Top agriculture sensors and trackers for efficient agritech startups

Internet of Things (IoT) has brought about a drastic change in agritech landscape. The IoT devices have already entered all walks of life, including home automation, logistics, health, as well as industrial applications. The entry of IoT and connected devices, including automation in agriculture in improving several facets of farming practices.

Farming as a trade has witnessed several technological improvements over the recent years.  It is observed to have become much more industrialized as well as driven by technological advancements. IoT-enabled devices help farmers gain control over the farming processes, livestock management, crop management, and running predictive analytics.

Smart Agriculture

Modern agriculture has undergone several distinguishable changes over the years. Agriculture had its humble beginnings with early man transforming his life from being a nomad to a settled species. With the passage of time, technology has penetrated the practice to a level making it virtually inseparable. Smart agriculture is the next phase of evolution for farming that is supported by the application of IoT solutions in agriculture.

IoT has already seen its boom in consumer connected devices market and is slowly bringing about a change in industrials as well as agricultural sectors. As per a recent prediction by BI Intelligence, the overall count of IoT device usage in agriculture is expected to cross 75 million in 2020, thereby delivering a 20% annual growth. A developing market ushers several opportunities where more and more businesses adopt the use of IoT devices.

Smart Farming advantages

• Data collection at different points in the process – IoT sensors can be installed at various points in the farming process. These IoT-enabled devices record soil quality, weather, livestock health, and movements, etc. IoT devices transmit the collected data to their cloud servers, where it is processed for predictive analytics. Performance monitoring and real0time alerts can be enabled within the processes.
• Real-time control – As each and every aspect can be tracked and monitor, it brings about an enhanced efficiency in the processes. E.g., materials stored on pallets in the farm can be tracked and monitored round the year. In case the material is lying unused, the system will send out an alert to the concerned stakeholders prompting an action. Unsold goods can be tracked and disposed of before they hit the end of their shelf life.

• Cost effectiveness in processes – IoT devices are intelligent and monitor the movements of livestock. In case they move out of set physical boundaries, the systems alert the stakeholders. This helps avoiding loss and to bring efficiency.
• Automation – IoT devices can be made to work by themselves as you set the rules of operation. The devices work round the clock and reduce the need of human intervention and avoid risks due to human negligence. e.g., irrigation, storage temperature control, or even pest control.

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/766793/global-iot-in-agriculture-market-size/

Sensors and Trackers in Greenhouse Automation

IoT sensors monitor the weather conditions within the greenhouses and work towards maintaining the set conditions. They can automatically start the fans in order to cool down the greenhouse. They can sense the moisture levels in the soil or planting medium and turn on or off the taps for irrigation.

IoT enabled smart sprinklers can even work on localization where only a small part of the greenhouse is watered depending on change in its local conditions. Microgreens are very delicate and rely heavily on the right amount of light radiation. This is controlled through IoT lighting systems that monitor the light intensity round the clock.

Sensors and Trackers in Crop Management

Crop management involves a level of precision in farming. The smart agriculture sensors and trackers are embedded into the farming ecosystem, and they collect data tirelessly. They collect several data specific to each crop. The parameters include temperature, humidity, soil quality, leaf water potential and overall health of the subject crop. The data thus collected is sent to the central procession server that mines it to draw meaningful information. Thus the overall farming efficiency is improved, leading to minimum wastage of resources.

Sensors for Cattle Monitoring and Management

Livestock management adds a few more variables over in addition to the Crop Management discussed above. Cattle move around the farm, and their physical movement is tracked by the GPS sensors. Sensors can pick up body temperature variations and even levels of physical activity. This data can be used to regulate outing activities for the cattle as well as regulation of feeding activities.

Custom Sensors and devices for different agriculture jobs

With the IoT devices gaining popularity in the agriculture sector, a number of players have entered the sector. Each developing and offering different types of devices that cater to different problems faced by the agriculturists. You can definitely look at customizing your IoT Agriculture sensors and devices. They help with recording and monitoring of different data in the agriculture ecosystem. Such data thus collected can be deployed to understand your own operations and to optimize them accordingly.

The use cases of these sensors and devices vary depending on the type of work being carried out. For example, Equipment Tracking is done to track the running hours for farm equipment. You can manage and schedule preventative maintenance for each piece of equipment. As discussed above, Livestock Tracking involves the use of GPS devices for location updates on the cattle. You can get movement history as well as geofencing. Monitoring of fluids in tanks used for different purposes can help avoid delays in process execution. The tank level sensors can alert you about refill times based on configurable alerts. Temperature Monitoring helps to optimize water usage. It also plays an important role in maximizing crop yields with remote environmental monitoring and real-time alerts.

Features of IoT Agri Sensors

1.      The most popular feature of IoT sensors used for agriculture is to track the environment. IoT sensors monitor temperature, humidity, moisture, etc.

2.      The IoT devices come with a range of interface variations for a range of devices. They include simple activities like opening and closing of valves and doors to complex operations.

3.      GPS enabled IoT devices to help provide precise geographical location coordinates that go a long way in the analytics.

4.      Connectivity with the latest technologies like Cellular (including 2G, 3G, 4G LTE-M / NB-IoT), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, and Bluetooth help IoT devices to relay real-time updates to the stakeholders.

5.      As the agriculture environment is not always stable, the devices are rugged as well as waterproof to withstand different weather conditions. They should also be able to wither dust, pressure sprays, and water splashes.

6.      Run cycle monitoring helps keep the equipment in top running condition through effective preventive maintenance.

7.      The devices are even capable of assisting with theft recovery as they are GPS enabled and switch to recovery mode on detection of theft.

8.      Geofencing is an inherent feature that works wonders for farmers. The stakeholders can create custom alerts when assets move out of the set geographical boundaries.