ABSTRACT

• This paper describes the development of the Tyndall smart sensing system for Security in
Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (SAFE) based on low power consumption, smart
micro needles and wireless communications embedded systems.
• These have been integrated into a wireless transducer interface platform for deployment in the
field.

INTRODUCTION:
• Nanotechnology enables the agriculture sector to use water, pesticides, and
fertilizers more efficiently.
• Anticipated applications include micro sensors /micro biosensors for pathogen
detection and for soil quality and for plant health monitoring .
• Because of the inability to manage heterogeneity in soils, current fertilizer advice
recommends uniform applications of fertilizer within fields leading to potential
inefficiencies in fertilizer use.
• Such technologies will support the rapidly developing area of precision farming and
in doing so contribute to more efficient resource use and reduced environmental
impacts from agriculture .
 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
• Electrochemical Micro needle Sensors
• Low-cost nanostructure sensors are being developed for in soil determination of nitrate in
real-time.
• Sensors are being optimised to target detection limits of 100 nM
• The SAFE system will therefore enable, for the first time, full temporal and spatial analysis of
environmental nutrients e.g. nitrates in the field and consequently nitrogen management
within the environment.
 B. SAFE Wireless Embedded
system
• Real time data is provided by a dedicated sensor interface
system incorporating the ADuCM350 from Analog Devices .
This is a complete, coin cell powered, high precision, meter-
on-chip for portable, low power system applications.
 Wireless Communications
• control and connectivity based on a low power ARM Cortex-M3 processor and it is designed for
high precision potentiostat, current, voltage and impedance measurement capabilities thanks to
its’ 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and 12 -bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) . It
also has 4 voltage measurement channels and up to 8 current measurement channels
Electrochemical Sensor
interface circuit
 Electrochemical Sensor
interface
• The Nitrate Sensor Interface is a 3-wire interface to connect the
micro needle sensors.
• the three electrodes are: Counter Electrode (CE), Working Electrode
(WE) and Reference Electrode (RE). Figure 4 shows the 3-wire
sensor configuration implemented in the system .
• The excitation voltage, provided by the DAC, is applied between the
counter electrode and the working electrode.
• The current is measured between the working electrode and the
reference electrode via the transimpedance amplifier and the ADC.
• The sensor works by applying a potential between the CE and the
WE which causes a chemical reaction and an electric current at the
WE.
• The higher the concentration of the analyte, the lower the resultant
current.
 MICRONEEDLE BASED SENSORS

• Micro needles arrays were fabricated through polymer replication of a silicon

master followed by thermal deposition of a gold layer as described previously. A
three electrode cell was adopted, employing a gold micro needle array electrode as
working electrode and external platinum wire counter electrode and a saturated
Ag/AgCl reference electrode.
 ADVANTAGES
• To improve agriculture production.
• Decreases the environmental.
• Reducing hunger and poverty.
• Foot print and transportation cost.
• Protecting the environment.
• Low power consumption.
• Combats Global warming.
• Contributes to water conservation.
• High precision.
• Low cost.
 CONCLUSIONS
• The use of wireless sensors in horticulture and agriculture could
prove vital in the development of precision agriculture applications.
Sensors can provide real-time data of the growing conditions,
offering a potential for optimised resource utilization in a precision
agriculture application through appropriate actuation and control
algorithms. The micro needle based electrochemical sensors
described in this paper are envisaged to enable such technologies.
Although current proof of concept work employed commercial
analytical laboratory instrumentation for nitrate detection, future
work lies in the development of
• (i) robust rugged sensors developed by optimizing the copper
deposition process and
• (ii) coupled with developed instrumentation for use in the field and
outside of lab based environments.