An efficient method to incorporate precision farming in Indian agriculture using robotics and internet of things

Farming is a primary sector in India. In spite of the Green Revolution and usage of modern farming methods, farmers are not able to reap sufficient returns. The need of the hour is to maximize the productivity, and ensure that the farmers reap maximum benefit. In a country like India, where farming practices are largely dependent on monsoon, efficient and economic methods should be made available. This can be achieved using Precision Farming. The soil texture and properties vary from one location to another across the country. They also vary, within a farm of considerable size. There is a requirement to map and monitor the various properties of the soil like mineral content, moisture levels, water bed present underground etc. The farmer can make a better choice, after knowing these details. It is a tough task to monitor different parameters manually. It will be easier if there is an automatic mechanism to do the same. We are concentrating on one single aspect that is moisture levels. The solution that we have come up with is a farming probe attached to a robot which moves around the field (crops arranged in matrix format) and uploads moisture values to the cloud. These values can be accessed via a smart phone. These moisture values can be mapped onto the field map so as to conditionally operate the irrigation system. In this paper, an automatic machine for mapping moisture levels across the field, has been proposed, using the principle of Internet of Things, for promoting the reduction of water usage in Indian agricultural practices.