on the sensor field.

Design and Analysis of a Multiple and Wide Nulling Collaborative Beamforming Scheme in the Domain of 3-Dimensional Wireless Sensor Networks

Null steering is essential in collaborative beamforming (CB) in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) to ensure minimal radiation power and interference in the direction of unintended receivers. Current research in null steering in CB in WSNs is mainly from the perspective of planar arrangements of sensor nodes and sink(s). Furthermore, there is no research dedicated to the formation of multiple wide nulls during CB in 3-dimension WSNs. Wide nulls are ideal in scenarios featuring mobile unintended sink(s). A new multiple and wide null steering scheme applicable to CB in WSNs is presented in this work (from the perspective of a 3-dimensional random arrangement of static sensor nodes). It is assumed that desired nulling directions are implicitly known at a CB cluster head. A particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm variant is applied in concurrent node transmit amplitude and phase perturbation with an aim of achieving beam steering alongside multiple and wide null steering. The performance of the proposed null steering scheme is validated against a basic null steering approach (with reference to current literature). Furthermore, a comparative null depth, width, and nulling accuracy analysis are done upon varying the count of collaborating nodes and the collaborating cluster radius. An increase in the number of collaborating nodes is found to increase nulling depth at an exponentially decaying rate. An increase in the collaborating nodes’ cluster radius yields a reduction in null width. The contributions of this work to the existing literature are as follows: (i) the design and investigation of a null steering scheme from the perspective of a 3-dimension random arrangement of sensor nodes; (ii) the design of a concurrent beam steering and multiple wide null steering scheme on the basis of concurrent node transmit amplitude and phase perturbation whilst ensuring null depth uniformity; (iii) a statistical analysis of the impact of a count of collaborating nodes and collaborating cluster radius on nulling performance; (iv) investigation of capacity improvement at unintended receivers upon null steering.

Monitoring, Detecting and Early Warning of Forest Fires using Blockchain in Wireless Sensor Network

Forest fires cause economic and material losses and destroy the environment, causing many negative impacts on human habitats and forest ecosystems. The unpredictable threat of wildfires leads to climate change and the greenhouse effect. It is worth noting that up to 90% of forest fires occur mainly due to human activities [1], even due to tampering, vandalism, and hostile actions. Therefore, to minimize the destruction caused by forest fires as well as accurately identify the area where forest fires occur and support government agencies, forest rangers, and search and disaster relief forces, ... it is necessary to monitor, detect and warn of forest fires right from the early stage (early warning). This paper proposes to use static sensor nodes combined with mobile in wireless sensor network (WSN) to Forest fire Monitoring, Detection, and Early Warning - FMDW. At the same time, integrating Blockchain technology (BC) in WSN solves the problem of secure routing, and distributed data storage, and prevents destructive and tampering attacks. This also suggests new research directions on monitoring, detecting, warning, and protecting forests in countries using Blockchain security technology in WSN.

Feature Extraction Method of Art Visual Communication Image Based on 5G Intelligent Sensor Network

5G intelligent sensor network technology realizes the perception, processing, and transmission of information. It forms the three pillars of information technology together with computer technology and communication technology and is an important part of the Internet of Things technology. The 5G smart sensor network is a wireless communication module added to the sensor nodes, and a wireless communication network is formed by a large number of stationary or movable sensor nodes in the form of self-organization and multihop transmission. This paper proposes a keypoint feature extraction method based on deep learning, which can extract keypoint local features for matching. This method uses the convolutional network structure, which is pretrained based on the Siamese network structure and then adjusted to the ternary network structure to continue training to improve the accuracy. This paper proposes a high-art visual communication image classification based on multifeature extraction and classification decision fusion. In the data preprocessing stage, the correlation alignment algorithm is performed on the datasets of different domains (source domain and target domain) to reduce the difference in spatial distribution, and then, a multifeature extractor is designed to extract artistic visual communication images and spatial information. In the process, the multitask learning method is introduced to jointly train the networks of multiple data sets to reduce the degree of overfitting of the model, solve the problem of insufficient labeled samples in the target domain data set, and affect the classification accuracy of high-art visual communication images. Finally, the classification results are obtained through the fusion of voting decisions. The experimental results show that the advantage of this framework is that it utilizes the artistic visual communication image and spatial structure information from the source and target scenes, which can significantly reduce the dependence on the number of labeled samples in the target domain and improve the classification performance. In this paper, a dual-channel deep residual convolutional neural network is designed. The multiple convolution layers of the residual module in the network use hard parameters to share, so that the deep feature representation on the joint spatial spectrum dimension can be automatically extracted. The features extracted by the network are transferred to maximize the auxiliary role of the labeled samples in the source domain and avoid the negative transfer problem caused by the forced transfer between irrelevant samples.

