A smart-and-connected low-cost sensor system for measuring air and soil properties in the Central U.S. first results

This article describes the design and development of a smart-and-connected low-cost Iowan-designed canopy (I-Canopy) sensor system that is enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) devices capabilities, empowered by solar-based rechargeable batteries, and developed for community science applications. The I-Canopy sensor, is designed for real-time monitoring of near-surface air properties (temperature, relative humidity, pressure) and soil properties (temperature and moisture) for a wide range of weather and canopy conditions. The sensor is well suited for rural areas where the real-time data of air and soil is lacking in part due to the lack of broadband internet connection, and in part due to the limited (if any) ground-based weather stations in the current federal and state observation network. The canopy sensor has been tested in rural communities in western Nebraska to provide information for farmer's decision-making of irrigation and agricultural water use in the crop growing season. The sensor is capable to transmit data through both WiFi and LoRaWAN in real-time to a cloud data server and the local data server. Presented here are the first results of the sensor design and sensor data evaluation in various out-door environments, which illustrates the high-level readiness of the sensor for large-scale deployment for either routine or scientific applications for rural areas.