An Energy Conservative Wireless Sensor Networks Approach for Precision Agriculture

Reducing energy consumption of sensor nodes to prolong the lifetime of finite-capacity batteries and how to enhance the fault-tolerant ability of networks are the major challenges in design of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). In this paper, we present an energy-efficient system of WSNs for black pepper monitoring in tropical areas. At first, we optimized the base station antenna height in order to facilitate reliable communication, after which the Energy-efficient Sensor Protocol for Information via Negotiation (ESPIN) routing protocol was utilized to solve the energy saving challenge. We conducted radio propagation experiments in actual black pepper fields. The practical test results illustrate that the ESPIN protocol reduces redundant data transmission and whole energy consumption of network, and enhances the success rate of data transmission compared with traditional Sensor Protocol for Information via Negotiation (SPIN) protocol. To further optimize topology for improving the network lifetime, we designed a symmetrical double-chain (SDC) topology which is suitable to be deployed in farmland and compared the lifetime with traditional tree topology. Experiment results indicate SDC topology has a longer network lifetime than traditional tree topology. The system we designed will greatly help farmers to make more informed decisions on the efficient use of resources and hence improve black pepper productivity.