- Israeli agricultural start-up developed autonomous irrigation system.
- It reduces water and fertilizers use by 74%.
- The system irrigates plants automatically.
Autonomous Irrigation System
We live in an age full fo technological marvels. Scientists and engineers made it possible for vehicles to drive autonomously, software developers introduced alternatives to traditional banking and our lives are made easier thanks to vast number of useful gadgets and innovations.
However, when it comes to farming, some of the methods used these days are shockingly archaic. The founders of Tevatronic came up with a solution that automates many processes that are often considered to be flawless.
Tevatronic is an Israeli agricultural company that introduced an autonomous irrigation system. The company claims their system is able to save up to 75% of water & fertilizer while increasing the yield.
The company already closed two funding rounds and even started their own Kickstarter campaign in 2016. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough backers to reach the target amount. They claim their technology is able to reduce workload, eliminate human mistakes, increase yield and much more without a human intervention.
Since 2013, Tevatronic proved that their technology could increase yield after a decrease in the amount of supplied water and fertilizers. For instance, an olive production rose by 7% while the amount of water and fertilizers was reduced by 74%.
How It Works
Tevatronic developed a system independent of human decisions when it comes to how much and when to irrigate. It consist of a tensiometer, an irrigation controller and a cloud server that does the math.
First, a tensiometer with ceramic top is installed close to the crop. It measures a plant pressure on the soil to determine how much water a plant draws from it. It is also able to measure a current water level to stop irrigation, for example when it is raining.
Tensiometers report to the valve switch controller that collects data and further transmits them to a cloud server. The cloud-based system then determines how much water and how often each plant or section of a land needs.
The valve switch communicates with the cloud server via cellular communication while using ultra high radio frequency to communicate with the tensiometers.
Tevatronic’s control system irrigates each zone based on the real plant needs. This gives farmers time to control their irrigation precisely and avoid over or under irrigation. And what’s more, it answers the question no farmer or scientist could before: How much water and when exactly do different crops need?
For more details, check out their website or Facebook.