WaDAR

WaDAR (Water Radar) is an innovative, low-cost, hybrid approach to soil moisture sensing that combines the benefits of in-ground (in situ) and remote sensing technologies. Traditional soil moisture measurement methods suffer from drawbacks: in situ sensors are expensive and difficult to maintain, while remote sensing offers lower accuracy and resolution. WaDAR bridges this gap by using inexpensive underground backscatter tags paired with above-ground radars, enabling completely wireless, high-resolution soil moisture monitoring.

Key Features of WaDAR

• Uses RF backscatter tags buried underground to provide high-accuracy soil moisture readings.
• Uses ultra-wideband radar for above-ground sensing.
• Offers an average error of just 1.4%, comparable to state-of-the-art commercial sensors.
• Reduces deployment costs significantly, making it accessible for widespread agricultural use.
• Supports real-time, scalable, and maintenance-free soil moisture monitoring for farmers.

Improving and Optimizing Data Processing Pipeline for More Accurate Soil Moisture Measurements

• Topics: Digital Signal Processing Machine Learning
• Skills: C/embedded, signal processing, machine learning, MATLAB (optional)
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Size: Medium (175 hours)
• Mentors: Colleen Josephson, Eric Vetha

Enhance the accuracy of soil moisture measurements by refining the data processing pipeline.

Tasks:

• Develop and test algorithms for noise reduction and signal improvement.
• Implement advanced filtering and statistical techniques to improve measurement precision.
• Validate improvements using real-world field data.
• Translate algorithms into embedded to be implemented in real-time embedded hardware.

Improving Backscatter Tag PCB

• Topics: Hardware Design Signal Processing
• Skills: PCB design, RF knowledge
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Size: Medium (175 hours)
• Mentors: Colleen Josephson, Eric Vetha

Enhance the performance of WaDAR’s backscatter tags by optimizing PCB design for improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and implementing a communication protocol for tag identification.

Tasks:

• Redesign PCB for improved readings.
• Implement and test a communication protocol to distinguish between multiple tags.
• Evaluate hardware changes in real-world field conditions.
• Optimize power consumption and scalability for practical deployment.