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Strawberry fields forever

Spring and fall frosts are a major concern for fruit growers. Even experienced farmers have hard times to manage this condition. It gets even more complicated when the parcels are scattered over an enormous valley on various altitudes.

Growing crops in the Alps does not make the situation more easy where cold air settles downward and has a tendency to collect at the bottom of the slopes. In combination with icy winds does it compound temperature loss.

In short, temperatures are hard to predict in such a situation. A well-considered temperature monitoring network is more than welcome.

It’s hard to measure temperatures in such a big and wide open valley surrounded by steep slopes.

 

The size of the acres are very significant and not all of them are adjacent to each other. This actually means that wiring is not an option, which could come in handy however to connect the sensors as well as providing mains to the equipment. And checking multiple thermometers by hand every morning takes a lot of time and fuel. Therefore not such an efficient way to proceed. A low-power wireless approach seemed fast the most obvious way.

Real time monitoring in combination with an early warning system is key to stay in control.

 

A low consuming, battery powered wireless sensor network installed on various locations has proven to be a reliable alternative compared to classic measurement techniques. The measured values are forwarded to a gateway installed on a central location, which in turn redirects the information towards the Sensor2web platform via the GPRS network. Rmoni Wireless’ Sensor2Web monitoring solution allows to receive and save the information in a database. Users can then access their data via a standard web browser using any public IP network connection like broadband and 3G. Actual and historical temperatures are displayed, reports can be created and alarm limits are set to trigger SMS and email alerts.

RMZ-series Zigbee End Devices in combination with a GPRS based gateway

 

The RMZ series wireless sensor boxes also referred to as ‘end devices’ communicate with each other using the international Zigbee RF standard. Each device is capable of measuring the temperature values of up to 4 probes. The end devices are self-contained with an internal antenna and battery which has a lifetime of up to two years. The gateway uses the GPRS network to forward the messages. Using GPRS as a WAN technology provided us with the required flexibility to install the device in the most convenient location without adding the extra cost of getting wiring all the way up to its location.

Advantages:

  • Simple and fast to install
  • Almost no maintenance required
  • More economic to roll-out then a wired system
  • Warns before damage is done allowing to take preventative action

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