SENSS: Sustainable and Energy Neutral Soil Sensing

About the Project

Greenhouse gas emissions are causing the Earth's climate to deteriorate at an alarming rate. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming, extreme weather conditions, and environmental changes such as rising sea levels. Agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately one-third of total emissions. To address this, recent sustainability regulations, such as the Flemish Nitrogen Decree and the EU Green Deal, aim to reduce agricultural emissions.

A major portion of these emissions arises from the unscientific use of fertilizers, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Consequently, farmers are being encouraged to adopt sustainable agricultural practices to mitigate emissions. However, implementing sustainable farming requires enabling farmers to measure both soil nutrient content and emissions in real-time. Currently, there is a lack of cost-effective devices capable of simultaneously measuring soil nitrogen content and emissions in real-time, which would help farmers determine the optimal application of fertilizers. Such a device should be affordable and require minimal maintenance to avoid placing additional financial burdens on farmers. Additionally, it should feature a deploy-and-forget architecture, eliminating the need for ongoing management or maintenance.

This proof-of-concept proposal, Sustainable and Energy Neutral Soil Sensing (SENSS), aims to address this gap by developing innovative soil sensing devices designed to function seamlessly in agricultural environments. The device will incorporate advanced soil thermal energy harvesting and energy-aware techniques, along with low-power wireless connectivity and onboard intelligence. These features will enable long-term operation, in-device data processing, and inference with minimal intervention.The project will leverage the low-power electronics and communication expertise of IDLab, alongside the ecological and environmental expertise of the Global Change Ecology Center of Excellence, to deliver a comprehensive solution.