AQUALAR's Technology
A small tip is heated by a heating resistor to approx. 1°C for a few seconds. After the heating phase is complete, the cooling curve is recorded electronically with high precision. The time until a defined threshold value is reached is then measured. When the tip is immersed in water, it cools down quickly due to heat dissipation, while it cools down slowly in the air.
If this tip were placed directly in the ground, the contact surface with the soil would not be defined. This would result in a high degree of variation in the measured values. For this reason, the tip is surrounded by a felt sleeve.
This hydrophilic felt sleeve completely encloses the tip and absorbs the freely available water from the surrounding soil. The actual sensor therefore does not sense the soil, but only the water-filled felt.
Due to the fact that felt retains its properties for several years and also has very low thermal conductivity compared to water, the sensor measures practically only the water present in the felt.
Ask the Plant
The sensors of the AQUALAR system continuously measure the immediate water needs of the plants, i.e. they measure at reference points how much water the cultivated plants extract from the soil. The measurement process works throughout all plant growth phases, in virtually all soil conditions (including substrate soils) and takes into account the current weather situation. The irrigation process is continuously optimised using self-learning algorithms.
Leading Sensor Technology
AQUALAR's irrigation solution is based on water demand sensors that use a unique micro-thermal measurement process. This revolutionary technology has been developed in Switzerland. To date, well over 300,000 sensors are in use, measuring the water requirements of a wide variety of crops in a wide variety of soils. The sensors are exposed to a wide range of stresses and influences.
The Right Amount of Water at the Right Time
AQUALAR irrigation systems not only measure water requirements but also automate irrigation systems. The necessary valves, pumps and system equipment are controlled. The use of fertilisers and pesticides is also automatically coordinated with irrigation. AQUALAR can be used for different types of irrigation systems such as sprinklers, subsurface, surface and drip irrigation.
Data as the Foundation
for Success
The continuous sensor data is logged and analysed in various contexts or stored in databases for further analysis. The recorded sensor data can be directly processed with measurement data from other sources and used to determine aggregated key figures. This data can also be used for more comprehensive business analysis via interfaces to third party applications.
