Deployment of a LoRa-based Network and Web Monitoring Application for a Smart Farm

The integration of Industry 4.0 technologies in agriculture will reduce the increasing challenges of agricultural process around the globe. The real-time farm management with high degree of automation will greatly improve productivity, agri-food supply chain efficiency and food safety. This paper describes a fully customized LoRa-based IoT system that aims for a low-cost, low power and wide range wireless sensor network targeted for smart farms. The presented system integrates already existing Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) typically used to control multiple processes and devices such as water pumps, certain machinery, etc. along with a newly developed network of wireless LoRA sensors distributed over the farm. A Telegram bot is also included as novelty for automated user communication via this mobile phone messaging application. The network structure was deployed and tested. The developed integrated system also includes a cloud-based monitoring application to provide remote visualization and control for all the farming environment.