SitS NSF-UKRI: Wireless In-Situ Soil Sensing Network for Future Sustainable Agriculture

SitS NSF-UKRI：面向未来可持续农业的无线原位土壤传感网络

• 批准号: 1935632
• 负责人: Darrin Young
• 金额: $ 80万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1935632&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SitS; NSF; UKRI; Wireless; Situ

This project was awarded through the "Signals in the Soil (SitS)" opportunity, a collaborative solicitation that involves the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) and the following United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) research councils: 1) The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), 2) the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), 3) the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). This project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Utah in the U.S. and researchers at the Imperial College London and the University of Aberdeen in the UK. With the world's population expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050, increasing food production threatens soil security, presenting one of the grand challenges of the 21st century. Sustaining high levels of food production depends on irrigated agriculture, which consumes over 70% of freshwater reserves in many regions of the world. Due to the diminishing freshwater sources, alternative water sources have been considered and used for agriculture. However, their impact on soil health and related contaminant effects on the soil ecosystem and productivity remain largely unknown. This research focuses on developing low-cost wireless soil sensing network that can effectively indicate the health condition of soils being irrigated by using different alternative water sources. The research outcomes will not only be critical for developing better soil maintenance, protection, and management practice, but also for enabling a wide range of research on soil health and associated links to sustainable agriculture.The goal of this research program is to develop a low-power and low-cost underground wireless sensing network by employing commercially available sensing probes, but designing low-power electronics and integrating them with the proposed wireless powering and data telemetry system, followed by packaging and validating the sensing network in the field. The prototype system will be further demonstrated in a pilot study to investigate the effect of irrigation on soil condition with different water sources. The proposed system can substantially reduce the cost of the buried sensors as there would be no large power source such as a solar panel or a battery. Much of the expensive electronics would be moved to the external powering system implemented on an autonomous vehicle (ground or aerial). The lower-cost and lower-power configuration can potentially enable a much higher sensor density for large farmland or intense research plot monitoring. The wireless interface for the soil sensing network implemented on autonomous vehicles can greatly reduce the current lab-intensive human interface. The proposed network will be developed in collaboration with stakeholders in the agricultural industry from the outset of the project. With this vision in mind, this US-UK SitS research team plans to achieve the proposed objectives through the following tasks. (1) Develop low-power, low-cost, underground, in-situ soil sensor modules and achieve a reduction in power and cost by one to two orders of magnitude compared to commercial products. Low-power electronics in both discrete and ASIC forms will be designed and fitted to existing sensor probe technology. (2) Develop wireless power transfer and data telemetry systems that can transfer power from a source above the ground to an underground sensor module, charging a rechargeable battery or enabling a battery-less underground sensing operation. This approach can greatly simplify the system installation and maintenance. (3) Demonstrate the proposed system operation from a controlled laboratory environment and open field testing. Sensor modules' calibration and stability will be investigated to ensure long-term reliable operation. (4) Deploy the wireless sensor technology to investigate irrigation effect on soil health by using alternative water sources. Soil moisture, temperature, and salinity will be measured in-situ and collected wirelessly. Soil pH, ammonia, organic carbon and nitrogen will be measured from collected soil samples. These parameters can indicate soil intrinsic conditions due to different irrigation practices. The proposed sensing network and study could enable far more efficient use of fresh water sources in irrigated agriculture. The proposed sensing paradigm could be applied to a wide range of soil health studies with direct societal impact by helping improve soil conditions and agricultural productivity. Furthermore, the research team will broaden the impact of this research through establishing an interdisciplinary education and training program, and engaging with agricultural producers and stakeholders to disseminate research results.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

