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Farm Soil Moisture Data Collection Project

California State University Monterey Bay

School of Information Technology and Communication Design

CAPSTONE PROJECT FINAL REPORT

CST401 Spring 2014

May 15, 2014

Participants

Casandra Martin

Nathan Kistler

Ricardo Castaneda

Advisors

Dr. Sathya Narayanan

Dr. YoungJoon Byun

Client:

Independent project

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Farm Soil Moisture Data Collection May 15, 2014

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Introduction/Problem Description

a. Background on project

b. Description of the problem the project will solve. Target audience

c. Environmental scan or review of projects solving similar problems

Research and describe other projects that have solved the same problem

or similar problems

3. Solution Description

a. Describe the project. What is it?

b. Goals of the project.

c. Why is this project a solution to the problem?

d. What are other possible solutions?

e. How does it differ from projects that solve the same problem?

4. Deliverables

5. Methodology

a. Implementation Plan

b. Resource

c. Expertise

6. Changes in the Project

7. Testing and Evaluation Plan

a. Functional testing

b. Usability testing

c. Evaluation plan

d. Risk analysis

8. Budget

a. Rationale for expenditure

b. Costs

9. Timeline

10. Collaboration Statement

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11. Final Documentation

12. Appendixes

a. Capstone Concept Presentation

b. Letter of Understanding Memo

c. Resume

13. Advisor Signoff

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Executive Summary

This paper will introduce the Farm Soil Moisture Data Collection project that was

assigned to a group of three students and go through the process of completing the

project in the course of a year. The problem that is being addressed in this project is

that of the water issues that has been affecting the Salinas Valley specifically relating to

agriculture. The Salinas Valley is world renown for their agriculture therefore it is crucial

to make sure we are able to continue to have enough water for crops in the future. The

main source of water for agriculture is the Salinas aquifer which has been heavily

drained over the past few years and there has not been enough rainfall to fill it back up.

This means that the water from the Monterey Bay has been intruding bringing salt to the

soil which is bad for the crops and by extraction the community. The solution proposed

in the project is to deploy an array of sensors throughout a farm field to facilitate remote

moisture level data collection and logging. The data collected could be used to identify

ways to water crops more efficiently, as well as make decisions about which fields to

use and which crops to plant. We budgeted for sensors which we were able to program

and deploy. The data that was collected from the sensors was uploaded to a database

and then displayed in an easy to understand way through our web application and

mobile application. The finished project matched our initial goals, and we built this

project with scalability in mind. There are still features to add and we are looking to pass

on this project to the next capstone class for further development.

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Introduction/Problem Description

a. Background on project

Salinas Valley is very well known for their agricultural output not only in the USA, but the

world. About 30% of the world’s lettuce comes from the Salinas Valley every year.

Consequently there is a particular need in Monterey County to refine farming practices

with the goal of increased efficiency and sustainability. According to The World Bank,

feeding the globe on a time of climate change is one of the major challenges of our era.

By 2050, there will be more than 9 billion people in the world. Agricultural production

must increase by 70 percent in order to feed the growing population. Information

technology can play a role in addressing these issues. Better information can help to

manage land and water more efficiently.

b. Description of the problem the project will solve.

We are interested in helping this effort to manage water more efficiently. This effort is

imperative because years of over drafting the Salinas aquifer have caused salt water to

begin to inundate the aquifer. That aquifer remains a major source of fresh water for the

region. Therefore in order to maintain the sources of water which support the region’s

economy, part of any solution includes more efficient use of existing water supplies.

Nowhere is this truer than agriculture, where water use is extensive. Our task is to help

create a part of the overall water management system. In order to better manage water

in agriculture, farmers and water managers need to be able to collect data on water

usage, as well as attributes of that water such as nutrients, and pollutants that might be

contained in the water. This data can then be correlated to yields and to regions, and

over time trends could be observed. This data can then be used to refine practices with

regard to water usage.

c. Target audience

Our target audience would primarily be the farmers, field workers and the water utilities.

They would benefit most from having access to the data we collect and are the actors

who are best suited to actually take action with regard to actually implementing changes

to water use. There should also be a benefit to the community at large if the project is

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successful because it should provide an economic benefit, and can be used as a

learning tool since that is one of our goals.

d. Environmental scan or review of projects solving similar problems

Research and describe other projects that have solved the same problem or

similar problems

Currently there are systems in place which comprehensively collect data about water

using a system of digital devices, but these technologies are used mainly by municipal

water providers to test drinking water at the source and by individual farmers to gather

data on specific locations. There are several key differences between these systems

and our proposed system. The main difference is that we want to implement a system

that can be used as both a solution for farmers, and for study by water management

districts and researchers. We also seek to provide open source access to the code that

we use so our methods are transparent. This will be accomplished through the

functionality of our website and mobile application which will manage a login system

designed to grant access to the sensor data based on privilege permissions. Our code

will be available for download on github.com.

