Saturas Ltd, Israeli startup and the developer of a breakthrough stem-water measurement system for smart farming, has announced that the IoT specialist Kerlink will provide Saturas with LoRa-based sensors for automated irrigation control system
Kerlink will supply Saturas’s deployments with hardware and software such as its solar-powered WirnetTM iStation, WanesyTM Management Center, a robust solution for managing private IoT networks, and WanesyTM Network-as-a-Service, a turnkey comprehensive offer combining key infrastructure, operations, security, and professional services.
Saturas raised about US$9mn, including a prestigious US$1.65mn H2020 grant from the European Commission in 2019, to support its miniature, tree-embedded sensor system that continuously measures stem water potential (SWP) of trees and vines. SWP is recognised as the most reliable measurement of water stress and an important practical tool for irrigation management.
Saturas is the first company to develop a system for measuring SWP automatically, replacing the cumbersome manual devices that fruit-tree and vineyard growers have used for decades. Using Kerlink stations, the company’s LoRaTM sensors transmit processed data to central, automated irrigation-control systems, tailoring irrigation to crops’ real-time needs.
“Precision agriculture, led by precision irrigation, is a vital and rapidly growing global business sector with an estimated annual growth rate of over 20 per cent,” said Anat Halgoa Solomon, Saturas co-founder and CEO.
“Smart farming, or ag-tech, is one of the IOT’s most important vertical markets but it needs the breakthrough innovations that companies like Saturas are bringing to fields and orchards to deliver on its promise,” said Romain Weryk, Kerlink key account manager.