This project was awarded through the "Signals in the Soil (SitS)" opportunity, a collaborative solicitation that involves the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) and the following United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) research councils: 1) The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), 2) the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), 3) the Engineering and物理科学研究委员会（EPSRC）和科学技术设施委员会（STFC）。该项目是美国犹他大学研究人员与伦敦帝国学院的研究人员与英国阿伯丁大学的研究人员之间的合作。到2050年，随着世界人口预计将超过90亿，粮食生产威胁着土壤安全，这是21世纪的巨大挑战之一。持续高水平的粮食生产取决于灌溉农业，该农业消耗了世界许多地区的70％以上的淡水储量。由于淡水来源的减少，已经考虑并用于农业。然而，它们对土壤健康和相关污染物对土壤生态系统和生产率的影响仍然很大未知。这项研究的重点是开发低成本的无线土壤感测网络，该网络可以有效地表明通过使用不同的替代水源灌溉土壤的健康状况。研究结果不仅对于开发更好的土壤维护，保护和管理实践至关重要，而且对于能够在土壤健康和与可持续农业的相关联系方面进行广泛的研究。该研究计划的目的是通过使用较低的无线网络来开发低功率和低成本的地下无线传感，并通过实现低调的系统来设计，但要使用较低的电视探针，并将其整合起来，并设计出较低的电视启动，并将其整合到无线电视上，并设计了无线电话，并且可以使他们的启用型号启用，并且可以使他们的启用型号进行启用，并且可以使用较低的电视系统，并且可以使他们的无线电视网络启用，并且可以使他们的无线电视网络启用，并且可以使其无效，并且可以使用Qualtive Electry，并将其启用，并将其置于商业上的电视范围内，并将其无线电网络启用。并验证现场的传感网络。在一项试点研究中将进一步证明该原型系统，以研究灌溉对不同水源的土壤状况的影响。提出的系统可以大大降低埋入的传感器的成本，因为没有大型电源，例如太阳能电池板或电池。许多昂贵的电子设备将移至在自动驾驶汽车（地面或空中）上实施的外部动力系统。低成本和较低功率的配置可能会使大型农田或强烈的研究图监测具有更高的传感器密度。在自动驾驶汽车上实施的土壤感应网络的无线界面可以大大减少当前的实验室密集型人界面。拟议的网络将从项目开始从农业产业的利益相关者合作开发。考虑到这一愿景，这个US-UK坐在研究团队计划通过以下任务实现拟议的目标。 （1）与商业产品相比，功率和成本降低了一到两个数量级，开发低功率，低成本，地下，原地土壤传感器模块。离散形式和ASIC形式的低功率电子设备将被设计并安装在现有的传感器探测技术中。 （2）开发无线电源传输和数据遥测系统，这些系统可以将电源从地面上方的源传输到地下传感器模块，充电可充电电池或启用无电池地下传感操作。这种方法可以大大简化系统的安装和维护。 （3）从受控实验室环境和开放式测试中演示了拟议的系统操作。将研究传感器模块的校准和稳定性，以确保长期可靠的操作。 （4）部署无线传感器技术，以使用替代水源来研究对土壤健康的灌溉效应。土壤水分，温度和盐度将在原位测量并无线收集。土壤pH，氨，有机碳和氮将从收集的土壤样品中测量。这些参数可以表明由于不同的灌溉实践而导致的土壤内在条件。提出的感应网络和研究可以使灌溉农业中的淡水源更有效地使用。提出的传感范式可以通过帮助提高土壤状况和农业生产率来实现广泛的土壤健康研究。此外，研究团队将通过建立跨学科的教育和培训计划来扩大这项研究的影响，并与农业生产者和利益相关者互动以传播研究结果。这项奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响来评估的支持，并被认为是值得的。

项目成果

Integration of a High Frequency Inductive Power Transfer System to Energize Agricultural Sensors Through Soil

集成高频感应电力传输系统，通过土壤为农业传感器供电

• DOI: 10.1109/wpw54272.2022.9853990
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: IEEE Wireless Power Transfer Conference
• 作者: Sanchez, John;Arteaga, Juan M.;Zeisiger, Cody;Young, Darrin J.;Goel, Ramesh;Mitcheson, Paul D.;Yeatman, Eric M.;Roundy, Shad
• 通讯作者: Roundy, Shad

Design and Characterization of a Low-Power Moisture Sensor from Commercially Available Electronics

采用市售电子产品的低功耗湿度传感器的设计和表征

• DOI: 10.1109/sensors47087.2021.9639573
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: IEEE Sensors Conference
• 作者: Sanchez, John;Dahal, Archana;Zesiger, Cody;Goel, Ramesh;Young, Darrin;Roundy, Shad
• 通讯作者: Roundy, Shad

High-Frequency Inductive Power Transfer Through Soil for Agricultural Applications

农业应用中通过土壤的高频感应电力传输

• DOI: 10.1109/tpel.2023.3305642
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
• 影响因子: 6.7
• 作者: Arteaga, Juan M.;Sanchez, John;Elsakloul, Faraj;Marin, Maria;Zesiger, Cody;Pucci, Nunzio;Norton, Gareth J.;Young, Darrin J.;Boyle, David E.;Yeatman, Eric M.
• 通讯作者: Yeatman, Eric M.

Wireless Battery-Free Sub-mW Underground Soil Moisture Sensing System

无线无电池亚毫瓦地下土壤湿度传感系统

• DOI: 10.1109/sensors56945.2023.10325256
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: IEEE
• 作者: Ding, Sheng;Roundy, Shad;Goel, Ramesh;Zesiger, Cody;Young, Darrin J.
• 通讯作者: Young, Darrin J.

Wireless Power Transfer Through Soil for Energizing an Underground Soil Moisture Sensor

通过土壤无线功率传输为地下土壤湿度传感器供电

• DOI: 10.1109/sensors52175.2022.9967363
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: IEEE Sensors Conference
• 作者: Ding, Sheng;Sanchez, John;Jackson, Aidan;Roundy, Shad;Goel, Ramesh;Zesiger, Cody;Young, Darrin J.
• 通讯作者: Young, Darrin J.