How Does the Internet of Things Benefit our Planet?

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been growing exponentially over the past few years – from smart homes all the way to complex industrial monitoring systems, IoT networks are showing their endless potential. With long-range connectivity and smart sensors becoming widely available, just about every industry has been seeing the benefits that come along with such cutting-edge tech. But as our world becomes more connected and digitised, some may assume these benefits come at a cost to the environment. Sustainability and the environment is at the heart of everything we do at NoiseNet, so we did some digging – and here’s what the future of sustainability looks like with advanced networked technologies aiding our efforts.

IoT on Land

With growing populations, an increasingly global trade economy, and unpredictable disruptions constantly appearing, the farming industry is facing some of the biggest challenges in the fight for sustainability. The United Nations is predicting that by 2050, the global population will grow to almost 10 billion people. How do we feed that many mouths without damaging the planet?

It’s a complex problem that requires extensive research and consideration. But part of the solution will be to increase soil fertility and crop yields – creating more food in less space. This can’t be done unless farmers have solid insights into the up-to-date health of their soil across their entire farms – and that’s where IoT sensors come in. Traditional soil sampling needed to be done by hand and required laborious efforts to collect, track, analyse, and act on. Instead, having an array of sensors placed throughout the farm’s soil can give farmers to-the-minute data without the need to physically collect and analyse samples, letting them adjust their watering and fertilising plans on the fly to suit the needs of their crops. Not only will this boost soil efficiency and crop yields, it also lets farmers devote their time and attention to other important tasks like sales, crop planning, or administration.