Implementation analysis of GPRS communication for precision agriculture

The implementation of precision agriculture relies on the acquisition of large amounts of spatially distributed data from a remote area. Specifically closed-loop irrigation systems requires the installation of a large group of sensor nodes distributed over a crop area, in order to measure soil moisture and climatic variables. Wireless sensor network (WSN) based on Zigbee protocol represents a popular communication solution for precision agriculture applications. However due the short range of Zigbee based nodes, a complementary long range communication network is required to integrate the WSN into Internet for global access. Due its popularity in the personal mobile communication domain, GPRS (general packet radio service) represents an adequate technology to provide Internet access for a group of devices that comprises a sensor network. This paper analyzes different approaches on how to implement GPRS communication as a gateway between Zigbee WSN and Internet for precision agriculture, considering the specific needs required by closed-loop irrigation systems.