Agriculture 4.0, with no electricity or internet

Climate change and the decreasing availability of such precious resources as soil and water, require a radically different approach in agriculture than in the past. Whether in open fields or covered facilities, in horticulture or other crops (including the cultivation of flowers), the increasingly complex weather management is now being helped by agriculture 4.0, which, through precise interventions during the cultivation phase, allows to optimize the necessary amount of energy.

Salvatore Novello (Novello & C Srl) and Luca Occhipinti (Lualtek Srl), show the Lualtek thermo hygrometer

We talked about it with Luca Occhipinti of Lualtek, a startupper that supports farms with a system that can be integrated anywhere, even in the absence of electricity and internet connection.

“Our system is based on its use of machine learning,” said the startupper, “and works through LoRaWAN, a wireless radio technology for monitoring and communicating data over long distances and with low energy consumption. The system makes it possible to monitor the values of the environment and substrate, to automate any device. Some examples? We are talking about antifreeze systems, irrigation, opening and closing fillers. These are all features used to manage the climate in the greenhouse. What’s special about our technology is that it works without connection to the Internet or the power grid.”

Lualtek anemometer and anemoscope

To have a direct look at Lualtek’s integrated systems, we went with Luca Occhipinti to Mazzarrone (CT), to Salvatore Novello’s table grape production company. The latter has been using sensor technology to monitor the cultivation parameters of his prized table grapes grown in greenhouses for some time now. The Novello & C Srl company, with 30 years of experience in marketing as well, has always been attentive to safeguarding the environment and the land.

Lualtek foliar wetting sensor

With regard to Lualtek technology,” Novello explained, “our company uses, among others, motor management systems with two actuators. We have decided to focus on technological innovation and energy savings, a hot topic today given the exorbitant price increases in recent months and the not-so-rosy outlook for the future. We can safely manage our greenhouses remotely, raising or lowering the side curtains, and controlling the climate inside them. These are values such as temperature inside and outside the greenhouse, humidity, wind intensity and direction.”

“This way,” continued the Sicilian producer, “we are able to optimize the production, reducing the consumption of water, energy and fertilizer. After the first year of use, we have recorded lower electricity and water consumption, as well as appreciable extra production. Thanks to Lualtek, we have been able to streamline the manpower required to open and close the greenhouses; we have also reduced resources for agronomic monitoring, relying solely on accurate, scientific data, not based on human evaluation.

“A greenhouse with sensors for monitoring and automation is not new,” concluded Novelloy. “It’s the technological approach that is new here, with a system that works without electricity or the Internet. All programming can be done through a mobile phone, a PC or any device, from the comfort of your office or home at the end of the day.”

For more information:
Lualtek srl
+39 3760494945
info@lualtek.io
www.lualtek.io