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Micro Sensors Make a Big Impact
Row crop growers, wine grape and other fruit growers, food processors and even concrete makers all rely on water sensors for accurate, steady, and numerous moisture readings. But current sensors are large, may cost thousands of dollars, and often must be read manually. Cornell University researchers have developed a state-of-the-art fingertip-sized silicon water sensor chip. This new technology is a hundred times more sensitive and considerably smaller than current devices. They hope to mass-produce the sensors for as little as $5 each.
Researchers are now completing soil tests and will soon test their design in plants—by embedding their “lab on a chip” in the stems of grape vines, for example. Once the chip is inserted into soil or a plant stem, the data can be transmitted wireless for analysis. The micro sensors can be left in place for multiple years, though they may break in freezing temperatures.