TY - JOUR
T1 - Unmanned Aerial System-Based Data Ferrying over a Sensor Node Station Network in Maize
AU - Singh, Jasreman
AU - Ge, Yufeng
AU - Heeren, Derek M.
AU - Walter-Shea, Elizabeth
AU - Neale, Christopher M.U.
AU - Irmak, Suat
AU - Maguire, Mitchell S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: The authors thank Wayne Woldt, Geng Bai, and Burdette Barker for input in the experimental design; Suresh Pradhyun Kashyap for reviewing the manuscript; Alan L. Boldt, Eric Wilkening, Suresh Pradhyun Kashyap, and Sandeep Bhatti for assistance with the data collection; and Mark Schroeder and his team from the University of Nebraska’s Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center for their cooperation and help with field operations. Weather data were provided by the Nebraska Mesonet and the Nebraska State Climate Office through the High Plains Regional Climate Center. The authors would like to thank the support from the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, University of Nebraska.
Funding Information:
Funding: The funding for this research was provided by a grant from the USDA NIFA Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (Award Number 2017-67021-26249) and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska. Additional support was received from the Hatch Act (USDA NIFA, Accession Number 1009760) and the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Funding Information:
The funding for this research was provided by a grant from the USDA NIFA Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (Award Number 2017-67021-26249) and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska. Additional support was received from the Hatch Act (USDA NIFA, Accession Number 1009760) and the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The authors thank Wayne Woldt, Geng Bai, and Burdette Barker for input in the experimental design; Suresh Pradhyun Kashyap for reviewing the manuscript; Alan L. Boldt, Eric Wilkening, Suresh Pradhyun Kashyap, and Sandeep Bhatti for assistance with the data collection; and Mark Schroeder and his team from the University of Nebraska?s Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center for their cooperation and help with field operations. Weather data were provided by the Nebraska Mesonet and the Nebraska State Climate Office through the High Plains Regional Climate Center. The authors would like to thank the support from the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, University of Nebraska.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/3/1
Y1 - 2022/3/1
N2 - Agriculture is considered a hotspot for wireless sensor network (WSN) facilities as they could potentially contribute towards improving on-farm management and food crop yields. This study proposes six designs of unmanned aerial system (UAS)-enabled data ferries with the intent of communicating with stationary sensor node stations in maize. Based on selection criteria and constraints, a proposed UAS data ferrying design was shortlisted from which a field experiment was conducted for two growing seasons to investigate the adoptability of the selected design along with an established WSN system. A data ferry platform comprised of a transceiver radio, a mini-laptop, and a battery was constructed and mounted on the UAS. Real-time monitoring of soil and temperature parameters was enabled through the node stations with data retrieved by the UAS data ferrying. The design was validated by establishing communication at different heights (31 m, 61 m, and 122 m) and lateral distances (0 m, 38 m, and 76 m) from the node stations. The communication success rate (CSR) was higher at a height of 31 m and within a lateral distance of 38 m from the node station. Lower communication was accredited to potential interference from the maize canopy and water losses from the maize canopy.
AB - Agriculture is considered a hotspot for wireless sensor network (WSN) facilities as they could potentially contribute towards improving on-farm management and food crop yields. This study proposes six designs of unmanned aerial system (UAS)-enabled data ferries with the intent of communicating with stationary sensor node stations in maize. Based on selection criteria and constraints, a proposed UAS data ferrying design was shortlisted from which a field experiment was conducted for two growing seasons to investigate the adoptability of the selected design along with an established WSN system. A data ferry platform comprised of a transceiver radio, a mini-laptop, and a battery was constructed and mounted on the UAS. Real-time monitoring of soil and temperature parameters was enabled through the node stations with data retrieved by the UAS data ferrying. The design was validated by establishing communication at different heights (31 m, 61 m, and 122 m) and lateral distances (0 m, 38 m, and 76 m) from the node stations. The communication success rate (CSR) was higher at a height of 31 m and within a lateral distance of 38 m from the node station. Lower communication was accredited to potential interference from the maize canopy and water losses from the maize canopy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125182839&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85125182839&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/s22051863
DO - 10.3390/s22051863
M3 - Article
C2 - 35271010
AN - SCOPUS:85125182839
SN - 1424-3210
VL - 22
JO - Sensors
JF - Sensors
IS - 5
M1 - 1863
ER -