Evaluation of a UAV-Aided WSN for Military Operations

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) assisted with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is flexible and its lifetime becomes longer due to reduced energy consumption in the static sensor nodes. This paper analyses the capabilities of using UAVs in WSNs for enhancing various military and surveillance capabilities. It presents three architectures of UAV-aided WSNs and it uses a realistic simulation environment to evaluate the energy consumption and network lifetime of a UAV-assisted WSN under two different use cases: (1) the UAV is used as relay node; and (2) the UAV is used as mobile sink. In Use Case 1, the network lifetime is more than five times longer than in Use Case 2. Using a UAV as a relay node preserves the network energy for a longer period, regardless of the flying distance of the UAV. In our experiment, three different percentages of distance from the remote Base-Station to the Cluster-Head were involved. If a UAV is flying on 50% distance, the average energy per node expires very quickly. If the distance percentage is at 10%, the average energy per node drops at a much slower rate.

Selfish Node Detection by Modularized Deep NMF Autoencoder Based Incentivized Reputation Scheme

Delay tolerant network is a boon in emergency fields like flood and war zones. The data gathered by the sensor nodes is transmitted whenever any aggregator node comes in contact with those stationary sensor nodes. However, few nodes can behave differently and don't transmit the information. These nodes which don't take part in communication to preserve it's battery or are compromised are selfish nodes and have to be identified to avoid communication disruption. This article discusses the selfish node's detection schemes and proposes a novel hybrid scheme. Most of the recent schemes work with on node's reputation or incentives if it takes part in communication. This paper has proposed an incentivized reputation scheme that first clusters the nodes using their social features, calculates the weighted social tie as their social connection strength and updates the weighted social tie by applying reward or penalty. The incentive is offered if residual energy and packet delay has a tradeoff or are penalized. A new modularized deep nonnegative matrix deep autoencoder is developed to calculate the reputation of nodes using social features and named IRU-mDANMF (incentivized reputation update by modularized DANMF). The scheme has been experimented with in several scenarios and is performing significantly better than state-of-the-art schemes.

An energy aware cluster‐based routing and adaptive semi‐synchronized MAC for energy harvesting WSN

AbstractMedium access control (MAC) layer scheduling is an intelligent solution to protract the lifetime of energy harvesting wireless sensor network (WSN) which is challenging issue in recent times. Self‐adaptive MAC protocol was working upon reinforcement learning. However, this decentralized adaptive scheduling introduces collisions and degrades the overall network performance. To fix this problem, this paper proposes novel semi‐synchronized MAC approach for energy harvesting WSN. The major objective of this work is to improve energy efficiency of the network by minimizing energy consumption which is the major issue in WSN. Proposed WSN network is modeled with dual mobile sinks with circular moving path and static sensor nodes to monitor the environment. Our novel MAC approach is initiated with unequal cluster formation by correlation based unequal clustering scheme in which multi‐objective elephant herding optimization (CUC‐MEHO) algorithm is incorporated for cluster head (CH) selection. In clustered network, all sensor nodes follow semi‐synchronized adaptive active period MAC scheduling (S2A2MAC) protocol. In this work, S2A2MAC operates upon hidden Markov model (HMM) which controls the active time period of a node in an adaptive manner. Energy efficient hop‐by‐hop intra‐cluster routing is empowered by Bayes rule enabled perfect matching (BR‐PM) algorithm. Before route selection, all candidate nodes are regarded into perfect match, partially match, and no match nodes. Furthermore, emergency data is identified by CH based on flag value and transmitted without any time delay. For emergency data transmission, extremity aware routing (EAR) algorithm is presented and EAR algorithm is functioning on hopcount and distance criteria. Finally, proposed network is evaluated by extensive simulations in NS‐3.26. Simulation upshots show better performance in percentage of dead nodes, network lifetime, energy consumption, PDR, and delay.