Some examples of similar systems:

a. http://aifur.com/avr-systems/

b. http://www.libelium.com/smart_agriculture_vineyard_sensors_waspmote/

http://aifur.com/avr-systems/

http://www.libelium.com/smart_agriculture_vineyard_sensors_waspmote/

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Solution Description

a. Describe the project. What is it?

In order to collect the set of water data we are interested in, we would recommend that

an array of sensors that can determine the moisture levels in the soil. We would then

build software to collect this data and to correlate it to other pieces of data collected by

farms such as time, region or yield. This data would be accessible through a web

application so as to allow for this data to not only be more easily accessed by individual

farmers, but to allow metropolitan water districts to also view this data for planning

purposes.

b. Goals of the project.

This data could then be used to adjust the frequency and distribution of irrigation as well

as determining whether or not filtration systems are needed. The system should be set

up to be easy for a user to interface with. Based on the data we collect farmers and

water districts should be able to determine the suitability of certain locations for different

crops, and farmers and water districts would be able to view trends that would allow

them to plan for the future. This data should be represented in an easy to understand

and visually engaging manner. We would also like to provide resources to the

community as to why our project is useful and how they might benefit from it or get

involved with it. This would be done in the form of a website with possible

supplementary advertising.

c. Why is this project a solution to the problem?

Access to better, more timely, information on fields could potentially improve yields and

reduce environmental impacts. Currently this kind of data is collected manually by

people who actually go out into the field and access the local systems. This system

should save time for supervisors and workers by providing with an easy to use tool that

will provide real time monitoring through a remote web interface. This system would not

only provide an remote way to collect this data, but it could potentially allow for a much

more comprehensive picture when distributed out to many farms and used over the

course of a few seasons. This would mean that project participants would have access

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to data from multiple farms and could discern trends in water quality and content as the

system builds up its database.

d. What are other possible solutions?

Currently there is nothing that quite matches what we propose, though many of the

needed project components are already in existence. The components we refer to are

the actual sensor hardware along with sensor documentation, as well as the

programming frameworks to collect, organize and analyze the data.

e. How does it differ from projects that solve the same problem?

The way in which our solution is different from the similar systems used in farms

currently is that we propose to share our data among all the stakeholders in water

conservation, open source our code so our methodologies can be modified and we want

to make these systems expand over large areas. Transparency, flexibility, scalability,

and affordability are not something currently found in current water data collection

systems. Sharing the data among all the people who use our system should also help

water management districts and farms pinpoint areas of waste and inefficiency, make

predictions for the future, and even perhaps motivate competition among farmers to use

water more efficiently.

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Methodology

a. Implementation plan

1. Required background

i. Agricultural understanding on soil and water conditions to optimize

crops. Research on current story with regard to water in Salinas.

Casandra

ii. Sensor options. This will require a research on the different sensors

available on market, their price and functions. There are other

projects on other universities that have work on similar projects,

contact to these will be necessary to come up with the best options

including budget information. Ricardo

iii. Application Platform, structure and design. This will require a layout

of application, functions will be determined, accessibility, platform,

database access. Nathan

2. Basic setup

i. Sensors network and programming. This investigation will be made

after the sensor selection is made. It will require a setup of the

sensor network and programming on data collection and

information storage on database. Ricardo & Casandra

ii. Database structure. Database structure plan will be developed

according to crop information needed. Nathan & Ricardo

iii. Design website portal for project that conveys necessary

information, and provides point of contact. Nathan, Ricardo,

Casandra

3. Refinement and testing

i. Data management and analysis. This step requires various data

points to be compared and recommendations made based on this

data. The data should also be presented in a format that a user

could easily understand. Nathan & Ricardo

ii. User feedback and testing. This should include field trials.

