The Internet of Things in Agriculture

Vinotha D October 14, 2021 | 10:30 AM Technology

The Internet of Things (IoT) is about making “dumb” things “smart” by connecting them to each other and to the internet. It enables physical objects to be sensed and controlled remotely, creating opportunities for more direct integration between the physical world and computer-based systems.

IoT enables devices embedded with sensors to connect to and interact with each other via the internet. Devices can be remotely monitored and controlled in real time, [1] and can include anything from pumps, sheds and tractors to weather stations and computers.

The main benefits of IoT in farming

  • Data collection. All data can be collected with the help of installed sensors
  • Reduction of risks
  • Business goes automated
  • Higher quality
  • Livestock monitoring
  • Monitoring climate conditions
  • Greenhouses automation
  • Crop monitoring
  • Drones

Figure 1: IoT in Farming

Agriculture is one of the major industries to incorporate drones. Drones equipped with sensors and cameras are used for imaging, mapping and surveying the farms. There are ground based drones and aerial drones as shown in figure 1. Ground drones are bots that survey the fields on wheels. Aerial drones- formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft systems (UASes) are flying robots. Drones can be remotely controlled remotely or they can fly automatically through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems, working in coordination with sensors and GPS. From the drone data, insights can be drawn regarding crop health, irrigation, spraying, planting, soil and field, plant counting and yield prediction and much more. [2] Drones can either be scheduled for farm surveys (drone as a service ) or can be bought and stored near farms where they can be recharged and maintained. After the surveys the drones need to be taken to nearby labs to analyse the data that has been collected.

IoT based remote sensing utilizes sensors placed along the farms like weather stations for gathering data which is transmitted to analytical tool for analysis. Sensors are devices sensitive to anomalies. Farmers can monitor the crops from analytical dashboard and take action based on insights.

Crop Monitoring

Sensors placed along the farms monitor the crops for changes in light , humidity, temperature, shape and size. Any anomaly is detected by the sensors is analysed and farmer is notified. Thus remote sensing can help prevent the spread of diseases and keep an eye on the growth of crops.

Weather conditions

The data collected by sensors in terms of humidity, temperature, moisture precipitation and dew detection helps in determining the weather pattern in farms so that cultivation is done for suitable crops.

Soil quality

The analysis of quality of soil helps in determining the nutrient value and drier areas of farms, soil drainage capacity or acidity, which allows to adjust the amount of water needed for irrigation and the opt most beneficial type of cultivation.

IoT use cases in agriculture

  1. Monitoring of climate conditions
  2. Greenhouse automation
  3. Crop management
  4. Cattle monitoring and management
  5. Precision farming
  6. Agricultural drones
  7. Predictive analytics for smart farming
  8. End-to-end farm management systems
References:
  1. https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/farm-management/digital-agriculture/internet-of-things-in-agriculture
  2. https://www.cropin.com/iot-internet-of-things-applications-agriculture/
Cite this article:

Vinotha D (2021), The Internet of Things (IoT) in Agriculture, Anatechmaz, pp. 23

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