The SHF web portal is intended to store all of the information on intervention methods, farmers involved, and training and education methods in one central site and also keep track of on-going interventions as the number of smallholder farmers involved increases. University researchers and field investigators can keep track of farmers, via their individual profiles, […]
Category: IT in Ag
Wireless In-The-Bag Sensors
The In-The-Bag (ITB) Sensors will continuously collect temperature and humidity readings from inside individual grain bags undergoing storage. They were designed (in consultation with Prof Paulsen) for university testing and monitoring of SHF grain on remote farms during interventions. They communicate wirelessly through Bluetooth technology, which does not require internet access (usually not available in […]
Sensor Data Collection Hub
The Data Collection Hub receives the temperature and humidity data from multiple ITB Sensors in grain bags nearby (e.g., kept locally in a farmer home or university lab). Upon receiving an update from the ITB Sensors, the hub will analyze the data to determine any out-of-range parameters to verify the condition of the grain and […]
Field Investigator Grain Meter App
The Grain Meter App has three primary functions; the first function is to allow university researchers and field investigators to use their smartphones to set up the sensor systems by wirelessly communicating with the data collection hub to set parameters such as the number of sensors, the farmers cellphone number, etc., the second function allows […]
Computer Vision Methods to Determine Visual Qualities from Images of Grain
This project involves an investigation into the use of computer vision techniques to automatically determine quality factors based on visual properties found in images of grain samples. The end result would be software to analyze and classify photos of grain taken by a farmer, field investigator or trader to provide consistent and objective quality evaluations […]
Grain Quality Measurement Kit for Standardizing Grain Quality Procedures
The Grain Quality Measurement (GMQ) Kit is being designed to provide uniform testing of grain quality between smallholder farmers and traders. The GMQ Kit will contain several pieces of portable test equipment and a simple display and interface to the guide the user through the testing. The kit also contains record keeping electronics to automatically […]
Solar Charging System for Powering the Sensor Data Collection Hub
This project set out to design a solar powered charging station which will continually power the existing data collection hub when a power source is unavailable. The system is intended to continuously power the data hub even through conditions of periodic days with reduced sunshine. In addition, a port for allowing SHFs to charge their […]