Assessing the applicability of low-cost soil moisture sensors

Knowledge about soil moisture is required for many environmental applications. Recent advances in low-cost sensor technologies allow scientists and laymen to capture data about soil moisture levels in a cost-effective manner. In this paper, the performance of five low-cost soil moisture sensors was evaluated for accuracy, reproducibility, and practicability. A standard calibration was performed in the laboratory. The results show that the Truebner SMT100 sensor has a relatively high level of performance (R2=0.98, RMSE=1.39), which is consistent with the reference instrument. The paper concludes that the tested sensors are applicable for measurement in different applications, depending on their merits.

Author(s): Abdulla Alshahri                                      

Abstract | PDF

Share This Article