Long-term testing and measurement data analysis of tomato crop weight sensor module
2021
Potapovs, A., Riga Technical Univ. (Latvia) | Avotins, A., Riga Technical Univ. (Latvia) | Gruduls, J., Latgales Dārzeņu Loģistika, SIA, Tutani, Cirma Parish, Ludza Municipality (Latvia) | Ceirs, R., Latgales Dārzeņu Loģistika, SIA, Tutani, Cirma Parish, Ludza Municipality (Latvia)
Industrial greenhouses are integrating various Internet of Things (IoT) based sensor technologies to create cloud-based database solutions. Industrial greenhouse control systems are no exception in this regard, as they have recently become more and more popular with the use of various sensors including different types of weight sensors for automation of vegetable and other crop cultivation processes. One of the most important factors hindering the wider implementation of weighting systems in the greenhouse is their high price, where the largest costs are related to the weighing sensors themselves. In addition to the price factor, weight sensor systems on the market are often characterized by known structural and functional limitations, which can be solved if developing a new weighting system. The authors have created and installed IoT based weight sensor modules (TWS) to monitor different weight changes in time, such as irrigation cycle amount or daily tomato yield/weight increase values in real tomato greenhouse of “Latgales Dārzeņu Loģistika” (further LDL) in Mezvidi Parish, with a total growing area of 5062.4 square m. This article reveals the test results that are related to measurement stability in 3-year period, measuring the weight parameters 24/7. As a reference, a constant weight was attached to one sensor all the time, and all of them were affected by the industrial greenhouse environment (temperature, humidity, etc). Furthermore, TWS readings were analysed and compared to real greenhouse crop yield data during the growing season (10 months) in weekly periods, allowing to asses potential application of TWS for automatic crop yield evaluation and this data usage for greenhouse control systems or their control algorithm correction issues, with the general aim to raise the level of process automation, quality, energy efficiency, and other important parameters.
显示更多 [+] 显示较少 [-]