Green fields ahead: ONiO Awarded Research Council Grant for developing batteryless sensor systems for Precision Agriculture
ONiO is thrilled to announce we've been granted an award by the Research Council of Norway for a pioneering endeavor: developing batteryless sensor systems tailored for Precision Agriculture. These innovative sensors are set to revolutionize monitoring by focusing on key soil characteristics crucial for farmers - specifically, soil moisture, temperature, and nutrient content. Our goal? A transformative leap forward in deploying expansive sensor networks that smartly bolster agricultural practices. The plan is to engineer hardware that’s both affordable and simple to install - imagine sleek, low-profile units that can be effortlessly placed and left to do their job, gathering and transmitting data over their lengthy lifespan without the need for any wires, batteries, or maintenance whatsoever.
The project is expected to pave the way for way more sustainable agriculture operations - influencing water and nutrient management, slashing the reliance on various inputs (like water, fertilizers, chemicals, and energy) and, by extension, significantly diminishing the environmental impact, all while boosting crop yields.
Leading this venture is ONiO, in collaboration with Sensonomic and Maere Agricultural School. Our role at ONiO is to spearhead the development and execution of all hardware aspects for these novel systems, leveraging our proprietary self-powered electronics technology. Sensonomic, with their expertise in crafting algorithms and software solutions for farmers, will play a crucial role in converting raw data into practical advice for enhancing farm productivity. Meanwhile, Maere Agricultural School is set to offer its facilities as a testing ground, aiding the consortium in deploying these systems under authentic agricultural conditions, from greenhouse environments to open-field settings.
This project is receiving a generous boost from the Research Council of Norway, with a grant allocation of 11.9 million NOK under the Innovation Project for the Industrial Sector program, supporting our vision of smarter, more sustainable agriculture.