SimplyCity Australia is proud to announce that it has successfully integrated the Australian EnviroPro probes into the Libelium suite of Smart Agriculture Xtreme IoT transmitters
The Libelium IoT sensor nodes and transmitters are also known under the name “Libelium Plug&Sense!”. They cover a huge range of applications and are already integrated with a vast number of scientific sensors. The most commonly used transmission methods for these devices in Australia are: LoRaWAN, Wi-Fi and 4G.
The integration of the Envirpro probes has been done through the development of separate software libraries. This approach ensures that the sensors already available in the Libelium range are usable in combination with the newly integrated sensor.
In the current configuration, none of the original Libelium Libraries are affected. All sensors can be used as normal. The custom Enviropro library has to be called just as any other when Enviropro probes are used. The units connect to the usual ports used for Decagon 5TM and Terros11 sensors already implemented in the Libelium eco-system.
SimplyCity undertook the job of developing this interface into locally sourced products due customer demands and the specific Australian market. While the Decagon 5TM, 5Te and Terros 11 have many applications, the use of these sensors:
- can be problematic due to their fragility when used in hard soils, composting stations, fast turnover research stations (use/remove cycle)
- limits the data collected to one single depth of measurement
Given the above mentioned limitations, their use is restricted in commercial agricultural and industrial applications. A more robust, rugged and easy to install by untrained staff is often required.
Why Enviropro ?
The Enviropro probes are Australian Designed, they are already used by many Local Governments (councils) in their soil monitoring. They are in demand due to their capability of providing clear visibility on soil performance.
The probes are mechanically stronger than others, they are simple and easy to install and offer the capability of measuring soil moisture at various depths with one unit. The Enviropro probes come in 4 lengths: 40, 80, 120 and 160cm. The internal sensors are placed 10cm apart and provide 4 readings of temperature and moisture.
This is particularly useful if you want to understand the soil dynamics and the watering or irrigation performance based on soil quality. With the Enviropro sensors we ca determine if irrigation systems do indeed water down to the root system of the plant and also see how water seeps through the soil at various depths.
We chose to do this development due to the ease of use of the Libelium suite of transmitters and the wide range of already available sensors.
Integrating the Enviropro probes into the Libelium range covers a gap. The offer covers all agricultural research stations, local government applications and SimplyCity provides extensive data not just at one depth of soil but at many depths.
Australian Local Governments use intensively the Enviropro probe due to their ease of installation, robustness and the level of information delivered.
We are looking forward to expanding our use of Libelium products and bring this offer to a wider market which now comprises of all Australian Local Governments.
For more information on the Envirpro suite of probes: https://enviroprosoilprobes.com/
For mode information on the Libelium suite of products: https://www.libelium.com/iot-products/plug-sense/
