A ZigBee multi-powered wireless acquisition device for remote sensing applications in precision viticulture

This paper is part of a long-term effort to introduce precision viticulture in the region of Demarcated Region of Douro. It presents the architecture, hardware and software of a platform designed for that purpose, called MPWiNodeZ. A major feature of this platform is its power-management subsystem, able to recharge batteries with energy harvested from the surrounding environment from up to three sources. It allows the system to sustain operation as a general-purpose wireless acquisition device for remote sensing in large coverage areas, where the power to run the devices is always a concern. The MPWiNodeZ, as a ZigBee(TM) network element, provides a mesh-type array of acquisition devices ready for deployment in vineyards. In addition to describing the overall architecture, hardware and software of the monitoring system, the paper also reports on the performance of the module in the field, emphasising the energy issues, crucial to obtain self-sustained operation. The testing was done in two stages: the first in the laboratory, to validate the power management and networking solutions under particularly severe conditions, the second stage in a vineyard. The measurements about the behaviour of the system confirm that the hardware and software solutions proposed do indeed lead to good performance. The platform is currently being used as a simple and compact yet powerful building block for generic remote sensing applications, with characteristics that are well suited to precision viticulture in the DRD region. It is planned to be used as a network of wireless sensors on the canopy of vines, to assist in the development of grapevine powdery mildew prediction models.

[1]  E. L. Harder,et al.  The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. , 2019, 2019 IEEE International Conference on Software Architecture Companion (ICSA-C).

[2]  Scott C. Burleigh,et al.  Environmental Studies with the Sensor Web: Principles and Practice , 2005, Sensors (Basel, Switzerland).

[3]  ChessaStefano,et al.  Wireless sensor networks , 2007 .

[4]  Kirk Martinez,et al.  Environmental Sensor Networks: A revolution in the earth system science? , 2006 .

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

[6]  Antonio Mauro Saraiva,et al.  From wireless sensors to field mapping: Anatomy of an application for precision agriculture , 2007 .

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

[8]  Ricardo Yassushi Inamasu,et al.  An Automatic Data Acquisition and Control Mobile Laboratory Network for Crop Production Systems Data Management and Spatial Variability Studies in the Brazilian Center-West Region , 2001 .

[9]  C. Couto,et al.  Solar data acquisition wireless network for agricultural applications , 1996, Proceedings of 19th Convention of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Israel.

[10]  Mani B. Srivastava,et al.  Emerging techniques for long lived wireless sensor networks , 2006, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[11]  Ye Ding,et al.  On a novel low-cost web-based power sensor via the Internet , 2007 .

[12]  Aleksandar Milenkovic,et al.  Wireless sensor networks for personal health monitoring: Issues and an implementation , 2006, Comput. Commun..

[13]  Won Suk Lee,et al.  Silage Yield Monitoring System , 2002 .

[14]  Stefano Chessa,et al.  Wireless sensor networks: A survey on the state of the art and the 802.15.4 and ZigBee standards , 2007, Comput. Commun..

[15]  Richard Beckwith,et al.  Report from the field: results from an agricultural wireless sensor network , 2004, 29th Annual IEEE International Conference on Local Computer Networks.

[16]  Raul Morais,et al.  Multi-functional probe for small-scale simultaneous measurements of soil thermal properties, water content, and electrical conductivity , 2006 .

[17]  C.T. Mata,et al.  A Kennedy Space Center implementation of IEEE 1451 networked smart sensors and lessons learned , 2006, 2006 IEEE Aerospace Conference.

[18]  Soizik Laguette,et al.  Remote sensing applications for precision agriculture: A learning community approach , 2003 .