IoT sensors to protect crops

New interesting examples of possible applications of the Internet of Things are emerging that would help a multitude of sectors. One of the latest findings, written about by The Economist, are tiny sensors that can help farmers by continuously monitoring their crops and giving them relevant real-time data on parasites, temperature changes , or other adverse conditions, for informed decision making. The sensors are encapsulated in small bean-shaped casings produced with 3D printers. The invention is called BeanIOT and was developed in England by electronics engineer Andrew Holland.

The sensors, 45×18 mm in size, can be buried in grain storage silos and connected to each other becoming nodes in a network, giving farmers a three-dimensional view of what is happening to their crops based on detecting movements, temperature, humidity, air pressure, and concentration of gases. In addition, they are easily located and each “bean” can be programmed through a mobile app – with which you can even search for new utilities.