Design of a low-cost Wireless Sensor Network with UAV mobile node for agricultural applications

A sensor network has been developed to be used in extensive fields.Nodes are scattered around the field and cannot connect directly each other.A mobile node and an UAV have been designed to collect the data from the ground nodes.Main functions: send video and telemetry, transports a substance to be scattered.Total cost is around $900, low enough to introduce in any agricultural application. The aim of the present paper is to propose an agricultural environment monitoring server system utilizing a low-cost Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). Several sensor nodes are scattered in fields several kilometres in size, and we propose collection of the information stored in the nodes by a mobile node, or mule. To cover long distances in a short period of time, we use an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which retrieves the data stored in the ground nodes. In addition, the UAV may be used to acquire additional information and to perform actions. Its elevated position allows observation of the field with a perspective that is useful for detecting changes affecting crops, such as pests, diseases, significant changes in soil moisture, drought or floods.

[1]  Maohua Wang,et al.  Wireless sensors in agriculture and food industry — Recent development and future perspective , 2005 .

[2]  Austin M. Jensen,et al.  Topsoil moisture estimation for precision agriculture using unmmaned aerial vehicle multispectral imagery , 2014, 2014 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[3]  Michael Weyrich,et al.  Quality assessment of row crop plants by using a machine vision system , 2013, IECON 2013 - 39th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society.

[4]  Noman Islam,et al.  A review of wireless sensors and networks' applications in agriculture , 2014, Comput. Stand. Interfaces.

[5]  Ning Wang,et al.  Review: Wireless sensors in agriculture and food industry-Recent development and future perspective , 2006 .

[6]  YangQuan Chen,et al.  Autopilots for Small Fixed-Wing Unmanned Air Vehicles: A Survey , 2007, 2007 International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation.

[7]  David C. Slaughter,et al.  Detection of fungal infection in almond kernels using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy , 2015 .

[8]  Yong He,et al.  Prediction of soil macronutrients content using near-infrared spectroscopy , 2007 .

[9]  Reg Austin,et al.  Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Uavs Design, Development and Deployment , 2010 .

[10]  John David Anderson,et al.  Introduction to Flight , 1985 .

[11]  Craig S. T. Daughtry,et al.  Remote Sensing With Simulated Unmanned Aircraft Imagery for Precision Agriculture Applications , 2014, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing.

[12]  Liu Gui.  Application of Bluetooth technology in greenhouse environment. monitor and control , 2003 .

[13]  Yong He,et al.  Prediction of soil macronutrients content using near infrared spectroscopy , 2006, International Commission for Optics.

[14]  Ramesh R. Rao,et al.  Coexistence mechanisms for interference mitigation in the 2.4-GHz ISM band , 2003, IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun..

[15]  J. V. Stafford,et al.  A portable infra-red moisture meter for agricultural and food materials: Part 1, instrument development , 1989 .

[16]  Jorge Higuera,et al.  Standardization for interoperable autonomous smart sensors in the future energy grid system , 2011, 2011 IEEE 33rd International Telecommunications Energy Conference (INTELEC).

[17]  Zhe Yin,et al.  A near-infrared reflectance sensor for soil surface moisture measurement , 2013 .

[18]  Pedro Sánchez,et al.  Wireless Sensor Networks for precision horticulture in Southern Spain , 2009 .

[19]  Seppo Karrila,et al.  Rapid moisture determination for cup lump natural rubber by near infrared spectroscopy , 2015 .

[20]  H A Hazen,et al.  THE MECHANICS OF FLIGHT. , 1893, Science.

[21]  Shane Ward,et al.  Development of a prototype infrared reflectance moisture meter for milled peat , 2000 .

[22]  Pilar Barreiro,et al.  A Review of Wireless Sensor Technologies and Applications in Agriculture and Food Industry: State of the Art and Current Trends , 2009, Sensors.

[23]  Ultra-compact high-performance eCompass module: 3D accelerometer and 3D magnetometer , 2013 .

[24]  D. Pines,et al.  unmanned aerial Vehicles : an Overview , 2008 .