Information and measuring system for operational monitoring of soil moisture and temperature

The structure of the wireless sensor network (WSN) for operational monitoring of soil moisture and temperature on the agricultural field with high accuracy is considered in the article. The evaluation of wireless sensor networks' technical capabilities for agricultural applications is given; the advantages and disadvantages of their use in the field conditions are noted, taking into account the influence of different factors on the quality of communication. To solve the problems of radio communication in the soil and deploying a sensor device completely below the ground surface, the prototype model of a sensor node with a retractable antenna has been developed. Sensor nodes were communicated via the ZigBee protocol and the integrated spatial attribute information was transmitted into the database.