Invention Coach:
Robert Read
Public Inventor(s):
Bene Skirde, Lawrence Kincheloe
Motivation:
This paper is a summary of our attempt to sense plant health using a NanoVNA to measure impedance. It was written by Bene Skirde under the supervision of Robert L. Read with help from Lawrence Kincheloe.
Story:
The goal of this project was to design a method that allowed a scientist or hobbyist to measure relative moisture content of a plant with low-cost materials. Moisture content is an important factor in terms of plant health, and the amount of research attempting to quantify plant health using non-invasive methods is growing quickly. Many studies and research papers have suggested that resistance and capacitance of wood/plant materials decrease with increased moisture, which in turn led us to base our approach on measuring relative impedance of a plant and relating it to its moisture content. Measurements were recorded using a NanoVNA, an open source device that can be found online for much cheaper than a traditional vector network analyzer.
Status:
Skills Needed
Experience with vector network analyzers, electrical engineering, and basic knowledge of botany
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