Ultra-low-power gas sensor network for early detection of insect attacks on crops
An event-driven, battery-free gas sensor node that remains in sleep mode until triggered, enabling autonomous, self-sustaining sensor networks for remote farms. Validated in real sorghum fields, it detects crop damage from insects early to reduce pesticide use, lower farming costs, and increase yields through timely, localized treatment.
Overview
This solution is an ultra-low-power gas sensor network designed for the early detection of insect attacks on crops. The core innovation is a sensor node that normally remains in a completely power-off sleep state and only activates when it detects a target gas signature associated with plant damage. This event-driven approach eliminates continuous power draw, enabling a self-sustaining, autonomous sensor network that can operate in remote agricultural fields without power lines or frequent battery replacement.
By enabling continuous, real-time monitoring of localized crop damage, the technology helps farmers detect insect infestations early, apply timely and targeted treatments, reduce overall pesticide use, lower farming costs, and increase yields. The system has been validated in actual sorghum fields in Nebraska, where it successfully detected mechanical damage to plants and wirelessly transmitted alert signals.
Technical specifications
Key features:
- Event-driven, zero standby power: The sensor node consumes no power during sleep mode and wakes only when a relevant gas event is detected.
- Gas detection sensitivity: Successfully detected a marker gas at concentrations in the tens of parts per million released from sorghum plants under mechanical damage in real farm conditions.
- Long battery lifetime: Validated for an eight-month growing season on a single charge, covering an entire agricultural cycle.
- Broad environmental operating range: Fully operational across 0 to 90 percent relative humidity and temperatures from 20 to 176 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wireless alert transmission: Sends wireless alerts over distances of 150 to 400 meters, depending on field conditions and terrain.
- Multi-sensor integration: Capable of incorporating additional sensors, including soil moisture, ambient temperature, and humidity sensors, to support self-calibration and false-alarm reduction.
Technology readiness level
The technology has been validated at the individual sensor node level in real farm field conditions. A single node has demonstrated successful gas detection of crop damage, low-power operation sufficient for a full growing season, reliable wireless transmission, and operation across the expected environmental ranges. The next phase of development focuses on scaling the system to a functioning multi-node network, validating performance under actual insect-induced damage in the field or greenhouse, optimizing grid layout and sensor placement, developing self-calibration and false-alarm-detection algorithms, and conducting a techno-economic market analysis to assess commercial viability.
About University of Utah
The University of Utah is a comprehensive public research university in Salt Lake City, paired with the resources of a major academic medical center. Industry partners engage through an on-campus research and technology park that co-locates companies with faculty labs and shared core facilities. Clinical integration supports large-scale trials and translation, while proximity to Silicon Slopes expands access to regional innovation partners. Research is supported by competitive federal funding from NIH and NSF, with additional awards from DOE and the Department of Defense. A dedicated technology commercialization office manages IP, licensing, startup formation, and corporate engagement, with incubator space in the research park.
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