Indonesia’s potential as an agrarian country is aplenty. But on the other hand, there are barriers to the development of agriculture productivity, for example, rice productiviy is not yet optimal due to the existing traditional irrigation system that affects water distribution.During harvesting season, many farmers are trying to get the water distributed to their rice fields using any means possible, including from the rice fields of their neighbours.
This condition made UGM Vocational School students to design the Interion Smarture – “Integrated Distribution Water for Smart Agriculture” tool. The students are Khoerul Anam, Novrizal Dwi Rozaq, Riza Nurfaisal, Stefani Galuh, and Shalahudin Al Ayub.
“The tool is used as a solution to water distribution automatically based on micro-controllers with the IoT (Internet for Things) technology combination,”said Anam on Wednesday (1/6).
The tool works to open and close watergates using DC motors, equipped with additional sensors to know water levels and soil humidity of each rice field and water source. The Interion Smarture can also do controlling and monitoring remotely using mobile apps.
“The energy sources for the tool come from solar panels that are installed on the fields, thus not depending on energy policy,” he added.
Currently, the prototype of the Interion Smarture is being made. Hopefully, it can give solutions to water distribution problems.