ZigBee Wireless Sensor Network Using Physics-Based Optimally Sampling for Soil Moisture Measurement

This paper introduces a novel design and the optimal operation of a ZigBee wireless sensor network for soil moisture measurement using in-situ sensors. In this system, the sampling periods of sensor nodes are dynamically controlled through remote commands and a sparser set of measurements are taken to meet the monitoring objectives in order to reduce total power consumption. Test results show that the sampling time and total cost in this proposed system are 13% and 62% respectively of the ones in traditional continuously sampling system. The system and its optimal operation can be potentially used in other measuring of environment, such as temperature, water quality and ambient humility.