Success Story: Developing an affordable, low-maintenance, and easy-to-use crop monitoring system with Arduino
Overview
OKdo is proudly partnering with Arduino, the original all-in-one IoT platform that’s tackling real-world problems head-on with innovative IoT solutions.
Meet terraSmart, an Italian startup that’s all about smart sensors and IoT tech for agriculture. They’re on a mission to help arable farmers amp up their crop yields while keeping water and chemicals in check. How? By keeping a close eye on their plants, soil, and the ever-changing weather. This keeps pests, diseases, and bad weather from ruining the harvest. The end goal? Reduce operational costs and deliver top-quality crops at a killer price.
The Challenge – Developing a remote monitoring system with a clear set of parameters quickly
terraSmart was set the challenge of developing a remote monitoring system with a clear set of parameters which had to be delivered quickly in order for terraSmart to be a success:
- Create a reliable remote monitoring system that’s on 24/7 and needs to be efficient and effective with limited maintenance.
- Operational in remote areas.
- A cost that doesn’t break the bank, to optimise the whole value chain, from farmer to end consumer.
- Being a breeze to use, simple to operate, and an intuitive system was paramount as most farmers are not experts in digital technologies.
The Solution – A real-time monitoring solution powered by Arduino
terraSmart set out to develop a solution based on Arduino nodes. This became terraWeb, an online portal for farmers to monitor their crops and take real-time decisions to optimise their productivity. The portal receives sensor data from terraSense’s sensors via Arduino nodes, interprets the data, and then turns that data into an easy-to-read visual data set.
The solution is based on digital and analog sensors, that keep tabs on both soil and plant condition while collecting information like leaf temperature, soil moisture level, air humidity, solar radiation level, wind speed and direction, etc. How was this achieved? The Arduino MKR 485 Shield and Arduino libraries, which enables communication between the Modbus sensors and the terraWeb portal.
The best part? terraWeb’s intuitive system combined with its ease-of-use and low-maintenance hardware means farmers can not only check their crops but also set up notifications to take quick corrective measures. Having all this data at their fingertips and the reliable system that farmers can trust means they can beat unpredictable weather conditions to improve the quality of their crops and boost their profits.
Thanks to the readily available Arduino libraries, the development of the terraWeb system was accelerated and brought to the market quicker than anticipated. Now, terraSmart is helping vineyards, orchards, and pepper farms in sunny southern Italy. Providing each customer with a set of 5 variables, at a frequency of between 5 to 15 minutes, dependent upon the specific needs of each crop type. They’re also spreading their success to Africa and South America.
Testimonial
“Soil and technology: an amazing combination of heritage and innovation. We developed a solution ready to help our farmers – Arduino made this possible in the smartest and most efficient way.“
— Michele Cortina, CEO and Founder of terraSmart.
This case study first appeared on arduino.cc
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