Low energy and cost soil moisture sensor technology

Efficient water use is a must for sustainable agriculture, driving the need for affordable soil moisture sensors to guide irrigation timing. Sensors are limited by cost, maintenance and the need for wires for data capture and charging.  We are developing low-cost, long-life, wireless in-situ soil sensing networks, which can potentially enable a much higher sensor density for large farmland or intense research plot monitoring. This custom soil sensor is made from off-the-shelf electronics and consumes approximately 10x less energy per measurement, compared to commercially available sensors. Here we present our new sensor technology, while also investigating its repeatability and accuracy in controlled conditions and comparing it to that of commercially available soil moisture sensors. The final application of the custom soil moisture sensor is an underground in-situ sensing network, which will be enabled through wireless powering and telemetry systems implemented on autonomous vehicles, both ground and aerial.