Project Overview
We partnered with Taiwan's largest smart agriculture system company to develop a smart field sensor product, with YenProtek providing a full range of underlying technical support. To meet the needs of different geological and terrain conditions, the sensor uses a modular, building-block structure that is easy to attach and detach, with RS485 interconnection for internal communication, allowing the number of sensors to be configured flexibly. To suit a variety of field types, wireless transmission options include four mainstream technologies: LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE, and Wi-Fi. Environmental sensor options include illuminance, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, photon flux), atmospheric pressure, air temperature, air humidity, carbon dioxide concentration (CO2), soil temperature, soil moisture, soil salinity, wind speed, and wind direction. The product has been successfully mass-produced and commercialized, and is installed at multiple sites in Taiwan and abroad.
Project Details
- Client / Site
- XX Agricultural Systems Company
- Project Period
- 2020
- Category
- # Smart Agriculture # Environmental Sensing
- Sensing Technology
- Illuminance, photosynthetically active radiation, atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity, CO2 concentration, soil temperature and moisture, soil salinity, water level, wind speed and direction, and other environmental parameters
Smart Field Sensor Functions and Mechanical Design
Two power supply options are available
- Mains power:
- Input AC85~240V 50~60Hz
- Output DC5V 2A
- Ambient energy (solar or optional wind) power:
- Because power distribution work is difficult in some areas or terrains, a more flexible and user-friendly ambient energy (solar or optional wind) system can be selected. Installation requires no additional power distribution work, making it safer, easier to install, and more cost-effective. The dedicated outdoor charge/discharge control system uses a 20W solar panel and power management module to supply system power. In ample sunlight, the solar battery can be fully charged in 12.5 hours. Under normal sunlight, no battery replacement is needed, and a full charge can sustain operation for more than 30 days without sunlight.
Smart Power-Saving Technology
Outdoor products powered by ambient energy often face an unstable power supply that depends on the weather. To overcome this, the smart field sensor adopts smart power-saving technology that improves operational efficiency while reducing unnecessary power consumption. The main board determines sleep time through a power management mechanism and automatically shuts down most system functions based on its communication status with the server, achieving power savings. In sleep mode, baseline standby current is less than 10mA, effectively extending standby time.
Wireless Communication Equipment: 3G/4G to Wi-Fi Base Station
- Plug-and-play SIM card router.
- LAN port for wired Ethernet connection. Gateway features include:
- Supports LoRa/Wi-Fi/RJ45/4G communication.
- 5dBi LoRa gain antenna.
- 5V/2A power adapter.
- Supports direct forwarding from the gateway to a specified network address.
- Supports data backfill after network outages by buffering data locally.
- Can be easily removed from and reinstalled in the field by users.
- Offline data buffering with a storage capacity of up to 30GB.
Product Configuration and Update Mechanism
Once smart agriculture environmental sensors are installed in the field, changing parameter settings or updating firmware would otherwise require removing them from the site—a cumbersome and labor-intensive process. With this in mind, we designed a wireless configuration feature: sensors can be connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi for parameter settings, and firmware can be updated remotely, greatly reducing the workload of on-site personnel.
Development Highlights
Rugged and Durable
Specifically designed for outdoor wireless applications, built to withstand frequently changing outdoor environments.
Flexible Customization
Custom number of sensors, utilizing RS485 for interconnected internal communication.
Saves Time and Labor
Automatically uploads data to the Cloud system, making integration more efficient.
Power Supply System
This equipment uses solar power, eliminating the need for additional power supply work.
Smart Energy Saving
The system automatically schedules Sleep mode, reducing average power consumption to 10mAh.
Remote Updates
Features a remote firmware update function to reduce the workload of on-site personnel.
AIoT Smart Field Sensor – The Optimal Smart Agriculture Solution
- The field sensor we developed for our client uses RS485 interconnection for internal communication, allowing the number of sensors to be configured flexibly. Wireless transmission options include four mainstream technologies: LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE, and Wi-Fi. Environmental sensor options include illuminance, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, photon flux), atmospheric pressure, air temperature, air humidity, carbon dioxide concentration (CO2), soil temperature, soil moisture, soil salinity, wind speed, and wind direction. Collected data is automatically uploaded to the client's existing cloud-based agriculture management system.
- Farmers can view all field environmental readings anytime, anywhere with a mobile app, checking on their fields from wherever they are and saving time and labor.
- Integrating environmental monitoring and sensing technology with a cloud system enables data-driven decisions for better farm management. It puts precision agriculture into practice and optimizes resource use—irrigating and fertilizing only when necessary, reducing waste, and keeping costs under better control.
Success Case
Currently, our products have been practically installed in various locations both domestically and internationally.
