Skip to content

Ramgarh Farm Sensor Node Platform

Welcome to the engineering documentation for the Ramgarh Farm Sensor Node — a solar-powered, ESP32-based crop monitoring system designed for deployment in Rajasthan, India.

Quick Navigation

Section Description
Overview System design and architecture overview
Quick Start Production recommendation and key numbers
System Architecture Block diagrams, voltage domains, GPIO mapping
Power Model Energy budget, duty cycles, assumptions
Results Summary Simulation results and graph analysis
Design Decisions Component rationale and tradeoffs
Risk Scenarios Failure modes and degraded operation
Deployment Guide Breadboard validation and field installation
Future Enhancements Planned improvements and next phases

System at a Glance

The Sensor Node is a complete embedded system for autonomous crop monitoring:

  • Power System: Solar panel (6V) with Li-Ion battery (NCR18650B, 3400 mAh) and charge management
  • Processor: ESP32 DevKit V1 with WiFi connectivity
  • Sensors: Soil moisture, rain detection, PIR motion, I2C expansion
  • Deployment: Designed for 30+ day autonomy without solar input, indefinite with solar (3× margin)
Solar Panel (6V)
[Charge Controller] → [Li-Ion Battery 3.7V]
[Boost Converter] → [5V Rail]
[ESP32] → [WiFi TX]
[Soil Moisture] [Rain Sensor] [PIR Motion] [I2C Sensors]

Key Numbers

Metric Value
Daily consumption (Profile B) 77.6 mAh
Autonomy without solar 31 days
Autonomy with solar Indefinite (3× margin)
Battery capacity NCR18650B, 3400 mAh (2720 mAh usable)
Solar harvest ~350 mAh/day (estimated)
Operating voltage 3.7V (battery) → 5V (rail)
Active TX power ~80 mW @ 5V
Sleep current ~200 µA

Project Status

Rev A.1 — Pre-validation. Schematic captured, power model complete, firmware scaffolded. Pending: ESP32 caliper measurements, breadboard validation, PCB layout.

Recommendation: Use Profile B (5 min read / 15 min TX) for production deployment.

Documentation Organization

This site is organized by engineering discipline:

  • Hardware — Sensor node electrical design, component selection, power budget, assembly guides
  • Project — Governance, decision log, engineering processes, review standards

Each section contains detailed reference material, design rationale, and operational procedures.

Getting Started

  1. New to the project? Start with Quick Start
  2. Deploying a node? See Deployment Guide
  3. Need technical reference? Check System Architecture
  4. Troubleshooting? Visit the troubleshooting guide in the hardware docs

Last updated: 2026-03-26