Feasibility of a Soil-based Sensor for Measurement of Temperature

A soil-based sensing system for measurement of temperature is here proposed. The approach pursued aims at using greener solutions/technologies and reducing the dependence from silicon and standard solutions for the realization of strategies for measurement and sensing. The advantage of the proposed method regards the possibility to adopt the soil as a sensor by using its natural organisms and natural metabolic processes. The device is composed of two electrical contacts with the soil inside a cylindrical container to measure the applied temperature. Experimental results and the characterization show that the proposed system is capable to generate an output voltage between the two electrodes as a function of the measurand. The device is able to work in absence of batteries making the system interesting for several intriguing applications. The device is composed of two electrical contacts with the soil inside a cylindrical container to measure the applied temperature. Experimental results and the characterization show that the proposed system is capable to generate an output voltage between the two electrodes as a function of the measurand. The device is able to work in absence of batteries making the system interesting for several intriguing applications.