"Smart nail' sensor by Purdue researchers could help farmers by wirelessly tracking subsoil health

Описание: A new smart platform invented by Purdue University researchers to wirelessly monitor subsoil health could change the landscape of agricultural sensing systems.

The invention addresses a critical need in agriculture nationwide: the efficient use of water, fertilizers and pesticides. Due to the variability of soil conditions across large fields, applying uniform amounts of these inputs can lead to significant waste, increasing costs for farmers and causing environmental harm if nutrient runoff reaches water systems.

Called HARVEST — hybrid antenna for radio-frequency-enhanced volumetric water content and electrical-conductivity-based soil tracking — the invention is a wireless platform that eliminates the need for onboard electronics. The system employs nail-shaped sensing probes that are “physically and electrically coupled to a triple-ring antenna positioned above the ground, reducing signal loss while preserving sensitivity to subsurface changes,” Rahimi and his co-authors wrote in a paper published in Nature Communications.

HARVEST technology — which was tested in a research cornfield at Purdue’s Agronomy Center for Research and Education throughout a full growing season — is designed to be scalable and cost-effective, making it accessible for both small, independent farmers and large commercial operations.

Full story: https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/A...
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