PotatoScanner – ein System zur drahtlosen Übertragung von Sensordaten für Smart Farming Anwendungen am Beispiel der Trockenstresserfassung bei Kartoffelpflanzen

Sustainable management of agricultural land requires the accurate collection of information about the condition of plants and the environment in which they grow. The term “Smart Farming” refers to technologies that can collect, evaluate and apply this information. In the following the PotatoScanner is presented which is able to collect and evaluate environmental data in the field. As an application example, the surface temperature of plants is recorded. With this parameter a determination of the drought stress of plants can be performed. In addition, the PotatoScanner is able to retrieve and store measurement data from other sensors in the field. This allows the collection of sensor data of infield sensors without the availability of a suitable transmission link, e.g., by a cellular network. This situation is created by the lack of investment from German cellphone operators on building up and operating cellular networks in rural areas. The PotatoScanner is able to compensate for this deficit, which enables the use of sensor technology in areas where no cellphone network is available. After the description of the system, an evaluation over two seasons is presented. Furthermore, it is shown which possibilities for infield data transmission exist and which environmental influences have to be considered during operation.