Casandra, Nathan, Ricardo

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1. Possible testing at Chinatown farm

2. Success determined by eliminating bugs users encounter,

user satisfaction with the overall system, and system

functionality under expected conditions.

b. Resources

1. Needed

i. Sensor hardware

ii. Sensor API documentation

iii. Networking hardware

iv. Access to hosting

2. Currently have

i. Laptop computer

ii. Smartphone

c. Expertise

1. Needed

i. Ability to manage numerous network devices that can be added at

runtime

ii. Knowledge of the programming interface for our sensor hardware

iii. Knowledge of best farming practices

iv. Knowledge of water conservation and regulation

2. Currently have

i. Experience working with a team

1. Done in CST300, CST438, CST337

ii. Mobile programming experience

1. Done in CST338

iii. Web programming experience

1. Done in CST336, CST438

iv. Software design experience

1. Done in CST338, CST438

v. Networking and security experience

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Changes in the project

This project started off as a project for the Salinas Valley Steinbeck Innovation Cluster.

Our POC was Anne Gibbon, who was the primary contact between our group and the

organization. During the first semester of our Capstone project there was a lot of effort

to communicate with the organization to come up with a project idea that could work for

their purpose and mission. There were a few meetings and activities with our POC but

nothing concise regarding a project that could benefit both parts. Unfortunately at the

beginning of the second semester our POC was no longer working for the Steinbeck

Foundation so we had to continue on and make it an independent project. With the

support of our advisors and the school this project became a CSUMB project. We put

together a budget for our advisors and the UROC center to approve, and a few weeks

later we had three sensors and a receiver to be able to start doing field testing. The

original ideas of the project remain intact. We deployed an array of sensors to collect

data on soil moisture, and then have that data be displayed on a site and mobile app.

The data would still be open source and available to anyone who wished to view it.

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Deliverables

● Recommendation for the array of sensors for data collection

● Design of communications systems between sensors and management software

● Prototype demonstration with real sensors transmitting data to a PC

● Software that collects and organizes data

● Software that manages data and provides analysis

○ Mobile

○ Web http://csumbhydroinfo.com/index.php

● User documentation

○ How to install nodes

○ How to use data management and analysis functions

○ Some method of accessing/modifying the code

Information on the local water story

http://csumbhydroinfo.com/index.php

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Budget

Cost

Item Rationale

Projected

Cost

Actual

Cost

Hardware - - -

Water Quality Sensors1

This hardware is the basis for

collecting the data needed for this

project. $1500 $1500

Desktop/laptop computer

Computers will be used not just for

development, but for testing. $600 $0

Smart phone

This is needed because we must be

able to test the mobile application

portions of our project. $600 $0

Software - - -

Water Quality Sensor

API

This is needed in order to interface

our sensor hardware with the other

applications. $0 $0

Java Integrated

Development

Environment

This is needed to write the main

application in the project. $0 $0

mySQL development kit

This is needed to store and

organize the data collected from the

sensors. $0 $0

Java Data Visualization

Library

This is needed to allow us to display

our data in a way that makes sense

to the layperson. $0 $0

Github code repository

This is needed to help with iterative

integration, and is also needed to

allow our methodologies to be open

to the public. $0 $0

Web hosting

This is needed to allow us a

platform to tell people about the

need and the applications for our

project. It's also another way for us

to share our data. $5/mo. $5/mo.

1 http://www.onsetcomp.com/products/data-loggers/u20-001-04

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Real Estate

Purchase/Rental

-

- -

Operational farm

This is needed to test and refine our

systems. $5000/mo. $0

Office Space

To be used to allow for meetings

with client, and as a space for

project participants to work on the

project. $4500/mo. $0

Labor - - -

Labor by networking

specialists

This expertise is needed because

the project involves deploying

numerous pieces of hardware that

must be able to remotely

communicate with the main

application. $60000/yr. $0

Labor by software

engineering specialist

This expertise is needed because

the project requires that large

amounts of data be organized and

interpreted (processed). $60000/yr. $0

Consultations from

farmers/field workers

Consultations with farmers are

needed to properly access their

needs and how our project might

meet those needs. $20/hr. $0

Consultations from water

quality specialist

Consultations with water quality

specialists are needed so we can

learn more about what data we

should be trying to collect with

regard to water besides just

moisture levels. $50/hr. $0

Software Quality

Assurance (Testing)

Independent testers are needed in

order to assure that our system is

properly tested. $20/hr. $0

TOTAL2: $42500 $1525

2 Calculated over the course of the CST400 program.

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Timeline

Updated 12/11/13

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Testing and Evaluation Plan

a. Functional testing

1. Subsystems that collect data organize data and analyze data should all be

subject to testing.

