Caracterização experimental de sensores de baixo custo assistidos por sistema embarcado para o uso em agricultura sustentável

Abstract

In the context of climate change, one of the main challenges facing contemporary society is developing innovative methodologies and technologies that enable sustainable alternatives for agricultural production. Water scarcity, particularly in Brazil's semiarid region, poses significant obstacles to family farming, requiring accessible, low-cost, and effective solutions to ensure productive efficiency and the sustainability of agricultural systems. The adoption of electronic sensors and embedded platforms presents a promising strategy for soil and climate monitoring and rational irrigation management. The project proposes complementary, applied experiments aimed at developing and validating a low-cost integrated monitoring system, structured in three main stages. The first experiment involves calibrating HL-69 and HD-38 soil moisture probes, resistive and capacitive, respectively, in clay loam soil, using the gravimetric method to construct water retention curves. The second experiment will focus on comparing meteorological data collection methods, focusing on the performance of the DHT11 sensor compared to automatic (EMA) and conventional (EMC) weather stations. The third experiment will focus on statistically characterizing the sensor that performs best in Experiment I, combined with a drainage lysimeter water balance system. The Arduino Uno microcontroller will be used as the data acquisition and processing unit, creating an adaptable, replicable experimental platform aligned with the concept of affordable precision agriculture. Ultimately, the set of experiments is expected to provide methodological foundations for future applications in smart irrigation systems, contributing to increasing the resilience of sustainable agriculture to the impacts of climate variability and the growing demand for water use efficiency.