Mini-UAV based sensory system for measuring environmental variables in greenhouses

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Engineering
• Robotics
• Environmental Monitoring

Background:

• Greenhouse environmental monitoring is crucial for optimizing crop yield and resource management.
• Existing monitoring methods can be labor-intensive and may not provide comprehensive spatial data.
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer potential for automated and detailed environmental data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, construct, and validate a mobile sensory platform for greenhouse monitoring.
• To integrate environmental sensors onto a quadrotor for autonomous data acquisition.
• To map key environmental variables within a greenhouse environment.

Main Methods:

• Selected and integrated sensors for temperature, humidity, luminosity, and CO2 concentration onto a quadrotor.
• Studied quadrotor aerodynamics to determine optimal sensor placement.
• Conducted field experiments in a real greenhouse to test and validate the system's performance.

Main Results:

• Validated the quadrotor as a reliable platform for measuring greenhouse environmental variables.
• Determined optimal sensor placement on the quadrotor to minimize aerodynamic interference.
• Successfully mapped temperature, humidity, luminosity, and CO2 concentration within the greenhouse.

Conclusions:

• The developed quadrotor-based sensory platform is effective for detailed greenhouse monitoring.
• This technology can support advanced climate control, crop monitoring, and early failure detection.
• Optimal sensor integration and placement are critical for accurate UAV-based environmental measurements.