A group of scientists, which included a researcher from the Perm Polytechnic University, has developed a software package that allows you to effectively manage the irrigation system for agricultural land. The project will help automate the process of watering plants, improving its quality, as well as save fresh water and irrigation costs. press service of the Perm Polytechnic University.
The development can be used for programming industrial controllers, this will allow creating a domestic irrigation system with a tree topology of irrigation systems.
The researchers published their results in the magazine Journal of Physics: Conference Series. The researchers developed the irrigation scheme on the example of the sanatorium "Rus" (Anapa, Krasnodar Territory).
- In the southern regions of Russia, there is a low level of precipitation, which is why it is necessary to irrigate the plants by artificial means. We proposed to create a modern automated irrigation system that will improve the physiological state of plants and save resources. Now water tankers are used for this, which are technically outdated. To develop a software solution, we presented a scheme of alleys with plants in a sanatorium in the form of a tree-like structural model. The water supply network control system will make it possible to distribute water along its main, distributing and supply branches, - says Professor of the Department of Information Technologies and Automated Systems of the Perm Polytechnic University, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor Sergey Kostarev.
The irrigation software solution diagram contains control signals, transition states, and output gates. The logical equations that scientists have created allow you to control the water supply system. They contain a blocking feedback control system. Each branch of the "tree" uses a logic circuit with switches. When a signal arrives, control via the blocking branch is also activated. Irrigation is turned off by applying a control signal to the main branches.
As the researchers note, the methods of automatic watering of plants have been studied since the middle of the last century, but the creation of digital devices for controlling tree-like irrigation systems is quite relevant.
Scientists conducted a simulation of the system, which showed that the water supply is controlled correctly. In the future, the development can be equipped with soil moisture sensors and means of optical observation of plants. This will fully automate the irrigation process, the researchers say.