The United Nations (UN) predicts that by 2050, many areas of the planet may lack
One solution to this global dilemma isdevelopment of more efficient irrigation, the centerpiece of which is accurate monitoring of soil moisture. It allows sensors to guide smart irrigation systems to ensure watering at the optimal time and speed.
Existing methods for measuring soil moistureproblematic: sensors located underground are sensitive to salts in the substrate and require special equipment to connect. In addition, thermal imaging cameras are expensive and depend on climatic conditions — the intensity of sunlight, fog, and clouds.
Researchers from the University of South Australia(UniSA) and the Technical University of Baghdad have developed a cost-effective alternative. It will make accurate soil monitoring easy and affordable in almost any circumstance.
A team of scientists, which includes UniSA engineersDr. Ali Al-Naji and Professor Javan Chahl successfully tested the system. It uses a standard digital RGB camera to accurately monitor soil moisture over a wide range of environmental conditions.
“The system we tried is simple,“It is reliable and affordable, making it a promising technology to support precision agriculture,” says Dr. Al-Naji. “It is based on a standard video camera that analyzes differences in soil color to determine moisture content. We tested it at different distances, times and light levels, and it was very accurate."
The camera was connected to an artificial neuralNetworks (ANNs) are a type of machine learning software that researchers have trained to recognize different levels of soil moisture in different sky conditions.
Using this INS, the monitoring systemcan potentially be trained to recognize specific soil conditions anywhere, allowing it to be customized for each user and updated according to changing climatic conditions for maximum accuracy.
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