Automated Smart Solar Irrigation System

This paper introduces an Automated Smart Solar Irrigation System (ASSIS) that avoids the disadvantages and limitations of existing traditional irrigation systems, mainly nonuniform distribution of water to all crops and consuming unnecessary amounts of water and electricity. The ASSIS is designed to be both water and electricity efficient, while being powered by solar panels to make it eco-friendly. In addition, it can be implemented either on large or small scales. A distributed network of sensors is used to detect the moisture content of the soil. These sensors are connected, wirelessly, to a control unit that is responsible for both controlling and monitoring the whole irrigation process, while performing other alarming and data display/logging intelligent functions. Depending on weather conditions, a decision will be made regarding the need to irrigate the soil. A water pump is used to store water in an elevated tank, for which the level and the quality of the water are continuously monitored. The stored potential energy of the water is released, on demand basis, for irrigation, using a drip tape that will slowly and efficiently distribute water to all crops, ensuring cost-effectiveness and the minimum usage of energy. Fertilization is also incorporated into the suggested ASSIS, via performing timely injection of dissolved and/or liquid nutrition into the irrigation pipes. Faults in the power supply and the irrigation system are carefully monitored and an alarm is issued, whenever an emergency arises. Both the temperature and the pH of the soil are continuously monitored to promote the effectiveness of the ASSIS. Moreover, users can remotely control the proposed ASSIS via their laptops and/or smart phones, in addition to receiving notifications in the form of SMS or e-mails. Finally, a conclusion is given to highlight the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed system, while addressing possible future extensions to it.