For more than 75 years, IRROMETER has been the preferred choice for growers and researchers around the world who need accurate measurement data to drive their irrigation activities. The company’s portfolio of soil-moisture sensors provides visibility into the root zone, allowing managers to make smarter choices about when, where, and how much to irrigate. Backed by Digi XBee 3 Global Cellular modems, IRROMETER solutions help farmers lower costs and save water and energy while optimizing crop production and improving sustainability.
Needed: A Better Way to Capture and Aggregate Soil Moisture Data
In large-scale agriculture, some of the most critical decisions for growers involve the proper management of water and irrigation. Weather forecasts and historical data play important roles, but there’s no substitute for accurate, timely soil moisture measurements drawn from the growing fields — whether it’s dozens of acres or hundreds of square miles. That’s why, for several decades Riverside, California-based IRROMETER has been a go-to choice for farmers. Its acclaimed family of tensiometers, WATERMARK sensors, and data loggers capture up-to-the-minute moisture readings, giving growers a clearer picture into changeable conditions that affect irrigation choices.
But how do farmers receive that data? There has been an accelerating transition over the last 20 years from labor intensive manual collection of sensor data to wireless systems moving the data to the cloud. According to Jeremy Sullivan, CEO of IRROMETER, that transition hasn't always been smooth. "The technology to remotely collect data has been there for decades, but the complexity and cost of earlier efforts could be a barrier to adoption," he said. "The fuel and labor savings from remote collection are real, but meaningless if offset by overly expensive, complicated, or unreliable systems."
Simple, Affordable, Reliable Cellular Connectivity
Aiming to improve their wireless sensor data collection, IRROMETER turned to Digi XBee 3 Cellular modems to transmit data over the popular low-powered LTE-M cellular network protocol. Digi XBee 3 Global LTE-M modems accelerate time-to-market for designers by quickly enabling wireless connectivity. These compact (24 mm x 33 mm) modules are an excellent choice for low-data, low-power, low-cost applications and feature a power-saving mode that extends sleep time and battery life.
With Digi Remote Manager®, Digi XBee 3 Cellular modems can be easily configured and controlled from a simple, central platform. Standard Digi XBee API frames and AT commands, MicroPython, and Digi XBee Studio software tools simplify setup, configuration, testing, and adding or changing functionality. What’s more, Digi XBee Cellular modems are pre-certified to work on cellular networks, saving months of time and thousands of dollars in development costs.
“Digi provided us with several key advantages,” Sullivan said. “First, our time-to-market was exceptionally fast and was all accomplished by one person. The device pre-certification was critical for us because, at our volumes, carrier certifications would have been cost-prohibitive. And we love the ability to run MicroPython on the module itself. That lets us offload lots of processing work onto the node. The sensor passes its readings onto the Digi XBee modem, and it handles them with its preexisting libraries. The data transmits directly to the cloud without any issues.”
He added that an important outcome was that Digi’s hardware was a big improvement over the company’s earlier deployments. With its smaller, lower-cost, easier-to-deploy footprint, Digi XBee Cellular LTE-M/NB-IoT enabled IRROMETER to scale to 10 times their previous deployment.
"The Digi XBee 3 Cellular family accelerated our development to just five months with a single developer while enabling powerful edge intelligence through MicroPython applications on the module," says Sullivan. "Our sensors now seamlessly connect to IRROcloud, delivering historical and real-time insights for farmers to manage their irrigation strategy. This integrated ecosystem delivers exactly what we promise our customers: a simple, reliable, and affordable solution that optimizes water usage, reduces energy costs, and improves crop yields."
A Compelling Value Proposition for Growers
IRROMETER’s IC-10 Sensor Monitor will easily deploy in just a few minutes, Sullivan noted. “Our dealers love the simplicity. They can insert the C-cell batteries, strap the module to a pole, and put sensors in the ground. There’s no solar panel, and the footprint is minimal.”
Once they’re configured and operational — in just minutes — the IC-10 records moisture levels each hour and transmits those readings every two hours. “It’s a small amount of data — usually less than 1 MB per month — and the transmission is quick. It just powers-up, registers, sends, and disconnects, so our devices are lasting more than two years without any need for battery replacement.”
That data travels through the cloud to IRROcloud, the company’s dashboard app that lets farmers access data, averages, visualizations, and seasonality/history and where they can spot trends and make irrigation choices. IRROcloud’s API also enables other dashboard apps to pull in sensor data and use algorithms to forecast future irrigation needs.
“Increasingly, this data is a must-have for farmers, and there is an array of federal, state, and local cost-share programs making it more affordable than ever. We help them save water, save energy, and improve yields. Pumping costs, truck rolls, and nitrate leaching are reduced, improving their sustainability posture significantly. And if cold weather is on the way, our devices will measure more frequently and can send frost alerts, which has an obvious ROI at a critical time."
“We’re very pleased with how simple and reliable this solution is — and so are our customers.”
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