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Eco-friendly smart battery-less Wi-Fi-based environmental condition monitoring system for precision agriculture

Authors:
Ishara Rajapaksha at University of Kelaniya
Ishara Rajapaksha
Kasun Piyumal at University of Kelaniya
Kasun Piyumal
Jehan Seneviratne at University of Kelaniya
Jehan Seneviratne
Aruna Kumara Ranaweera at University of Kelaniya
Aruna Kumara Ranaweera
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Abstract

Agriculture is the primary means of obtaining food for the world's population. With the increase in growth in the world population, the demand for food continues to grow, and the available cultivatable land and resources like water have a scarcity. To address these issues, the agricultural industry has seen significant developments in the recent past. One of the changes is the use of small electronic devices to monitor and gather conditions such as soil moisture, temperature, and humidity for crops [1-2] so that the collected information together with information on yield can be used to predict the optimum environmental conditions for the plant growth and quality harvest. However, powering these devices has been a significant challenge over the years. Every electronic equipment needs a power source, and on most occasions, environmental condition monitoring devices use a rechargeable battery. Due to the limited battery timespan, the continuous operation of these devices is challenging and involves a considerable maintenance/replacement cost. On the other hand, in general, the three to five-year average shelf life of rechargeable batteries forces the consumer to buy a new device once per five years [3], which has become one of the main reasons for global electronic waste generation [4]. Devices with batteries may cause massive environmental pollution in urban areas all around the world. If they were failed to be recycled, the heavy metals in the batteries might be released into the environment [5]. Consequently, it can harm the health of animals and humans through the food chain [6]. This study is focused on an eco-friendly, smart, battery-less and Wi-Fi-based environmental condition monitoring system for precision agriculture to overcome the limitations and challenges mentioned above. The proposed environmental condition monitoring device contains an ESP8266 microcontroller which is widely used for Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The proposed device communicates with existing Wi-Fi enabled Internet routers that are readily available in the market to transfer real-time environmental condition data to a cloud database for further analysis. The main drawback of the commercially available agricultural monitoring devices is that their limited battery life. However, in this design, a small 6 V/0.6 W photovoltaic (PV) module with a 5.5 F supercapacitor is used as an energy source, which is a sustainable, eco-friendly, and cost-effective solution for agricultural devices. Solar energy is essential for crop growth, and significant environmental parameters are changing during the daytime. This makes proposed solar-powered device ideal to monitor environmental conditions to make good and quality yield. The performance of the proposed device may change due to variation in power generation by PV module due to variation of solar irradiance of the daytime. Hence, a performance management algorithm is used to manage the power dissipation of the device's internal circuitry. The proposed device uses a specially designed low power consuming supercapacitor charge discharging circuit to manage the device performance and power. The Schmitt-trigger based power management circuit controls the output voltage of the PV circuit to drive the ESP8266 microcontroller at 3.3 V. The BME680 air quality sensor and capacitive soil moisture sensors
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SPAST Abstracts Ishara Rajapaksha, Kasun Piyumal, Jehan
Seneviratne, Aruna Ranaweera, IGCSTS-1, 2021
Ishara Rajapaksha1, Kasun Piyumal1, Jehan Seneviratne1, Aruna Ranaweera1
Email ID: arunaran@kln.ac.lk
Abstract
Agriculture is the primary means of obtaining food for the world's population. With the increase
in growth in the world population, the demand for food continues to grow, and the available
cultivatable land and resources like water have a scarcity. To address these issues, the
agricultural industry has seen significant developments in the recent past. One of the changes
is the use of small electronic devices to monitor and gather conditions such as soil moisture,
temperature, and humidity for crops [1-2] so that the collected information together with
information on yield can be used to predict the optimum environmental conditions for the plant
growth and quality harvest. However, powering these devices has been a significant challenge
over the years. Every electronic equipment needs a power source, and on most occasions,
environmental condition monitoring devices use a rechargeable battery. Due to the limited
battery timespan, the continuous operation of these devices is challenging and involves a
considerable maintenance/replacement cost. On the other hand, in general, the three to five-
year average shelf life of rechargeable batteries forces the consumer to buy a new device
once per five years [3], which has become one of the main reasons for global electronic waste
generation [4]. Devices with batteries may cause massive environmental pollution in urban
areas all around the world. If they were failed to be recycled, the heavy metals in the batteries
might be released into the environment [5]. Consequently, it can harm the health of animals
and humans through the food chain [6]. This study is focused on an eco-friendly, smart,
battery-less and Wi-Fi-based environmental condition monitoring system for precision
agriculture to overcome the limitations and challenges mentioned above.
