The Cermetek AquaMon® Soil Monitoring Network

TheAquaMon remote sensor products can help growers meet the challenges of modern farming. Rising populations and environmental concerns compete for water resources. The costs associated with collection and distribution of agricultural water supplies continue to increase as equipment and pumping costs rise.

Monitoring the soil moisture is essential to optimize crop growth with the available resources. It helps reduce costs, minimize water consumption and, ultimately, increase crop yields. Maintaining optimal levels of moisture in the soil yields the best possible health of the plants and maximizes production. This can best be achieved by through soil moisture monitoring. Monitoring soil moisture allows the grower to apply just the amount of water required for the soil conditions eliminating over watering and reducing overall water use. Much as electronic monitoring systems permit automobile engines to increase power while reducing fuel consumption and emissions, real-time soil moisture monitoring reduces grower costs and conserves water while preserving (and often increasing) product yields.

The versatility of AquaMon allows use beyond soil monitoring. As an example, AquaMon can help reduce pumping costs by providing wireless pump controls. The grower can then activate pumps when electric rates are lower, typically in the late night hours, or by connecting sensors that monitor water flow and pressure, the grower can shut down pumps if there are abnormalities in the system. AquaMon can connect to whatever field sensors you need and bring you the data to make the best decisions..

GENERAL DISCRIPTION

The AquaMon wireless sensor network applies the latest communications technologies to assist growers in meeting today’s challenges. The AquaMon wireless sensor network includes three functional elements:

• Sensor Nodes and associated sensors.
• Base Station.
• Web based AquaMon RSVP software and secure servers.

Sensor Nodes: The AquaMon wireless sensor network collects soil or other data from remote sensor nodes and transmits this data to a network Base Station through a robust wireless network. The wireless transmitters within each sensor Node provide a communications range of up to 2 miles line-of-sight. To overcome obstacles to RF signals such as hilly terrain or to communicate with distant fields, sensor node range can be extended by the inclusion of repeater nodes in the network. These repeater nodes can be dedicated repeater nodes or other sensor nodes as the repeater capability is embedded in all AquaMon sensor nodes. Each wireless sensor node includes 5 analog inputs to connect sensors (moisture, temperature, flow, etc.) and 12 digital I/O to control external devices. The number of supported sensors can be expanded by adding sensor interface boards to the remote sensor node.

Each AquaMon sensor network supports up to 65,000 network addresses. This permits the grower to install as many nodes as are needed to accommodate variations in soil type, terrain, and micro-climate.

Base Station: The base station collects soil data from the Sensor Nodes and uploads the data to the Internet via a GSM/GPRS modem.

Internet Access: Moving the sensor data to the Internet allows the sensor data to be viewed from any location at any time. AquaMon archives data on secure servers with password (user definable) control. The AquaMon RSVP Web based software permits archived data to be viewed on any MAC, iPad, smart phone, or Windows PC hardware platform providing Internet Access. Browsers supported by the AquaMon RSVP software include: Internet Explorer™, Safari™, FireFox™, Mozilla™, Opera™, and Google Chrome™.

Internet archival provides safe, controlled access to grower specific data. The AquaMon RSVP Web based software facilitates analysis of the collected data assisting the grower to assess trends, determine future watering schedules, etc.; or to consult with a colleague, fellow grower, university or industry expert. Both the grower and the expert can view the same data from separate locations, if necessary. The archived data may be downloaded by the user (supplied by the AquaMon servers in CSV format) for analysis utilizing alternate techniques and methods. The data always remains the property of the grower.

Remote Control: The RSVP software also allows the grower to turn valves, pumps or other ancillary equipment on and off in the field. The 12 digital I/O on each sensor node can each be connected to the equipment to permit both manual control, from buttons on the software display, and automatic activation when triggered by programmed timers or sensor readings.

Email and TXT Alarm Messages: The AquaMon system allows the user to set high/low sensor specific alarm limits. If desired, the RSVP software will automatically transmit Email and/or TXT Messages to user specified destination phone number(s) and email address(es). To receive TXT cell phone messages, the user must have this capability activated by their cell phone service provider.