Crop farmers need to carefully manage their water supplies to ensure efficient and eco-friendly operations. The aim of this project was to develop a system with the ability to monitor and control a farm irrigation system from anywhere, including from the office, as well as out in the field, saving the farmer hours of commuting and manual water management work each day.

This device is available for purchase from theFarm Management System website.

• Work closely with the client to determine the functionality requirements of the product
• Research and determine the best wireless communications system for their needs (LoRaWAN)
• Research a range of internet dashboard systems, providing a platform for rapid dashboard and control system development, along with the flexibility to meet future needs
• Develop a proof-of-concept of the electronics and firmware, to confirm correct operation prior to designs being committed to printed circuit boards
• Design custom electronics to operate a wide range of inputs and outputs, providing flexibility to meet the needs of widely-varying configurations and different farm sites
• Develop a prototype system dashboard with the flexibility to be configured to the needs of each individual installation
• Develop a system for onsite manual override control, as well as fail-safes for the unlikely event of network failures, giving farmers peace of mind that they will always be in control
• Manufacture prototypes suitable for field usage and testing
• Complete industrial design of an IP-rated enclosure suitable for outdoor usage
• Arrange certification testing
• Arrange production tooling