I have several raspberry pi zeros connected to agricultural sensors in a large farm(1500+ acres). What is my best solution for getting the agricultural data from them wirelessly? I want to get the data to a central internet connected server which will be approximately 5-8km away from the sensor.
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3Welcome. Your question could use a few more details to make it easier to answer. Specifically, how far will each device be from each other, and how much data are you planning to send from each device? Where do you want to get the data to? Please [edit] with that information so that your post is a little more specific and we can give more tailored advice. Thanks. – Aurora0001 Jan 11 '18 at 16:23
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3Take a look at A review of wireless sensors and networks' applications in agriculture as well as A Review of Wireless Sensor Technologies and Applications in Agriculture and Food Industry: State of the Art and Current Trends as well as A Wireless Sensor Network Solution for Precision Agriculture Based on ZigBee Technology. – Richard Chambers Jan 11 '18 at 19:00
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3You really need to show a bit more about what you have already researched - this will help us to understand your specific scenario. What have you been looking at as potential approaches? – Sean Houlihane Jan 11 '18 at 19:11
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Take a look at this related question for 16km range – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 18 '18 at 07:22
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Some mention of farms in https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/wiring-an-rf-lora-module-to-the-raspberry-pi.144369/#post-1224854 and a Raspberry Pi article at https://www.cooking-hacks.com/blog/send-data-at-extreme-long-range-using-lora-with-arduino-raspberry-pi-and-intel-galileo/ – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 18 '18 at 07:27
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I would recommend a LPWAN setup with end node radios on the Pi-Zero's and a gateway (or a few to cover the area) to manage all of these devices.
Check out these.
You can get a cellular or ethernet version of the gateway and adaptors for the Atom radio module to interface with all of the Pi-Zeros in the field. The hardware setup is very fast and all of the device to cloud routing/key management is handled through a nice web dashboard. You can connect to pretty much any cloud endpoint from the web interface and push updates to pretty much anywhere from there.
It would be helpful to know what kind of terrain you are trying to cover since wide area network coverage will be dependant upon the environmental interferance you are dealing with.
Mawg says reinstate Monica
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rob
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Hackaday managed to connect two devices by LOWRAWAN using a balloon at 35km height - maybe not for you, but still very interesting to read. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 22 '18 at 07:58
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Wow ! 5 to 8 kn is quite a distance.
If you are willing to spend in order of US $500 per sensor, then I can recommend a solution using an inexpensive satellite modem. Although this might sound expensive, think of the cost spread over many years, and be aware that in addition to the sensors, you can program the satellite modems themselves, if need be.
I have had lots of fun with Skywave’s offerings (they have now rebranded as OrbComm), and you might like to look at the IDP_800.
Read the datasheet.
Mass: with batteries: 1.3 Kg (with integrated antenna Dimensions : 43.2 cm x 14.7 cm x 2.5 cm and it runs on 6 AA batteries, which can be bought almost anywhere.
I send only one 50 byte message a day & they tell me that I can except a three year battery life. Their units generally cost US $500 - $1,000 (with discount for bulk purchases), and their airtime rates are competitive.
The device has built in GPDS and is fully programmable in the LUA scripting language.
Obligatory picture follows:
If you are looking for something cheaper, then II would recommend Flutter (see also completed Kickstarter page for more info).
It's a US $20 Arduino board with 1kmn wifi range, so you would still need to use repeaters, but you would certainly need fewer than with conventional WiFi. I would suggest a mesh network, which Flutter supports, and would recommend that you mount them on posts, as high above the ground as you can.
Whatever solution you go for, don't accept manufacturers claims as to range - start with one Flutter/whatever, and start adding more, checking as you go how good communication is. DO NOT put hem all in place first & then go for a big bang turn on.
That's about it really, so now for the obligatory graphic
Mawg says reinstate Monica
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1Thanks for your help, but radio seems like a more practical solution because of its cost-effectiveness. – Jan 12 '18 at 11:44
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