Odysseys of agriculture sensors: Current challenges and forthcoming prospects

Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed unprecedented development in the field of biomedical and chemical science due to an economical, precise, and sensitive microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. Nevertheless, very few reports have highlighted the importance of MEMS-based sensors in the field of agriculture science and technology. Precision agriculture (PA) is a management strategy that employs advanced sensors marriage with information technology to improve productivity and quality of modern agriculture. This review unfolds the journey the conventional sensors have taken to come to the contemporary MEMS-based sensors. This review explains the fundamental principle of various sensors, presents outlines with a comparative study of sensors engaged in the field of agriculture. We have also elaborated on the importance of microcontroller addition in MEMS sensors to improve their sensitivity and productivity. Besides highlighting the pros and cons of the sensors, this review also brings a crisp discussion on the very recent sensors engaged to benefit agriculture and also takes into account the developmental aspects for commercialization.