Plant Growth Monitoring
The iMod telemetry module is an important element of a monitoring and control system in agricultural engineering. It can operate both in small greenhouses and fields covering thousands of square kilometers.
Plants require at least a few basic factors for proper growth, these are proper:
- irrigation
- temperature
- soil pH
- humidity
- amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
You can connect any external devices and sensors to iMod. The 1-Wire bus allows integration of unlimited number of temperature and humidity sensors. This solution enables you to collect information on temperature in different places at the same time - in large greenhouses the temperature must not exceed a tenth of a degree Celsius.
Data from measuring points are sent to the iMod telemetry module with the use of wireless communication - sensors with ZigBee technology. This communication interface is characterized by wide range and low energy consumption. This helps to reduce cost and allows connection of sensor without the need to use wires - lack of wires enables easy development of the system in the future.
iMod operates as a PLC - it is configured with the use of simple and quick ladder logic. You can program air conditioners or blowers to reduce or increase temperature in greenhouses depending on the weather conditions outside.
Control can be manual - with the use of local HMIs, web browser or SMS. In case of ground frost, a supervisor can turn on heaters remotely. He/She has access to parameters and controls the devices in the installation via a web broser. It is possible due to:
- a built-in web server with data base support
- NX Dynamics web-based graphical interface, which allows you to build your own visualization modules with real-time data access
- iModCloud service - innovative service for managing distributed iMod industrial PC’s and connected devices as if they were in one network
All the possibilities mentioned above allow you to create individual user’s account with a defined level of data access - the owner can view more parameters than a supervisor. With iModCloud you can create charts and visualizations (graphical and tabular) which are available in real-time on the Internet. With a few mouse clicks you can easily view soil moisture in plantations around the globe.
With a built-in GPRS/3G modem, the information on alarm statuses of parameters can be shared with a system administrator or people responsible for supervision of the plantation in a few ways:
- via SMS
- via emails
A built in GPS module can be useful in large agricultural areas or in a system where the are several greenhouses. The alarm can be sent together with location of the incident - it enables a quick reaction.
The advantages of the iMod industrial PC in plant monitoring:
- constant, real-time data access form a greenhouse/plantation due to a built-in GPRS/3G modem
- full control over the conditions on a plantation
- GPS technology makes it easier to find particular plants or areas on a plantation, which are exposed to adverse weather conditions