LoRa - Powered Smart Agriculture System for Monitoring and Controlling

As the technology advances the traditional farming is heading towards smart agriculture. In smart agriculture the various parameters like soil moisture levels, temperature, humidity, and presence like NH3, CO2 etc., at field and crops are analyzed. This data from sensors is communicated to microcontroller for necessary processing and action. Usually, data is communicated using internet. But in rural and extreme regions where internet is not available and has poor connectivity then communication wont possible. In these cases, Long Range Network (LoRa) can be optimum communication technique. LoRa technique provides low cost and effective communication network without use of internet. In this work LoRa based smart agriculture system is implemented. The sensors located in farmland distanced at few Kilometers are communicated and operated using LoRa. The system monitors temperature, humidity and gases in real time and automatically controls water level in farms by enabling the features of smart irrigation system. The prototype of LoRa transmitter and receiver are developed that works without internet.

I. Introduction

Now is the age of compounding. IoT (Internet of Things) acquires great importance in almost every field, like trade, services, consumer electronics, automotive and agriculture. Much more than that. In today's world, everything is connected each other in some way [1]. Using LoRa technology and the LoRa WAN protocol, agribusinesses can digitally monitor, analyse, and track every aspect of their business [2]. So, this low-cost industry ensures high yields and minimal human Intervention [2]. Smart agriculture is a great solution to address the challenges facing the agricultural Industry. By utilising cutting-edge technologies, it allows for better monitoring and management of all aspects like measuring temperature, humidity, etc. A crucial component of smart agriculture is that information is communicated using the internet of Things (IoT), which enables wireless communication between sensors and devices. This helps farmers stay connected and in control of them operations at all times [5]. India's economy mostly depends on agricultural sector. The agricultural inputs require irrigation. So, this work has been developed based on IoT humidity and soil moisture sensors. It checks the soil moisture content on the farm to generate humidity levels and moisture levels. Based on the moisture levels, the water is supplied by turning ‘ON’ the pump. As required, the water level is maintained, and the pump is switched ‘OFF’ to avoid water wastage [4]. It will help prevent people from wasting water, time, cost and manpower in agriculture and improve irrigation [3]. LoRa, also known as Long Range, is a communication technology designed to achieve long-range connectivity with lower power consumption [6]. It uses chirp spread - spectrum (CSS) modulation to distribute signals across a range. This characteristic makes LoRa signals highly resilient to noise and interface, enabling them to travel long distances in challenging environments.