ESCA - Soil Moisture Sensor
The Capacitive - Soil Moisture Sensor enables low maintenance, on-point contact with the environment formeasurement, data collection, and collation.
Utilizing the Capacitive method, vs the Resistive method, the ESCA-SMS is designed for remote, low maintenance, and long endurance operation. Equipped with a battery and an RF transmission module, the sensor is deployed in agricultural settings and then monitored via the SCALAE - GATEWAY. The Gateway functions as a central collation point for the sensors linked to it, collating the data for transmission to an online | cloud repository.
Soil moisture sensors are used to monitor the level of moisture saturation to ensure that the level of saturation specific to the plant species' needs is maintained. Considering that many factors play a role in maintaining the right level of saturation, the sensor becomes imperative for automation systems. Knowing the appropriate level of saturation coupled with an indication of the level of saturation gives a control system a measuring tool to know when to water.
Many factors play a role in the level of soil moisture saturation. It is affected by the type of soil, ambient temperature, humidity, drainage, stage of the plant's life cycle, etc.
The ESCA - Soil Moisture Sensor is a capacitive sensor, using the capacitive principle and the soil moisture as a dielectric. It has no exposed tracks, enabling it to function for longer with lower or no maintenance.
Installing the sensor is as easy. You install the battery, configure the unit's address, and then push it into the soil.
The ESCA - SMS supports an RF transmission module. This enables the sensor to transmit its data to a local collection node that gathers the date from the sensors directed to it. The sensor is initially set up uing the USB interface, and once configured it transmits the measured saturation a regular intervals.
The ESCA - Soil Moisture Sensor includes an analog temperature sensor that can measure from 0 to > 45'c. This enables the sensor to be used to capture soil moisture as a function of temperature progression. As the day progresses from sunrise to sunset, the surface soil temperature will increase and this affects the saturation and can enable improved desciion making on when to water and how much water to be dispensed.
