Kerlink and Sensoterra smart farm solution targets 30% reduction in water consumption

from Kerlink and Sensoterra smart farm solution targets 30% reduction in water consumption
by Anasia D'mello
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Kerlink, a specialist in solutions dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), and Sensoterra, a provider of wireless soil-moisture-sensor solutions, announced a partnership to empower farmers to make data-driven, land-management decisions and reduce their water consumption by up to 30%.

Using Kerlink’s LoRaWAN-based Low Power IoT Reference Design platform to produce a new class of soil-moisture sensors, Sensoterra will launch its new sensors in the U.S., Europe, and the Asia Pacific (APAC) region beginning this year.

Soil moisture data is becoming a key component of sustainable farming programs globally as producers contend with increasingly erratic weather patterns and drier growing seasons. Measuring precise moisture conditions in their fields helps farmers maintain soil health, improve water conservation, and increase yields.

Sensoterra has been working with growers since its founding in 2014 to bring smart soil-moisture solutions to market. In addition to providing soil monitoring for row-crops, orchards, and soft fruits, the company’s technology also supports efficient water use in public and private landscaping projects and municipal parks and sports fields. The company’s current line of probes can measure soil-moisture down to 36 inches with 99.5% accuracy and the company’s software allows users to zoom into conditions around individual probes.

Yann Bauduin

“Less than 2% of agricultural land worldwide is equipped for soil-moisture measurement, which presents a very large market for wireless soil-monitoring and a big opportunity to improve water conservation,” said Christine Fraser-Boer, chief operating officer, Sensoterra.

“Sensoterra is targeting that space, and Kerlink’s LPIoT Reference Design platform significantly lowered R&D costs and shortened time to market for our new moisture sensors. We expect U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC) certification of our new probe this year so that we can offer these sensitive, smart-farming sensors in the U.S. by year-end. Incorporating this platform in our sensors also allows us to quickly follow our U.S. rollout with launches in Europe and APAC.”

“Kerlink’s off-the-shelf Low Power IoT Reference Design and production-ready bill of material eliminates up to 12 months of development time for LoRa devices, and cuts their R&D costs by up to 30%,” said Yann Bauduin, Kerlink’s vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “It is a powerful way for Sensoterra to bring its new soil-moisture-monitoring sensors to market quickly, and expand its business in a crucial smart-agriculture application.”

Kerlink LPIoT Reference Design gives designers, software developers, architects, and operation engineers step-by-step directions for quickly conceiving and producing IoT connected end-devices that deliver high performance, low energy consumption, and optimised radio performance. The platform is continuously updated with the latest low-power, wide-area (LPWA) specifications and standards, and incorporates Semtech’s new SX1262 radio transceiver, which is ideal for long-range wireless applications and long battery life.

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