Introduction
Remote Signals in collaboration with VT and Teagasc have developed and deployed soil temperature monitoring devices in every county of Ireland.
These soil monitor devices yield valuable data on soil conditions for the entire country. The live information feed from each of these sensors is freely available to the public as a demonstration of the power of IoT. These smart sensors provide farmers with new information streams for precision agriculture. The sensors can offer accurate indicators for when the earth is ready to be ploughed and planted.
Until now, continuous temperature measurement has been a time-consuming chore which requires regular checks to ensure accurate readings. Using Sigfox devices for temperature monitoring reduces cost of deployment, cuts the farmer’s time spent overseeing the sensors, and ensures clear information is readily available in a straight-forward graphical display. To date this information has been difficult to acquire due to sensor battery life and relative high cost. Using the VT IoT network the devices can be left in situ for months and years without requiring new batteries.