The proposed environmental condition monitoring device contains an ESP8266
microcontroller which is widely used for Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The proposed device
communicates with existing Wi-Fi enabled Internet routers that are readily available in the
market to transfer real-time environmental condition data to a cloud database for further
analysis. The main drawback of the commercially available agricultural monitoring devices is
that their limited battery life. However, in this design, a small 6 V/0.6 W photovoltaic (PV)
module with a 5.5 F supercapacitor is used as an energy source, which is a sustainable, eco-
friendly, and cost-effective solution for agricultural devices. Solar energy is essential for crop
growth, and significant environmental parameters are changing during the daytime. This
makes proposed solar-powered device ideal to monitor environmental conditions to make
good and quality yield. The performance of the proposed device may change due to variation
in power generation by PV module due to variation of solar irradiance of the daytime. Hence,
a performance management algorithm is used to manage the power dissipation of the device's
internal circuitry.
The proposed device uses a specially designed low power consuming supercapacitor charge
discharging circuit to manage the device performance and power. The Schmitt-trigger based
power management circuit controls the output voltage of the PV circuit to drive the ESP8266
microcontroller at 3.3 V. The BME680 air quality sensor and capacitive soil moisture sensors
Eco-friendly smart battery-less Wi-Fi-based environmental condition
monitoring system for precision agriculture
SPAST Abstracts Ishara Rajapaksha, Kasun Piyumal, Jehan
Seneviratne, Aruna Ranaweera, IGCSTS-1, 2021
are used for environmental condition measurements. The supercapacitor voltage increases
when it is charging from the PV module. When it reaches 4.5 V, the circuit turns on and
converts the 4.5 V voltage to 3.3V using a special regulator to drive the microcontroller. When
the supercapacitor voltage drops below 3.5 V, the circuit completely turns off till the
supercapacitor voltage reaches 4.5 V again in the next charging cycle. The operation of the
device for continuous irradiance profile was simulated by the B&K Precision PVS60085MR
solar array emulator. Fig.1 shows the change of reference voltage signal of the Schmitt trigger
during the operation of the circuit with the voltage of the supercapacitor. Fig.1 also depicts the
variation of the output state. Fig. 2 shows the process diagram of the solar irradiance analysis
circuit. It contains a current sensing circuit that measures the PV module's current output and
controls the data transmission frequency to a cloud database to optimize the process. The
sleep time adjusts automatically with respect to the supercapacitor's charging-discharging
rate. and the device can be continued to operate throughout the day.
From the results, it can be concluded that the device can operate smoothly throughout the
day. With the help of this study, conventional battery-powered agricultural devices can be
replaced using the proposed low-cost solar-powered supercapacitor assisted battery less
agricultural monitoring devices that are Wi-Fi enabled and IoT ready. This solution will not only
be of low maintenance cost but also will help to reduce the global e-waste collection. Hence
this study helps to protect our environment as well as human and animal life.
Fig.1. Response for constant irradiance profile
Fig.2. Block diagram of the proposed circuit
References
[1]
V. P. K. A. S. Arora, "Recent Developments of the Internet of Things in Agriculture: A Survey," IEEE
Access, vol. 8, pp. 129924-129957, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3009298
[2]
T. A. R. O. Y. L. N. H. Olakunle Elijah, "An Overview of Internet of Things (IoT) and Data Analytics
in Agriculture: Benefits and Challenges," IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, vol. 5, pp. 3758-
3773, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2018.2844296
[3]
N. Kularatna, Energy Storage Devices for Electronic Systems, Elsevier Inc., 2015. ISBN
9780124079472
[4]
R. K. D. U.-V. S. Terry Collins, "unu.edu," 02 07 2020. [Online]. Available: https://unu.edu/media-
relations/releases/global-e-waste-surging-up-21-in-5-years.html. [Accessed 16 09 2021].
