Microservice architecture for a remote management platform for pastured poultry farming using Amazon Web Services and wireless mesh sensor networks

Introduction: A variety of innovative solutions known as Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) technologies have been developed for the management of animal production industries, including Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for poultry farming. Problem: Current WSN-based systems for poultry farming lack the design of robust but flexible software architectures that ensure the integrity and proper delivery of data. Objective: Designing a microservice-based software architecture (MSA) for a multiplatform remote environmental management system based on Wireless Mesh Sensor Networks (WMSN) to be deployed in pastured poultry farming spaces. Methodology: A review about MSAs designed for animal farming was conducted, to synthesize key factors considered for the design process of the system data flow, microservice definition and the environmental monitoring system technology selection. Results: A cloud MSA with a multi layered scheme using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform was developed, validating the persistence of environmental data transmitted from WMSN prototype nodes to be deployed in mobile chicken coops. Conclusion: Defining an End-to-End data flow facilitates the organization of tasks by domains, allowing efficient event communication between components and network reliability both at the hardware and software levels. Originality: This study presents a novel design for a remote environmental monitoring system based on WMSN for mobile coops used in pastured poultry and a multi layered MSA cloud management platform for this specific type of food production industry. Limitations: Software architecture technology selection was based only on services offered, to the date of the study, in the free tier of the Amazon Web Service platform.