A Cheap and Practical IoT Solution for Agricultural Data Monitoring

In this study we propose an agricultural data monitoring solution which uses widely available and affordable IoT components, being integrated in the local edge infrastructure. Data related to several important agricultural parameters (air and soil temperature, air and soil humidity, luminosity) is collected and stored with the use of a local server, which also performs the distribution of the information to the end-user (usually the farmer). The presented application uses open-source software solutions. It is also complete, encompassing all aspects from the used sensors to the monitoring and control application. The sensors communicate using the LoRaWAN protocol and are independent, being powered with the use of solar panels. The proposed system has been tested in real conditions for over a year, proving to be reliable and requiring no additional maintenance costs.