Wireless sensor node for backscattering electrical signals generated by plants

The electrical signals generated by plants provide information about their physiology. A low-cost and low-power-consumption (≈ 240 μW) wireless sensor node is proposed, which measures the electrical signal generated across selected points on a plant and wirelessly transmits it to a data-collection device (reader) through a backscattering-based communication link. The proposed sensor node is appropriate for large-scale Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) agricultural applications, which are capable of collecting information about the health status of multiple plants over a broad area, with low cost and low power-consumption. Experimental results are presented for avocado and orange trees, demonstrating the successful operation of the proposed sensor node.