Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
of wires based on their priority for data communication at a high data transfer rate
(up to 1 Mbps) and high reliability (error rate of less than one in 21 billion messages).
Computer networks, a system for interactive data communication between com-
puters and other devices, play an important role in AIS. There are many types of
computer networks, and the two most common ones are LAN (Local Area Network)
and WAN (Wide Area Network). A LAN is a network using either wires (such as
Ethernet cables) or wireless (such as Wi-Fi) to connect computers and other devices
within a relatively small area. A WAN is often composed of many LANs scattered
over a large area. A networking device called a router is needed to connect these
LANs in creating a WAN. The Internet is an example of a WAN. Both LAN and
WAN play important roles in AIS. For example, a Machine-Area Network (MAN)
system has been developed for integrating data management and communication
on mobile machinery to support effective implementation of mechanized precision
farming operations (Zhang, 2007b). Such a MAN system was designed to act like
an invisible virtual information manager to assist the human operator to: (1) gather
production data during field operations, (2) clarify the obtained data in terms of the
relevancy to the operation, and (3) deliver the processed data to either human or
electronic users for supporting effective precision field operations. Another example
is the wireless sensor networks (WSNs) recently emerging as a promising technology
for connecting the physical and computational world in monitoring environmental
phenomena in fields. Many successful applications of WSN have been reported, and
Chapter 13 in this topic will provide a detailed introduction.
The adoption of network technology in agriculture unavoidably requires using
wireless data communication technologies, both point-to-point (P2P) and point-
to-multipoint (P2M) communications, in AIS. P2P supports data communication
between two devices, such as between a sensor and the computer, and could be real-
ized using radio frequencies and Bluetooth technologies. Radio frequency technol-
ogy often uses a radio transceiver to send and receive data. Wireless meteorological
stations (Matese et al., 2009) and RFID tags for field information collection (Wang
et al., 2010) are a couple of examples of P2P technology used in agriculture. Another
commonly used wireless data communication technology is Bluetooth, which uses
a low-cost transceiver chip/microchip to wirelessly connect many types of digital
devices approximately 10 m apart, and can achieve a data communication rate up to
54 Mbps. Bluetooth technology can be used in P2M communication, a form in which
one device is transmitting a signal and multiple devices receive it. Wi-Fi and ZigBee
are two commonly used P2M data communication technologies, and have many suc-
cessful applications in agriculture, such as livestock barn environment monitoring
(Lee and Yoe, 2011) and greenhouse monitoring and control (Zhang et al., 2007).
3.4
DATA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
3.4.1 O
VERVIEW
Data management software is the core of AIS, as it is designed to extract actionable
data from collectable data “on-the-go.” Collecting data from multiple sources is the
first function in data management. After data are collected, another critical issue
