Wireless sensors for agricultural modules

Abstract

One variation of a method for deploying sensors within an agricultural facility includes: accessing scan data of a set of modules deployed within the agricultural facility; extracting characteristics of plants occupying the set of modules from the scan data; selecting a first subset of target modules from the set of modules, each target module in the set of target modules containing a group of plants exhibiting characteristics representative of plants occupying modules neighboring the target module; for each target module, scheduling a robotic manipulator within the agricultural facility to remove a particular plant from a particular plant slot in the target module and load the particular plant slot with a sensor pod from a population of sensor pods deployed in the agricultural facility; and monitoring environmental conditions at target modules in the first subset of target modules based on sensor data recorded by the first population of sensor pods.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sensor device comprising:
 a base configured to be received within a receptacle of an agricultural module that retains a plurality of plants;   an upper mast extending from the base to a top distal end that includes one or more ambient sensors; and   a lower mast extending from the base to a bottom distal end that includes one or more aqueous sensors.   
     
     
         2 . The sensor device of  claim 1  wherein the one or more ambient sensors include a light level sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The sensor device of  claim 1  wherein the one or more aqueous sensors include at least one of a water temperature, a water level, a dissolved oxygen, a pH or a nutrient level sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The sensor device of  claim 1  wherein the upper mast has an adjustable length to change a distance between the one or more ambient sensors and the base. 
     
     
         5 . The sensor device of  claim 1  wherein the lower mast has an adjustable length to change a distance between the one or more aqueous sensors and the base. 
     
     
         6 . The sensor device of  claim 1  further comprising a rechargeable battery and a wireless communications module arranged to receive power from the rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         7 . The sensor device of  claim 6  further comprising a solar cell arranged to recharge the rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         8 . The sensor device of  claim 6  further comprising a processor arranged to receive data from the one or more ambient sensors and transmit the data to a remote computing device via the wireless communications module. 
     
     
         9 . The sensor device of  claim 1  further comprising an insect trap arranged to retain one or more insects. 
     
     
         10 . The sensor device of  claim 9  further comprising an insect sensor arranged to detect the one or more retained insects. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus comprising:
 a base arranged to be received within an agricultural module, wherein the agricultural module is arranged to support a plurality of plants above an aqueous solution;   an upper mast extending from the base to a top distal end that includes one or more ambient sensors; and   a lower mast extending from the base to a bottom distal end and including one or more aqueous sensors.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the one or more ambient sensors include a light level sensor. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the one or more aqueous sensors include at least one of a water temperature, a water level, a dissolved oxygen, a pH or a nutrient level sensor. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the upper mast has an adjustable length to change a distance between the one or more ambient sensors and the base. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the lower mast has an adjustable length to change a distance between the one or more aqueous sensors and the base. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11  further comprising a rechargeable battery and a wireless communications module arranged to receive power from the rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16  further comprising a solar cell arranged to recharge the rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16  further comprising a processor arranged to receive data from the one or more ambient sensors and transmit the data to a remote computing device via the wireless communications module. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 11  further comprising an insect trap arranged to retain one or more insects. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19  further comprising an insect sensor arranged to detect the one or more retained insects.