Success case

FarmBeats: Microsoft and Seeed’s AIoT Solution for Precision Agriculture and Technology Democratization for Local Farmers

In 2019, by partnering with Seeed Studio, Microsoft developed an AIoT solution for local farmers – “FarmBeats” Project. The Project has been designed to deliver Internet connectivity and to make precision farming to local farmers at affordable costs. More specifically, Seeed’s Sensor Box was developed and used for the Project to monitor various environmental conditions that affect the crop growth. As a result, agricultural productivity rate has been increased, while overall maintenance costs and human labor inputs have been minimized. FarmBeats Project has been recognized to help accelerate the UN’s SDGs 2, 9, 12, 5, 6, 7, 8, 4, 13, 17, 1 and 10.

Industry
Agriculture
Region
多国·农业应用
Application
Farm environmental monitoring and decision-making

Project background and needs

FarmBeats targets rural agriculture in the USA, Kenya, and Australia, using satellites, drones, ground sensors, and multiple communication methods to support farmers without reliable connectivity.

Rural infrastructure

  • Many rural areas lack reliable internet connectivity.
  • Precision agriculture solutions need to transmit data in these areas.

Needs to adapt to farming environments with limited connectivity.

Access to technology

  • Smallholder farmers lack access to advanced agricultural technology.
  • The project requires an affordable and easy-to-deploy solution.

Needs to lower the barrier to installation and use.

Solution and architecture

Environmental sensing

Seeed sensor modules collect farm data on soil, air, light, rainfall, and wind conditions.

Connectivity and analytics

The platform combines WiFi, LoRaWAN, satellite, and TV white space connectivity, processes data locally on the farm, and uses AI to provide planting recommendations.

Solution components

  • FarmBeats Kit

Results

30%
US orchard water use reduction

The Washington State apple-orchard case in the source.

25%
Kenya crop yield increase

The Kenyan smallholder-cooperative project in the source.

40%
Kenya pesticide use reduction

The Kenyan smallholder-cooperative project in the source.

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