2. Address bug reports generated from usability testing.

3. Perform unit testing of code using library that automates that process.

4. Iterative testing will be used to make sure new components work.

5. Integration testing for making sure data is properly passed between the

different subsystems.

6. Make sure hardware gives output within expected ranges. (In other words,

pay attention to outlier data points.)

7. Try running systems in the field. (Make sure systems can work under

expected conditions.)

b. Usability testing

1. Test subjects will include people actually involved with farming, and

possibly students from Salinas’s schools.

2. Usability testing can begin as soon as first sensor system prototype is

developed. The research and providing information part of this project

need not be completed to proceed on usability testing.

3. Make sure user specifications are met.

4. Make sure common tasks can be performed without too much hesitation.

5. Run project on the various platforms on which it will be used.

6. Interview subjects about what they like/dislike about the system.

7. Ask subjects about features they would like to see added.

c. Evaluation plan

1. Schedule users to actually test the system.

2. User stories used to simulate user experience.

3. Measure time/clicks it takes user to perform common tasks.

4. Success determined if users and clients report satisfaction with system,

and the system is functional under expected conditions.

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d. Risk analysis

1. Problems with obtaining funding to purchase hardware

2. Problems finding hardware that performs to our exact specifications.

3. Changes may occur to a project dependency during the course of our

work.

4. Problems with securing a proper test location.

5. Problems with integrating the different portions of the project

6. Possible concerns about sharing data and code

7. Possibility of client pulling project support.

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Collaboration Statement

We had a lot of help when we started this project and throughout as well. First off we

had Anne Gibbon who played the role as our mentor and made many introductions

possible. She represented the Steinbeck Innovation Foundation in Salinas who are

tackling problems in the Salinas Valley, one being the drought. Through Anne we got to

do a design workshop at the Design School at Stanford University, where we met a

representative from the Salinas Public Works, Gary Peterson. He was very helpful in

informing us about the water issues the Salinas Valley was having. We also got to

speak to a representative at the Marina Coast Water District who gave us a tour of the

water district in Marina where we learned the process of purifying water and where our

water really comes from. Once the project took a turn and became more of an individual

project we had a lot of help from our advisors Dr. Sathya Narayanan and Dr.

YoungJoon Byun. A big part of the project was made possible thanks to the financial

support of our equipment by CSUMB through the UROC program. We would like to give

a big thank you to all the people who helped us through this experience including the

family Rodriguez for letting us use their land to test our sensors.

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Final Documentation

Even with the difficulties we faced at the beginning of the project, we were able to come

up with a way to complete our Capstone Project. The three sensors that were

purchased for the project were successfully networked and able to communicate with

the receiver. From the receiver the data collected was successfully able to be uploaded

to our database remotely. Our website and mobile application were able to display data

the data correctly. From the beginning the intent was for everything to be open source,

and we were able to make that happen. Anyone who would want access to the

information is able to register to the site we created and see the data that has been

collected. This yearlong project has been a great learning experience. All three of us

had different strengths and weaknesses but we were able to make it all work.

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Appendixes

a. Capstone Presentation

1. https://docs.google.com/a/csumb.edu/presentation/d/1-

RXax15vhuz6sxIclNBLt4uJKRMOPwTPAEkwifrVsd0/edit?usp=sharing

b. Memo of Understanding

1. [Memo of Understanding from client]

c. Resumes

1. Casi: https://sites.google.com/a/csumb.edu/casandramartinilp/resume

2. Nathan: http://nathanilp.weebly.com/resume.html

3. Ricardo: http://ricardocastaneda.webs.com/resume-cover-letter

d. ILP’s Websites

1. Casandra: https://sites.google.com/a/csumb.edu/casandramartinilp/

2. Nathan: http://nathanilp.weebly.com/

3. Ricardo: http://ricardocastaneda.webs.com/

https://docs.google.com/a/csumb.edu/presentation/d/1-RXax15vhuz6sxIclNBLt4uJKRMOPwTPAEkwifrVsd0/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/a/csumb.edu/presentation/d/1-RXax15vhuz6sxIclNBLt4uJKRMOPwTPAEkwifrVsd0/edit?usp=sharing

https://sites.google.com/a/csumb.edu/casandramartinilp/resume

http://nathanilp.weebly.com/resume.html

http://ricardocastaneda.webs.com/resume-cover-letter

https://sites.google.com/a/csumb.edu/casandramartinilp/

http://nathanilp.weebly.com/

http://ricardocastaneda.webs.com/

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