PhytoNode Upgraded : Energy-Efficient Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Using Phytosensing

Abstract

The urban population continues to grow despite health risks associated with densely populated cities, such as traffic congestion and air pollution. At the same time cities are also further heating up due to climate change. Environmental monitoring is increasingly critical to react quickly to temporarily increased concentrations of, for example, ozone and particulate matter. We introduce a significantly improved version of our PhytoNode, an energy-efficient sensor node designed for phytosensing, that is, using of plants as environmental sensors. We aim for a scalable and sustainable real-time monitoring solution following our vision of an “intelligent plant” as an inexpensive and accurate sensor node. We measure electrical potentials and leaf temperatures of plants to assess their well-being and, in turn, environmental conditions. The PhytoNode achieves long-term energy autonomy by harvesting energy via solar cells and shares data via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication. We process the gathered time series plant data onboard in real-time using methods of Machine Learning (ML) to analyze the plant’s activity and to detect dangerous concentrations of gases. In a few showcasing experiments, we demonstrate the feasibility of both our hardware and software approach for continuous, long-term environmental monitoring based on phytosensing. By embedding engineered devices in living plants as a “plant wearable” that listens to plant responses, we hope to help pushing towards smarter future cities and healthier urban environments.