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A New Drone-borne Ground-Penetrating Radar for Automated Root-Zone Soil Moisture and Electrical Conductivity Mapping

The gprSense project aims to significantly advance precision agriculture by developing and deploying a cutting-edge drone-borne ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system for high-resolution, real-time mapping of root-zone soil moisture and electrical conductivity. The key objectives are:

  1. Commercial-Ready gprSense System: Finalize the development of the gprSense system to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9, making it a fully commercial-ready product for precision agriculture. This includes refining hardware for enhanced durability in field environments and improving the software for a seamless user experience.
  2. Low-Frequency Radar Development: Design and integrate a new, lightweight, very low-frequency radar antenna optimized for drone applications. This will enhance the system’s capability to map root-zone electrical conductivity in addition to moisture.
  3. Field Testing and Validation: Conduct field tests in collaboration with Osiris Agriculture (France), the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (Belgium), and UCLouvain (Belgium), as well as farmers, to validate the system across various soil types, crop conditions, and user profiles. This ensures the adaptability and effectiveness of gprSense in diverse agricultural environments.
  4. Knowledge Transfer and Commercialization: Develop user-friendly manuals, training materials, and a dedicated website to support the commercialization and widespread adoption of gprSense. These efforts will make the technology accessible to both researchers and farmers.

Responsible organisation

Challenges and how they will be addressed

The gprSense project faces several technical and operational challenges, each of which will be systematically addressed through targeted design, testing, and refinement processes:

  1. IP65 Enclosure with 3D Printing: To ensure the durability and field-readiness of the gprSense system, we will develop an IP65-rated enclosure using advanced 3D printing techniques. Different printing materials and settings will be tested to achieve optimal durability and weather resistance.
  2. Radar Calibration Stability: Maintaining the radar’s calibration stability is crucial for ensuring accurate soil measurements over time. The project will focus on enhancing both hardware and software calibration mechanisms to guarantee long-term stability and reliable data acquisition, even under changing field conditions.
  3. Low-Frequency Antenna for Drone: Designing and integrating a lightweight, low-frequency radar antenna (approximately 5 meters long) poses challenges related to weight, aerodynamics, and signal quality. To address this, the antenna will be optimized for drone deployment by focusing on weight reduction, structural integrity, and efficient signal processing.
  4. Ergonomic and Robust Software: For gprSense to be accessible to both farmers and researchers, the software must be user-friendly and robust. We will prioritize ergonomic interface design, focusing on ease of use, error handling, and intuitive controls. Rigorous testing will ensure that the software performs effectively in real-world conditions.
  5. Measurements in Real Conditions: Field measurements introduce variables such as environmental conditions and diverse user profiles. We will conduct extensive field testing with agricultural partners in France and Belgium to validate the gprSense system’s performance. This will ensure that the system delivers accurate, real-time data in a variety of agricultural and environmental settings.

By addressing these technical challenges, the gprSense project aims to deliver a reliable, high-performance product that meets the demands of precision agriculture.

Tech components and data

The gprSense system integrates advanced technologies to provide real-time, high-resolution mapping of root-zone soil properties, offering precision and scalability for agricultural applications:

  1. Full-Wave Radar Model: Leveraging the advanced full-wave radar equation and inversion developed by Lambot et al. (2004), the system delivers unprecedented accuracy in retrieving subsurface electric properties. This allows for fully automated, real-time radar data processing.
  2. Lightweight Vector Network Analyzer: The gprSense system uses a lightweight and versatile vector network analyzer, capable of operating across a wide range of frequencies. This flexibility enables the system to be customized for multiple applications, including soil moisture and electrical conductivity mapping.
  3. Integrated High-Precision GPS and LiDAR: The system incorporates high-precision GPS for real-time positioning and a LiDAR system to enhance drone-radar calibration, ensuring accurate georeferencing and reliable data collection.
  4. Web-Based Software Interface: gprSense offers a fully web-based software platform, accessible via any smartphone, tablet, or computer. The browser-based interface eliminates the need for software installation, enabling seamless data acquisition and real-time processing.

Expected outcomes

AI computer vision algorithms to automatically analyse the vineyard 3D point cloud and get biometric parameters with an error up to 10% with respect to manual measures;

1

Advanced Technology for Scientists and Farmers: The gprSense system bridges advanced geophysical research with practical applications, providing a tool that offers high-resolution soil property mapping. In addition to supporting precision agriculture, the system can also enhance satellite remote sensing by offering high-resolution ground-truth data that bridges the gap between soil sampling and satellite observations.

2

Irrigation Efficiency: By delivering precise data on root-zone soil moisture variability, gprSense enables farmers to optimize irrigation practices, potentially reducing water usage by up to 30 %. This will contribute to more sustainable and efficient water use in agriculture.

3

Increased Productivity: With real-time, accurate data on soil conditions, gprSense will empower farmers to make data-driven decisions, leading to better crop management, increased yields, and overall improved productivity.

4

Soil Health and Carbon Stock Assessments: The ability to map both soil moisture and electrical conductivity makes gprSense an invaluable tool for comprehensive soil health assessments. It also supports environmental monitoring, such as assessing carbon stocks in moisture-sensitive ecosystems like peatlands, where moisture plays a crucial role in carbon dynamics.

Sensar Consulting is a Belgium-based small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) specializing in high-resolution subsurface imaging using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI). For over 12 years, the company has applied its expertise across diverse sectors, including archaeology, agriculture, and civil engineering.

Founded by Dr. Sébastien Lambot, a leading expert with 24 years of experience in GPR research and development at the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain, Belgium), Sensar Consulting bridges the gap between cutting-edge geophysical research and practical applications. The company has since evolved to manufacture gprSense, an innovative GPR system and software designed for digital soil mapping and precision agriculture.

Through long-standing collaborations with academic institutions, agricultural centers, and industry partners, Sensar Consulting drives innovative, sustainable solutions. The company has been actively involved in EU-funded projects such as agROBOfood and the ongoing ICAERUS initiative, advancing gprSense to support digital agriculture and resource management.

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      Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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