Sensor Applications, Experimentation, and Logistics. First International Conference, SENSAPPEAL 2009, Athens, Greece, September 25, 2009, Revised Selected Papers

Research Article

Design and Implementation of a Wireless Sensor Network for Precision Horticulture

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  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-642-11870-8_3,
        author={Juan L\^{o}pez and Fulgencio Soto and Andr\^{e}s Iborra and Pedro S\^{a}nchez and Juan Suard\^{\i}az},
        title={Design and Implementation of a Wireless Sensor Network for Precision Horticulture},
        proceedings={Sensor Applications, Experimentation, and Logistics. First International Conference, SENSAPPEAL 2009, Athens, Greece, September 25, 2009, Revised Selected Papers},
        proceedings_a={SENSAPPEAL},
        year={2012},
        month={5},
        keywords={Wireless Sensor Networks Motes TinyOS Precision Horticulture Precision Agriculture},
        doi={10.1007/978-3-642-11870-8_3}
    }
    
  • Juan López
    Fulgencio Soto
    Andrés Iborra
    Pedro Sánchez
    Juan Suardíaz
    Year: 2012
    Design and Implementation of a Wireless Sensor Network for Precision Horticulture
    SENSAPPEAL
    Springer
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-11870-8_3
Juan López1,*, Fulgencio Soto1,*, Andrés Iborra1,*, Pedro Sánchez1,*, Juan Suardíaz1,*
  • 1: Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena
*Contact email: jantonio.lopez@upct.es, pencho.soto@upct.es, andres.iborra@upct.es, pedro.sanchez@upct.es, juan.suardiaz@upct.es

Abstract

A prototype wireless sensor network for measuring soil and environmental characteristics was developed and evaluated for purposes of scheduling irrigation on field vegetable farms. The system consists of a central base station connected to multiple sensor nodes installed in the field and distributed over several crops. The sensor nodes consist of specially designed hardware which transmits data to a base station inside the farm offices. The relatively low cost of the system (USD 6000 for a 20-sensor node system) allows for installation of a dense sensor population that can adequately represent inherent soil characteristics such us temperature, volumetric moisture content, salinity and so on. Additional sensors can be used to measure environmental variables and the quality of the water used to irrigate the crops. This paper describes our experience during the design and implementation of the wireless sensor network and its components in a field crop of Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var Marathon) in the semiarid region of in Southern Spain. It presents the topology of the network, which was deployed using three types of sensor nodes (Soil-Mote, Environmental-Mote and Water-Mote).