[5]
O. O. I. C. Nnorom, "Heavy metal characterization of waste portable rechargeable," International
Journal of Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 6, p. 641–650, 2009.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03326105
[6]
W. S. N. W. a. A. P. Fauziah S.H., "Heavy Metal Accumulation in Plants: A Case Study of Ipomoea
reptans and Helianthus annuus," in Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (iCBBE), 2010 4th
International Conference, Malaysia, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICBBE.2010.5517443
Sleep time
Solar irradiance analysis circuit
PV
Supercapacitor charge/discharge
circuit
BME680/
Soil
moisture
Cloud
Database
ESP8266
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Recent Developments of the Internet of Things in Agriculture: A Survey
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2020
A rise in the population has immensely increased the pressure on the agriculture sector. With the advent of technology, this decade is witnessing a shift from conventional approaches to the most advanced ones. The Internet of Things (IoT) has transformed both the quality and quantity of the agriculture sector. Hybridization of species along with the real-time monitoring of the farms paved a way for resource optimization. Scientists, research institutions, academicians, and most nations across the globe are moving towards the practice and execution of collaborative projects to explore the horizon of this field for serving mankind. The tech industry is racing to provide more optimal solutions. Inclusion of IoT, along with cloud computing, big data analytics, and wireless sensor networks can provide sufficient scope to predict, process, and analyze the situations and improve the activities in the real-time scenario. The concept of heterogeneity and interoperability of the devices by providing flexible, scalable, and durable methods, models are also opening new domains in this field. Therefore, this paper contributes towards the recent IoT technologies in the agriculture sector, along with the development of hardware and software systems. The public and private sector projects and startup’s started all over the globe to provide smart and sustainable solutions in precision agriculture are also discussed. The current scenario, applications, research potential, limitations, and future aspects are briefly discussed. Based on the concepts of IoT a precision farming framework is also proposed in this article.
View
An Overview of Internet of Things (IoT) and Data Analytics in Agriculture: Benefits and Challenges
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2018
The surge in global population is compelling a shift towards smart agriculture practices. This coupled with the diminishing natural resources, limited availability of arable land, increase in unpredictable weather conditions makes food security a major concern for most countries. As a result, the use of internet of things (IoT) and data analytics (DA) are employed to enhance the operational efficiency and productivity in the agriculture sector. There is a paradigm shift from use of wireless sensors network (WSN) as a major driver of smart agriculture to the use of IoT and DA. The IoT integrates several existing technologies such as WSN, radio frequency identification, cloud computing, middleware systems and end-user applications. In this paper, several benefits and challenges of IoT have been identified. We present the IoT ecosystem and how the combination of IoT and DA is enabling smart agriculture. Furthermore, we provide future trends and opportunities which are categorized into technological innovations, application scenarios, business and marketability.
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Heavy Metal Accumulation in Plants: A Case Study of Ipomoea reptans and Helianthus annuus
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Jun 2010
Heavy metal accumulations in edible plants are commonly reported by scientist to alert the public on potential risks of toxicity effects. The study was conducted to determine the heavy metal accumulation in different part of the plant tissue namely Ipomoea reptans and Helianthus annuus. Spent batteries were utilized as the source of contamination with natural leaching process. Results indicated that the accumulation of heavy metals in the two plants were low and below the limit of European Union Standard for edible plants. However, since the experiments were conducted for the period based on the maturation of the plants, longer exposure may result with different outcome.
View
Heavy Metal Characterization of Waste Portable Rechargeable Batteries Used in Mobile Phones
Article
  • Sep 2009
Ten brands of spent portable rechargeable batteries used in mobile phones (lithium-ion and nickel metal hydride) were collected and disassembled and the battery electrode and printed wiring board prepared using the EPA Method 3050B. The metal concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean (± standard deviation) concentrations and range of cobalt, chromium, nickel and cadmium in the battery electrodes were 361284±32281mg/kg (range 20870-575330 mg/kg); 25.3 ± 4.6 mg/kg (7.9-149 mg/kg); 75272 ± 14630 mg/kg (3589- 266607 mg/kg) and 2.8 ± 0.6 mg/kg (0.2- 16.3 mg/kg), respectively. Similarly, the mean values of cobalt, chromium, nickel and cadmium in the PWB were 564 ± 165 mg/kg (56.1-4068 mg/kg); 28.1 ± 4.0 mg/kg (ND-97.2 mg/kg); 735 ± 188 mg/kg (22.7-2727 mg/kg) and 1.8 ± 0.3 mg/kg (ND-7.2 mg/kg), respectively. The Li-ion battery electrodes contained significantly higher levels of cobalt (p < 0.01) whereas, the NiMH battery contained significantly higher nickel (P < 0.01). All the results for the cobalt and nickel levels in the battery electrodes exceeded the toxicity threshold limit concentration used in the toxicity characterization of solid wastes (cobalt, 8000 mg/kg; nickel , 2000 mg/kg). In fact, the mean cobalt level of the battery electrode is about 45 times the toxicity threshold limit concentration limit for cobalt while the mean nickel result is about 38 times the toxicity threshold limit concentration. Spent portable rechargeable batteries should be handled as toxic materials that require special treatment. Implementation of a well-coordinated management strategy for spent batteries is urgently required to check the dissipation of large doses of toxic heavy metals and rare earth into the environment.
View
Energy Storage Devices for Electronic Systems
  • Jan 2015
  • 9780124079472
  • N Kularatna
N. Kularatna, Energy Storage Devices for Electronic Systems, Elsevier Inc., 2015. ISBN 9780124079472