RF propagation experiments in agricultural fields and gardens for wireless sensor communications

Abstract

This work presents results for the path loss due to foliage at 2.4 GHz using RF equipment and XBee-Pro ZB S2B transceiver modules in Agricultural fields (Corn, Paddy and Groundnut) and Gardens (Coconut garden with green grass, open lawn with dry green grass and wet green grass) targeting short-range, near ground RF propagation measurements for planning and deployment of Wireless Sensor Communications for precise agriculture and plantation management applications. Path Loss (PL), Path Loss Exponent (PLE) and corresponding Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values were deduced from the measured RSS from various positions in these environments. Empirical foliage loss prediction models such as COST 235, Early ITU Vegetation and Weissberger models were compared with the experimental results.