Assisted Navigation Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Actuator and Robot Networks

Wireless Sensor, Actuator and Robot Networks (WSARNs) are made of mobile and static sensor nodes that interact in order to collaboratively perform specific tasks, such as supporting assisted navigation for mobile robotic nodes that carry out requested operations in hostile environments, where the human presence is impracticable. In this regard, it is worth noting that assisted navigation algorithms have a highly dynamic nature, and are implemented by sensor nodes that are characterized by limited transmission power and lean autonomy in terms of computing and memory capacity. This paper presents an improved version of the assisted navigation algorithm based on the concept of “credit field”. The main aim of the proposed algorithm is to reduce and balance the energy consumption among the static sensor nodes when running the algorithm to manage the presence of obstacles and adversary areas, thus extending the lifetime of WSARNs. The algorithm has been tested on a hybrid sensor network that employs Mica2 Motes as static sensor nodes and Lego Mindstorms robots integrated with a Stargate board developed by Crossbow as mobile nodes.

Deterministic Static Sensor Node Placement in Wireless Sensor Network based on Territorial Predator Scent Marking Behaviour

An optimum sensor node placement mechanism for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is desirable in ensuring the location of sensor nodes offers maximum coverage and connectivity with minimum energy consumption. This paper proposes a sensor node placement algorithm that utilizes a new biologically inspired optimization algorithm that imitates the behaviour of a territorial predator in marking their territories with their odours known as Territorial Predator Scent Marking Algorithm (TPSMA). The main objectives considered in this paper are to achieve maximum coverage and minimum energy consumption with guaranteed connectivity. A simulation study has been carried out to compare the performance of the proposed algorithm implemented in two different single objective approaches with an Integer Linear Programming based algorithm. The proposed single objective approaches of TPSMA studied in this paper are TPSMA with minimum energy and TPSMA with maximum coverage. Simulation results show that the WSN deployed using the proposed TPSMA sensor node placement algorithm is able to arrange the sensor nodes according to the objective required; TPSMA with maximum coverage offers the highest coverage ratio with fewer sensor nodes up to 100% coverage while TPSMA with minimum energy consumption utilized the lowest energy as low as around 4.85 Joules. Full connectivity is provisioned for all TPSMA approaches since the constraint of the optimization problem is to ensure the connectivity from all sensor nodes to the sink node.

SINK MOBILITY MODEL FOR WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS USING KOHONEN SELF-ORGANIZING MAP

Wireless sensor networks are expected to operate in an unattended manner for long periods of time. As a result, different mobility models were proposed by many research papers in order to improve the performance and extend the lifetime of the network. In this paper a new sink mobility model that is based on kohonen self-organizing maps is proposed in order to provide a mobile sink node with the ability to collect data from static sensor nodes. Moreover, the performance of the proposed mobility model was studied using NS-2 simulator under different network sizes and movement speeds of the mobile sink. Finally, the performance of the proposed model was evaluated based on different performance metrics namely, end-to-end delay, packet delivery ratio and throughput.

Unmanned Aerial System-Based Data Ferrying over a Sensor Node Station Network in Maize.

Agriculture is considered a hotspot for wireless sensor network (WSN) facilities as they could potentially contribute towards improving on-farm management and food crop yields. This study proposes six designs of unmanned aerial system (UAS)-enabled data ferries with the intent of communicating with stationary sensor node stations in maize. Based on selection criteria and constraints, a proposed UAS data ferrying design was shortlisted from which a field experiment was conducted for two growing seasons to investigate the adoptability of the selected design along with an established WSN system. A data ferry platform comprised of a transceiver radio, a mini-laptop, and a battery was constructed and mounted on the UAS. Real-time monitoring of soil and temperature parameters was enabled through the node stations with data retrieved by the UAS data ferrying. The design was validated by establishing communication at different heights (31 m, 61 m, and 122 m) and lateral distances (0 m, 38 m, and 76 m) from the node stations. The communication success rate (CSR) was higher at a height of 31 m and within a lateral distance of 38 m from the node station. Lower communication was accredited to potential interference from the maize canopy and water losses from the maize canopy.