The WISE-4671 offers an ideal solution for remote control of irrigation operations on large-scale agricultural properties, overcoming the barrier of distance and helping save money and time.
Background
A canal operator required a better solution for gravity-fed irrigation via canals on a number of farms, the largest covering more than 100,000 hectares. Personnel needed to travel up to 300km each day to check the canals and make manual adjustments to the drop board structures, penstocks, regulators and offtakes based on farmers’ requirements. Such extensive travel led to significant costs and time expenditure for the canal operator, and the system lacked sufficient speed and flexibility. There was also the issue of access roads—most of them unpaved—becoming inaccessible in wet weather.
Customer requirements
The customer was looking for a solution that would allow the irrigation system to wirelessly report data from sensors back to a SCADA system at regular intervals. The sensors would have to be powered by a rechargeable battery inside the gateway. The canal gates would need to constantly control the flow rates through the farm outlets, while also enabling remote control. This would reduce the costs associated with travel, accelerate response times, increase flexibility and solve the issue of inaccessibility during inclement weather.
The solution
Advantech created a solution based on narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) technology. It includes:
- WISE-4671-NA: Industrial NB-IoT/LTE-M Module
- WISE-S617: 2AI/2DI/1DO/1RS-485 w/ 2ch 12V DC power output
Each of the gates and pool level sensors in the canals are connected to WISE-4671 combined with WISE-S617-A. The Advanced NB-IoT/LTE-M IoT Wireless Modular I/O links the entire network of sites to the internet through a fast and secure wireless connection. Approximately 100 WISE-4671 nodes have been installed at each site, which are primarily used for monitoring the upstream and downstream sensors, calculating flow rates and controlling gates, and alerting personnel to any abnormalities via the SCADA system.
Having each device connected to the internet meant that the canal operator is able to receive assistance on-demand from remote engineers. This ensures that personnel are able to operate and fully maintain the systems with little need for external resources. The operator can also remotely set the gates to a certain level based on farmers’ requirements. For example, the gates could be told to maintain a constant flow rate or water level at upstream or downstream locations. Alternatively, the water flow could be optimised as necessary if the farmers’ demands changed.
The primary advantages of the NB-IoT standard are:
- Low power usage, which means each device can be powered for long durations by an internal battery.
- Wide coverage and high penetration, allowing each device to transmit over long distances.
- Cost-effective – the costs for each station are covered by the telecommunications company.
Advantech’s WISE-4671 Advanced NB-IoT/LTE-M Wireless Modular I/O device is a perfect fit for this system. It is ideal for outdoor applications because it can be powered by a solar rechargeable battery, it features strong IP65 resistance against moisture and dust, and it can offer GPS support. It has multiple I/O options (eg. AI, DI, DO, PO and RS-485) to offer maximum flexibility and compatibility with other devices. The WISE-4671 series can directly provide power to the attached sensors, and its wireless nature means there is no need to dig trenches or install cables, saving time, effort and expenditure.
Conclusion
This project is a classic example of how modern hardware, software and
technology can be combined to serve the customer, a canal operator, as
well as the end users, the farmers. Thanks to Advantech’s WISE-4671 combined with WISE-S617-A wireless modular I/O device it is no longer necessary to travel to the canals to make adjustments manually, and poor weather conditions no longer cause delays. The robustness of the devices, their wireless transmission capabilities, and their rechargeable internal battery nakes them ideal for outdoor applications.
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Article Courtesy of Advantech.
