Localization of wireless devices in agricultural fields

Localization algorithms that can be easily integrated into deployed wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and which run seamlessly with proprietary lower layer communication protocols running on off-the-shelf modules can help operators of large farms avoid the difficulty, cost and/or time involved with manual or satellite-based localization techniques. Particular challenges include excessive path loss due to densely vegetated environments, limited transmit power level, and proprietary media access control (MAC) and routing specifications deployed on commercial-off-the-shelf RF modules. A distributed localization algorithm that is able to run recursively and divide the calculations between time steps will help to reduce complexity and communication overhead. Further, precision agriculture applications have a need for localization algorithms that could seamlessly integrate into off the shelf WSNs and run with scalable communication and computational complexity.