Modular Crop Management Device with Wireless Sensor Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current automatic crop irrigation devices rely on pre-programmed timing and lack real-time adaptation to plant needs and environmental changes, requiring constant power and extensive wiring, which is impractical in many cultivation areas and limits their effectiveness outside controlled environments.
Innovation Solution
A modular device with real-time monitoring and control capabilities, including sensorization, knowledge, experience, action, power, communication, and user interaction modules, allowing for independent operation, wireless communication, and remote management to determine and respond to crop needs, using a central module to manage data and actions such as irrigation and fertilizer application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pre-programmed timing control is used for irrigation, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but adaptability to real-time plant needs and environmental changes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor soil moisture, temperature, humidity, and plant vitality parameters. This real-time feedback is processed by a microcontroller that automatically adjusts irrigation timing and duration to match actual plant needs and environmental conditions, resolving the contradiction between simple operation and real-time adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The device performs self-diagnosis and self-adjustment by processing sensor data through algorithms that determine optimal irrigation parameters without requiring user programming. The system serves itself by automatically adapting to changing conditions while maintaining ease of operation through a simple user interface
2Reliability
If connection to electric grid is required for constant power supply, then power availability is improved, but installation complexity and cost increase due to wiring requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a rechargeable battery as an intermediary energy storage device that decouples the device from the electric grid. The battery provides continuous power supply while eliminating the need for complex wiring installation, resolving the contradiction between reliable power availability and installation simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electrical wiring system with a wireless power solution using rechargeable batteries and wireless communication modules. This substitution eliminates physical connections while maintaining power availability and significantly reduces installation complexity
3Reliability
If wiring connections are installed for sensors and power, then connection reliability is improved, but ease of installation and adaptability to different locations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces wired mechanical connections with wireless communication technology for both power transmission and data exchange. This substitution maintains connection reliability through protocol-level error correction while dramatically improving ease of installation and enabling deployment in previously inaccessible locations
4Device complexity
If limited connection ports are used in device, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different sensor types and expansion possibilities deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs a universal wireless communication interface that can accommodate multiple sensor types and configurations without requiring physical port connections. The system uses standardized wireless protocols that enable adaptable sensing capabilities while maintaining simple device architecture
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Control device for crop management, formed by a functional unit comprised of operating modules interrelated between each other, capable of establishing communication with other devices that form part of the same system, providing communication as well with external sources, thus making it possible to automatically determine crop maintenance actions, according to information related to the same and the environment in which these are located.