A portable soil monitor was the final-year project for emerging designer Ryan Waterhouse who attended Bournemouth University. The small yellow device, which falls under the category of smart farming devices, is called Terra Nova. Its main function is to gauge the health of topsoil—which is where about 90 percent of our food is grown—by measuring the levels of moisture, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.
The portable soil monitor includes three retractable probes that go into the soil to perform the analysis. The data can later be read either through the small LCD screen that the device has or through a web application. The latter option has "additional functionality" such as recommendations for the care of particular crops, and more.
Image Credit: Dezeen
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Smart Farming Devices
- The emergence of portable soil monitors like Terra Nova presents an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the field of smart farming devices.
- Soil Health Monitoring
- The increasing popularity of portable soil monitors suggests that there is a growing trend towards soil health monitoring in agriculture and farming.
- Data-driven Agriculture
- The ability of the Terra Nova to collect and analyze data from the soil is an example of the trend towards data-driven agriculture.
Where This Applies
- Agriculture
- The Terra Nova has significant potential to disrupt the agriculture industry by improving the efficiency and productivity of farming practices.
- Environmental Monitoring
- The use of portable soil monitors like Terra Nova can revolutionize environmental monitoring by providing real-time data on environmental conditions.
- Technology
- As the field of smart farming devices continues to grow, the technology industry has an opportunity to develop new products and services to support this trend.
