TY - JOUR
T1 - Review of low-cost, off-grid, biodegradable in situ autonomous soil moisture sensing systems
T2 - Is there a perfect solution?
AU - Meshram, Sumit Maya Moreshwar
AU - Adla, Soham
AU - Jourdin, Ludovic
AU - Pande, Saket
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Soil moisture monitoring is essential for a variety of applications including agriculture, forestry, and environmental monitoring. However, soil moisture sensors may be expensive and require batteries or other energy sources, making them unsuitable for remote or off-grid locations and farmers. Improper e-waste management of short-lived sensing components can reveal the contradictions of solutions aimed at environmental sustainability, which also degrade environmental health. Therefore, the development of low-cost, off-grid, biodegradable in-situ soil moisture sensing system (SMSS) is necessary for these regions. This article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in low-cost, off-grid, and biodegradable in-situ soil moisture sensing. It highlights low-cost SMSS components including hardware (microcontrollers and communication modules), software, and off-grid ambient energy sources. It also highlights the current research in biodegradable polymers used for moisture sensing. The challenges in combining low-cost, off-grid, and biodegradable soil moisture sensing are identified as a research gap. Finally, the underlining question of the “perfect” choice of SMSS is explored based on the trade-offs of performance, operational feasibility, and the newly proposed aspect of biodegradability, consequently suggesting context-specific decisions by consciously managing these tradeoffs.
AB - Soil moisture monitoring is essential for a variety of applications including agriculture, forestry, and environmental monitoring. However, soil moisture sensors may be expensive and require batteries or other energy sources, making them unsuitable for remote or off-grid locations and farmers. Improper e-waste management of short-lived sensing components can reveal the contradictions of solutions aimed at environmental sustainability, which also degrade environmental health. Therefore, the development of low-cost, off-grid, biodegradable in-situ soil moisture sensing system (SMSS) is necessary for these regions. This article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in low-cost, off-grid, and biodegradable in-situ soil moisture sensing. It highlights low-cost SMSS components including hardware (microcontrollers and communication modules), software, and off-grid ambient energy sources. It also highlights the current research in biodegradable polymers used for moisture sensing. The challenges in combining low-cost, off-grid, and biodegradable soil moisture sensing are identified as a research gap. Finally, the underlining question of the “perfect” choice of SMSS is explored based on the trade-offs of performance, operational feasibility, and the newly proposed aspect of biodegradability, consequently suggesting context-specific decisions by consciously managing these tradeoffs.
KW - Biodegradable sensor
KW - Low-cost sensor
KW - Off-grid energy source
KW - Soil moisture sensor
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199945711&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compag.2024.109289
DO - 10.1016/j.compag.2024.109289
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85199945711
SN - 0168-1699
VL - 225
JO - Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
JF - Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
M1 - 109289
ER -