Soil samplers for monitoring soil conditions
A soil sampler attachable to a vehicle for agricultural uses includes a collector configured to collect a soil sample from a field as the vehicle advances across the field. The soil sampler further includes a preprocessor connected to the collector and configured to receive the soil sample from the collector and to preprocess the soil sample to dilute the soil sample. The soil sampler also includes a sensor connected to the preprocessor and configured to determine a concentration of at least one analyte in the soil sample. The soil sampler further includes a disposer connected to the sensor and configured to dispose the soil sample after the sensor determines the concentration of the at least one analyte in the soil sample.
1 . A soil sampler attachable to a vehicle for monitoring soil conditions in real time as the vehicle advances across a field, the soil sampler comprising:
a collector configured to collect a soil sample from the field as the vehicle advances across the field;
a preprocessor connected to the collector and configured to receive the soil sample from the collector and dilute the soil sample as the vehicle advances across the field;
a sensor connected to the preprocessor and configured to determine a concentration of at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample as the vehicle advances across the field; and
a disposer connected to the sensor and configured to dispose the diluted soil sample; and
one or more processors programmed to:
dilute the soil sample via the preprocessor as the vehicle advances across the field,
via the sensor, determine the concentration of the at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample as the vehicle advances across the field, and
cause the disposer to dispose the diluted soil sample as the vehicle advances across the field based on the determined concentration of the at least one analyte in the soil sample.
2 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , further comprising a tracker connected to the one or more processors and configured to record a time and a location where the soil sample is collected from the field, wherein the tracker is a global positioning system (GPS) tracker, a Bluetooth tracker, a near-field communication (NFC) tracker, or a Wi-Fi tracker.
3 . The soil sampler of claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors is further programmed to:
generate a map based on the determined concentration of the at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample and the recorded time and location where the diluted soil sample is collected from the field to indicate soil conditions of the location in the field.
4 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , further comprising a first tank connected to the preprocessor, wherein the first tank includes a liquid and is configured to supply the liquid to the preprocessor to dilute the soil sample in the preprocessor.
5 . The soil sampler of claim 4 , wherein the liquid is water.
6 . The soil sampler of claim 4 , further comprising a second tank connected to the preprocessor, wherein the second tank includes a color reagent and is configured to supply the color reagent to the preprocessor, wherein when the color reagent reacts with at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample, a color change of the diluted soil sample occurs with a color intensity.
7 . The soil sampler of claim 6 , wherein the color reagent is sodium acetate.
8 . The soil sampler of claim 6 , wherein the sensor further includes:
a power source;
an optical source powered by the power source and configured to emit light to the diluted soil sample; and
an optical detector with optical color filters configured to detect the at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample based on the color change of the diluted soil sample and to calculate a concentration of the at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample based on the color intensity of the diluted soil sample.
9 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , wherein the sensor further includes:
at least one chemosensor configured to capture at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample and to generate a signal in response to capturing the at least one analyte; and
a detector configured to receive the signal and to calculate a concentration of the at least one analyte in the soil sample based on the signal.
10 . The soil sampler of claim 9 , wherein the at least one chemosensor includes a receptor configured to capture the at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample, and further including a spacer bound to the receptor, a fluorophore bound to the spacer, and an anchor bound to the fluorophore.
11 . The soil sampler of claim 10 , wherein the fluorophore is selected from the group consisting of anthracene, benzene, carbazole, diphenylfurane, naphthalene, 1,8-naphthalimide, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylbenzidine, porphyrin, and pyrene.
12 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , wherein the sensor further includes:
a first electrode;
a second electrode electrically coupled to the first electrode, wherein the second electrode is an ion-selective electrode configured to bind to the at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample and to generate a change of an electrical potential in response to binding to the at least one analyte; and
a detector electrically coupled to the first and second electrodes and to detect the change of the electrical potential and to calculate a concentration of the at least one analyte in diluted the soil sample based on the change of the electrical potential.
13 . The soil sampler of claim 12 , wherein the ion-selective electrode is a metal oxide or an electrode covered with an ion-selective membrane.
14 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , wherein the sensor further includes:
a first electrode;
a second electrode electrically coupled to the first electrode, wherein the second electrode is an intercalation electrode configured to intercalate the at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample and to generate a change of an open-circuit voltage in response to intercalating the at least one analyte; and
a detector electrically coupled to the first and second electrodes and to detect the change of the open-circuit voltage and to calculate a concentration of the at least one analyte in the diluted soil sample based on the change of the open-circuit voltage.
15 . The soil sampler of claim 14 , wherein the intercalation electrode is made of a Prussian Blue (PB)-type compound or metal hexacyanoferrate (MHCFe), where M is nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), or manganese (Mn).
16 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , wherein the preprocessor and the sensor are connected using microfluidic channels.
17 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , wherein the at least one analyte is a nitrogen (N)-containing analyte, a phosphorus (P)-containing analyte, a potassium (K)-containing analyte, a calcium (Ca)-containing analyte, a magnesium (Mg)-containing analyte, a sulfur(S)-containing analyte, an aluminum (Al)-containing analyte, a silver (Ag)-containing analyte, a lead (Pb)-containing analyte, or a combination thereof.
18 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is programmed to cause the disposer to dispose of the diluted soil sample back onto field as the vehicle advances across the field based on the determined concentration of the at least one analyte in the soil sample.
19 . The soil sampler of claim 1 , further comprising a waste reservoir, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to cause the disposer to dispose of the diluted soil sample into the waste reservoir as the vehicle advances across the field based on the determined concentration of the at least one analyte in the soil sample.