MOSCOW, March 29 The humidity sensor, developed by a student of the Timiryazev Academy, will automate watering and fertilizing plants and select an effective frequency for this; domestic development, which is cheaper and more functional than the imported analogue, is already planned for mass production, the press service of the academy said.
«The automated system measures several environmental indicators at once and, based on the collected data, determines the most effective frequency of watering and fertilizing plants to increase yields,» the press service said. The multi-zone humidity sensor was developed by a student of the academy Bogdan Yakobson.
As specified, using the sensor, you can track the humidity and temperature of the soil, humidity and air temperature, illumination, atmospheric pressure and wind speed. The collected data is transmitted to the server, and the device, based on these indicators, turns on automatic watering or fertilizing systems.
The imported analogue has almost the same functionality, but does not interact with the irrigation system in any way — that is, in fact, it simply collects data on external conditions and transfers them to the server, and turn it on and turn off the watering of plants can not. In addition, a domestic sensor is several times cheaper than an imported one, which costs an average of 37 thousand rubles.
“The sensor not only has a low cost, but also helps the user save resources, optimize water use and increase the yield of cultivated plants. The project is also important for land monitoring, not only in the field of agriculture, but also for the environment – constant monitoring of areas with difficult terrain and hydrogeology helps prevent waterlogging, erosion and manage land resources more efficiently,» says Yakobson.
The low cost will allow you to install several devices on the same territory at once: they can be used both as part of a large network at large enterprises, and on household plots by a small group. The sensor is not subject to corrosion, can work on difficult terrain. The device is equipped with a solar panel, a non-volatile data storage device is provided.
«The author has already patented his research and plans to introduce the development into mass production within a few months,» the press service said. It is clarified that the researcher and his team have created a company that will produce sensors: pre-order requests have already been received from ten industry organizations, including a rice producer, a research institute and several greenhouses in Tatarstan and the Moscow region.