An IOT Tool for Assessment of Soil Organic Carbon

Carbon is a crucial element essential for the life forms on Earth, deeply intertwined with the genetic structures of living organisms. It's also a key component of the organic carbon present in soil, which plays a significant role in the soil food web, the cycle of nutrients, and the activities of microbes, thereby supporting life. This organic soil carbon is also critical for retaining water and affecting global warming. However, measuring organic carbon levels directly in the field is a complex task. To overcome this challenge, this project aims to introduce an affordable, quick, and easy-to-use solution that incorporates a mobile app. By adopting the Walkley-Black method, an established lab test, this system provides automatic and precise field measurements of total organic carbon. This breakthrough reduces the reliance on heavy equipment, laboratories, and specialized personnel, making the process more efficient in terms of time and effort. Additionally, it includes features like cloud storage for data and support for collaboration with experts from central soil analysis facilities. This innovative technology offers a promising tool for assessing soil health, guiding land management decisions at the regional level, and helping devise plans to counteract global warming impacts. As the project requires an interdisciplinary approach, we welcome students from a wide range of fields including Computer Science, Electronics Engineering and Molecular Biology/Genetics and Bioengineering.