Towards a Low-Cost Precision Viticulture System Using Internet of Things Devices

Precision Agriculture (PA) is an ever-expanding field that takes modern technological advancements and applies it to farming practices to reduce waste and increase output. One advancement that can play a significant role in achieving precision agriculture is wireless technology, and specifically the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Small, inch scale and low-cost devices can be used to monitor great agricultural areas. In this paper, a system for precision viticulture which uses IoT devices for real-time monitoring is proposed. The different components of the system are programmed properly and the interconnection between them is designed to minimize energy consumption. Wireless sensor nodes measure soil moisture and soil temperature in the field and transmit the information to a base station. If the conditions are optimal for a disease or pest to occur, a drone flies towards the area. When the drone is over the node, pictures are captured and then it returns to the base station for further processing. The feasibility of the system is examined through experimentation in a realistic scenario.