View Source | March 18, 2019
A new article on ASU Now, "ASU students developing off-grid tech to help small farms build resilience to climate change," tells the story of how five Arizona State University computer science seniors found themselves tackling issues of climate change and sustainable food systems. As part of a capstone project called SolarSENSE, these students are using SolarSPELL off-grid technology to make agricultural sensors more affordable and accessible for small, rural farms around the world. SolarSPELL, Solar-Powered Educational Learning Libraries, is a project directed by Senior Sustainability Scientist Laura Hosman.
These sensors are important because they allow farmers to closely monitor soil conditions, which are growing more unpredictable as climate change becomes more of a challenge. Ultimately, the goal of SolarSENSE is to not only improve accessibility to agricultural sensors for smaller farms, but also to connect the farmers to an agricultural library of recommended actions they could take based on the readings. The SolarSENSE digital agricultural library has both actional videos for farmers and a wealth of plant, soil and climate change information. The library is also accessed directly off the SolarSPELL unit — no internet connection required.
The SolarSENSE project is sponsored by Bruce Baikie, a senior sustainability fellow in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability.