Rapid advances in electronics and communications technologies offer continuously evolving options for sensing and awareness of the physical environment. Many of these advances are becoming increasingly available to “non-professionals,” that is, those without formal training or expertise in disciplines such as electronic engineering, computer programming, or physical sciences, via the open-source concept. The open-source concept of collaboration and sharing of ideas offers advantages including low cost, ease of use, extensive array of electronic technologies offered, and technical and programming support. Expansion of communications infrastructure, including wireless, cellular, and internet networks, continues to provide greater ability to be connected and share information over any distance in real time. A basic data-collection platform using open-source hardware and software and internet cloud components was developed and discussed. The simple and inexpensive platform was used to develop and implement an instrument system to remotely monitor soil-moisture status in agricultural fields. The monitoring system transferred data regularly from the field to an internet website via the cellular communications network. The system performed reliably over an entire growing season with no maintenance requirements. The basic platform can be modified to suit a user’s specific requirements, and offers options for automated collection, viewing, and sharing of remotely sensed data.
References
[1]
Pearce, J.M. (2012) The Case for Open Source Appropriate Technology. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 14, 425-431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9337-9
[2]
Fisher, D.K. and Gould, P.J. (2012) Open-Source Hardware is a Low-Cost Alternative for Scientific Instrumentation and Research. Modern Instrumentation, 1, 8-20. https://doi.org/10.4236/mi.2012.12002
[3]
Lozoya, C., Aguilar, A. and Mendoza, C. (2016) Service Oriented Design Approach for a Precision Agriculture Datalogger. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 14, 1683-1688. https://doi.org/10.1109/TLA.2016.7483501
[4]
Di Prima, S., Lassabatere, L., Bagarello, V., Iovino, M. and Angulo-Jaramillo, R. (2016) Testing a New Automated Single Ring Infiltrometer for Beerkan Infiltration Experiments. Geoderma, 262, 20-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.08.006
[5]
Thalheimer, M. (2016) A New Optoelectronic Sensor for Monitoring Fruit or Stem Radial Growth. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 123, 149-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2016.02.028
[6]
Masseroni, D., Facchi, A., Vannutelli Depoli, E., Renga, F.M. and Gandolfi, C. (2016) Irrig-OH: An Open-Hardware Device for Soil Water Potential Monitoring and Irrigation Management. Irrigation and Drainage, 65, 750-761. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.1989
[7]
Payero, J.O., Mirzakhani-Nafchi, A., Khalilian, A., Qiao, X. and Davis, R. (2017) Development of a Low-Cost Internet-of-Things (IoT) System for Monitoring Soil Water Potential Using Watermark 200SS Sensors. Advances in Internet of Things, 7, 71-86. https://doi.org/10.4236/ait.2017.73005
[8]
Fisher, D.K. (2014) Rapid Deployment of Internet-Connected Environmental Monitoring Devices. Advances in Internet of Things, 4, 46-54. https://doi.org/10.4236/ait.2014.44007
[9]
Lockridge, G., Dzwonkowski, B., Nelson, R. and Powers, S. (2016) Development of a Low-Cost Arduino-Based Sonde for Coastal Applications. Sensors, 16, 528. https://doi.org/10.3390/s16040528
[10]
Mesas-Carrascosa, F.J., Verdú Santano, D., Merono, J.E., Sánchez de la Orden, M. and García-Ferrer, A. (2015) Open Source Hardware to Monitor Environmental Parameters in Precision Agriculture. Biosystems Engineering, 137, 73-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2015.07.005
[11]
Ma, J., Zhou, X. and Li, S. (2011) Connecting Agriculture to the Internet of Things THROUGH Sensor Networks. International Conference on Internet of Things (iThings/CPSCom), and 4th International Conference on Cyber, Physical and Social Computing, Dalian, 19-22 October 2011. https://doi.org/10.1109/iThings/CPSCom.2011.32
[12]
Dlodlo, N. and Kalezhi, J. (2015) The Internet of Things in Agriculture for Sustainable Rural Development. International Conference on Emerging Trends in Networks and Computer Communications (ETNCC), Windhoek, 17-20 May 2015.
[13]
Malche, T. and Maheshwary, P. (2017) Internet of Things (IoT) Based Water Level Monitoring System for Smart Village. Proceedings of International Conference on Communication and Networks, Springer, Singapore, 305-312. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2750-5_32
[14]
Ray, P.P. (2017) Internet of Things for Smart Agriculture: Technologies, Practices and Future Direction. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments, 9, 395-420. https://doi.org/10.3233/AIS-170440
