Design and Development of Internet of Things-Based Smart Sensors for Monitoring Agricultural Lands

Abstract

In recent years, the demand for efficient and sustainable agricultural practices has been leveraged, leading to smart farming practices. These practices aim to enhance agricultural processes and productivity and minimize resource waste. One of the crucial challenges faced by farmers is the uneven distribution of soil humidity and pH across their agricultural lands. Further, the irregularity in soil moisture content and pH can lead to poor crop performance, water wastage, and increased resource utilization. In this work, an Internet of Things-based smart sensor node was developed, which consists of humidity and pH sensors to ensure the efficient management of water and soil conditions across an entire farm. Also, an array of humidity and pH sensors were placed across the farm, and these units worked independently as they have their own controller and battery unit. The developed device was integrated with a solar cell, which charged the battery. Further, the data acquired from these sensors were wirelessly transmitted to the base station, and it gathered the information of each unit, including their humidity levels, pH values, signal strength, and energy supply. This information was processed at the base station, and a graphical overview of the farm with the acquired information was represented, which provides farmers with real-view insight to identify areas with poor humidity and pH conditions. These data were transmitted to an IoT cloud, offering the farmer the ability to monitor their farm from a remote location. In cases where humidity levels dropped drastically and remained unchecked for more than two hours, the system triggered an alert. This mechanism makes sure that farmers are notified of potential issues, allowing them to prevent crop damage and optimize their resource usage.

Keywords

• agriculture
• cloud platform
• Internet of Things
• smart farming
• humidity
• pH