Automatic in-field weather stations and smart Met4Agriculture system

Abstract

     The purpose of the research was to develop an automatic in-field weather station specifically for use in agricultural environments. The station was set up for use in a variety of weather conditions and research plant species. To present the data collected, a smart system named Met4Agriculture was developed. Five sensors are included in the solar-powered in-field weather station design: light intensity, temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and soil moisture measured at a depth of 10 centimeters. Thai Meteorological Department calibrated sensors for temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and soil moisture; Silpakorn University was responsible for the calibration of the light intensity sensor. The calibration results showed that temperature and relative humidity sensors have an accuracy deviation of approximately 1 degree Celsius and 1-3 %RH, respectively. The variance of the rainfall sensor is + 3 millimeters. The variance of the rainfall sensor is + 3 millimeters. The light intensity sensor has a deviation of 1.17 times less than the actual measured value. The soil moisture sensor's measured moisture level is trending in the same direction as the calculated soil moisture level, with a coefficient of correlation between the two values close to 1. Additionally, a program has been designed to run on the LILYGO system and develop the Met4Agriculture program. The system will connect data from the IoT NETPIE system to display the measurement data from the station. The program will reference the station's measurement points using the ID and token from the NETPIE system and further develop it into the Met4Agriculture Application, which is compatible with all platforms. It can display historical data for analysis of seasonal changes and set thresholds for each parameter that impacts agricultural crop performance during different seasons.

     This research outcome enables the development of a low-cost prototype for automatic in-field weather station monitoring system for agricultural field. The prototype system shows statistically significant measurement accuracy comparable to that of standard instruments. The developed stations were installed in all five regions in Thailand, this system can continuously collect, transmit, and display real-time monitoring data through a web application and real-time mobile applications, compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems.