Architecture of Distributed Sensor System for Automated Greenhouse Complex

Abstract

This paper deals with the problem of automating a distributed sensor system in a greenhouse complex. When solving this problem, attention should be paid to a number of factors: stability of the entire system under different conditions, ease of deployment, energy efficiency, cost, scalability, monitoring the state of the system, etc. To solve the problem under consideration, a configurable decentralized system was implemented with a heterogeneous network of star topology. In the proposed architecture, the network consists of three layers. The connection between the first and the second level is organized using Wi-Fi technology, and between the second and third levels—using LoRa technology, with an add-on developed for it that minimizes the amount of transmitted data and organizes the reliability of data transmission. For scalability and simplification of the system installation, a system for configuring nodes was developed, and for the convenience of organizing data storage and replacing faulty modules, unique identifiers assigned by the server are used. According to the proposed solution, a prototype of the system was implemented used to analyze its capabilities. During operation, it showed that the system complies with the requirements put forward for it, and showed the following transmitter settings, which should be paid attention to in case of a large scale up of the system in a confined space: radio frequency, spreading factor, and bandwidth modulation.