I-Corps: Wis-Irr: Smart Irrigation via Wireless Underground Sensors

该项目将利用新型地下通信技术，利用无线地下土壤传感器，将智能灌溉管理解决方案商业化，开发客户群，并验证商业假设。该团队根据经验和理论地下通信模型开发了一个地下通信系统。该系统减轻了土壤对无线通信的不利影响。一种新颖的地下天线设计和软件工具，以保持在不同的土壤湿度条件下的高通信成功。由此产生的技术可容纳从地下传感器到中心枢轴灌溉系统的高达85米的通信范围。在2009-2011年的夏天，在内布拉斯加大学林肯中南农业实验室的玉米田进行了田间评估。开发的系统为中心枢纽灌溉系统提供实时土壤信息。该项目有可能通过无线地下传感器提供的实时土壤信息促进更有效的灌溉管理技术。因此，农民可以在不需要妨碍田间作业的工具的情况下做出更明智的灌溉应用（时机）决定，从而大大降低成本。该团队针对三个主要客户群：内布拉斯加州的农民将是早期采用和改造的最初目标客户群。此外，四家主要的中心枢纽灌溉公司中有三家位于内布拉斯加州，占据了75%的市场份额。在项目结束时，将展示一个可操作的无线地下传感器辅助中心枢轴灌溉系统和一个可行的商业模式。因此，可以通过在农业中利用实时土壤信息来提高作物生产中的水效率。

This project will exploit novel underground communication techniques to utilize wireless underground soil sensors, commercialize smart irrigation management solutions, develop a customer base, and validate business hypotheses. The team has developed an underground communication system based on empirical and theoretical underground communication models. This system mitigates the adverse effects of soil on wireless communication. A novel underground antenna design and software tools are employed to maintain a high communication success under varying soil moisture conditions. The resulting technology accommodates communication ranges of up to 85m from an underground sensor to a center pivot irrigation system. During the summers of 2009-2011, field evaluations were conducted in corn fields at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln South Central Agriculture Lab. The developed system provided real-time soil information to center pivot irrigation systems. The project has the potential to facilitate more efficient irrigation management technologies through real-time soil information provided by wireless underground sensors. Accordingly, farmers can make better informed irrigation application (timing) decisions without the need for tools that obstruct field operations, thereby significantly reducing costs. The team targets three main customer bases: Nebraska farmers will be the initial target customer base for early adoptions and retro-fit. In addition, three of the four major center pivot irrigation companies are based in Nebraska and hold the 75% of the market. At the end of the project, an operational, wireless underground sensor-aided center pivot irrigation system and a viable business model will be demonstrated. Accordingly, water efficiency in crop production can be improved by utilizing real-time soil information in agriculture.