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

This paper discusses the design and development of a custom soil sensor made from off-the-shelf electronics. The output of this sensor is correlated to the water content in two types of agricultural soil: sandy and loamy. Two popular industrial soil sensors are used to determine if the repeatability and accuracy of this custom sensor fall within commercial standards. Experimental results indicate that the custom sensor performs similarly to the commercial sensors in terms of repeatability and accuracy but consumes approximately 10x less energy per measurement. This custom sensor will eventually be used in conjunction with a wireless power transfer system for underground in-situ moisture measurements.