We are developing an intelligent device that will help manage farm conditions. The device will have features like;
An electronic device will be totally automated containing several crops’ data.
Video below is an initial simulation of the proposed research.
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This would work well in controlled environments with inert media as the rooting base. Otherwise it will be difficult to measure some parameters in the open field due to issues of topography, irrigation methods, uneven fetilizer/manure application etc.
Your advice is much appreciated. Actually a device will have about 3 to 4 sensors including pH, fertilizer, etc.
We’ll be calibrating the sensors measurements from respective lab results as standards.
I will buy.
Great! I’ll present the final product here.
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As i said, in controlled environments this works perfect…in open field, the soil composition and density varies. Even soil permeability does vary…so for instance in a 10acre plot you can have upto 150 variables. Unless you have a mobile probe that moves collecting the data to enable on the go recalibration its going to be a challenge…good try though
Thanks man, I agree. Just we are trying to make farm conditions known to farmers electronically instead of locally adding fertilizer and manures . That variation of soil conditions will make farmers;
This is all good. In my greenhouses i had such a solution and it works ok. Open field, PH values and EC values take upto 6months to stabilize, in media 6-24hrs is enough. I’m working on a similar project and so far the open field is where the challenge is. Remote sensor data collection and transmission is a real challenge…but with enough resources it doable
Awesome work, man! For the remote data transmission part, have you tried integrating IoT systems? Do you have sensors working 24/7 in the field?
A good project but may I ask, Is it just a simulation or you already have a hardware prototype?
By design the project is IOT. Sensors work 24/7. Problem comes in at night where you need data and the batteries do not last long enough. Other challenges include uneven evapo-transpiration rates, leading to uneven field temperatures thus complicating the watering sequence. Next challenge comes up in controlling the irrigation zones…its either you water all plants or water non…all in all its an interesting project…
The simulation part is already 100% done. Hardware implementation is on progress at 60% to now.
Though I don’t know your system design but that looks impressive man, good job!!
Do you use pressure sprinkler or free run water channel?
Sprinklers when evenly spaced would reduce that zones problems.
I run a mix of systems to test different parameters. However as i previously mentioned, soil mechanics is key to gettimg feedback and nutritional composition data. For small plots upto 0.5 acres there is some form of uniformity. For larger lots 5acres and above you are more likely to run into 3 or 4 different soil profiles eg. Clay/loam, loam,sandy/loam,clay,murram/loam. So the sensors in the loam area tell you moisture and EC levels are optimum, the clay bit says water is excess, the sandy one says its a desert out here
So if the three profiles traverse a 100m long sprinkler line, the ideal set up would be to be in a position to control each of the sprinklers along that line. Skip the loam bit, reduce the flowrate on the clay and go ham on the sandy bit. Possible…yes with individual transducers at every sprinkler riser. Cost wise and energy wise its crazy…so to avoid overcomplicating the system i just get random values, get an average and work with that…my next phase is on automating an irrigation boom with actuators to take care of the scenario above…as soon as funds are available…its damn expensive to prototype anything in this lovely country of ours
Well, the system should be economical if it’s going to be marketed, of course that would also need playing with both hardware (sensors) and software perhaps it’d lower cost of the overall system.
I’m trying playing with these cross stuffs to make system economical.
Unfortunately its a costly system. Both to install and run…but the smaller version is abit affordable for farmers with less than 1acre. Planning to launch it later in the year or ealry 2021
That would be fantastic! Sure, a more research to produce better product is needed. That goes with high reliability and accuracy for affordable prices to even peasants.
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awesome stuff
By nature agriculture is an expensive venture. That’s why its difficult for most farmers to improve their production systems. Only those with access to funding or investments make serious capital investments in mechanization. A John Deere tractor equipped with precision planters, weeder, sprayer, onboard GPS field mapping etc costs upwards of 35 million ksh for the base models…practically out of reach for the average serious farmer.