Solarfertigation: Internet of things architecture for smart agriculture

Smart agriculture is a promising Internet of Things (IoT) application domain in the Industry 4.0 framework. Climate changes affect the natural resources exploitation policies becoming a serious matter in the agricultural and food production context. Continuous monitoring of environmental parameters and agricultural processes automation can lead to resources optimization and production maximization. This work proposes both the conceptual model and the design of Solarfertigation, an IoT system, specifically designed for smart agriculture. In particular, the envisioned solution is able to detect some of the most meaningful terrain parameters to feed a decision-making process that drives automated fertilization and irrigation subsystems. In addition, to attain energy self-sustainability, Solarfertigation is powered by a photovoltaic plant. The key features of Solarfertigation are illustrated throughout this contribution together with its preliminary prototype implementation.