Open field areas are often not served by the electricity grid, so the problem of monitoring the perimeter of open field areas that are not permanently manned has long been felt. In addition, it is desirable to be able to extend WiFi coverage over the monitored area.
| Patent title | MODULAR VEGETATED AREA MONITORING AND REMOTE ACCESS DETECTION SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY SUITABLE FOR OPEN FIELD AREAS |
|---|---|
| Thematic area | Bioeconomy, Agriculture and Environment |
| Ownership | ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA |
| Inventors | Marco Antonio Salvatore Arru, Andrea Verdecchia, Giuliano Vitali, Eugenio Magnanini, Cristiano Fragassa |
| Protection | Italy, with possibility to extend internationally |
| Licensing status | Available for development agreements, option, license and other exploitation agreements |
| Keywords | Precision Agriculture, security system, outdoor network coverage, field sensors, cameras |
| Filed on | 21 April 2023 |
A number of solutions for monitoring open spaces, including agricultural areas, are already known. However, to date no low-power sensor systems have been made known that are activated at the moment and operate a telecommunications system, with a plurality of sensors, arranged over the territory and able to activate simultaneously following a single access. Nor are systems known that consist of a plurality of sensor stations that only activate when necessary, so that their consumption is limited to the point where they can be powered by photovoltaic panels, without connection to the electricity grid.
The invention relates to a modular vegetated area monitoring and access detection system comprising a plurality of “nodes” and at least one “bridge”. The nodes comprise a photovoltaic panel, which via a first low-power circuit, powers at least one presence detector. This, in turn, activates a second circuit that activates radio transmission means that activate the remaining nodes, which form a mesh network to acquire images in the field and transfer them to the bridge that transmits them outside.
The present invention is applied in the perimeter monitoring of open field areas, specifically vegetated areas.
The advantages are as follows:
- providing the open field with an electrical network
- autonomous and energy-independent operation
- modular system consisting of a plurality of elements capable of forming a network and working in unison, but controllable individually