Nordic Semiconductor joins IoT4Ag to support development of smart agriculture

Nordic Semiconductor has extended its support of and commitment to the smart agriculture sector with membership of IoT4Ag, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center. IoT4Ag’s mission is to create and bring into practice IoT technologies for precision agriculture that can address the global challenge of food, energy, and water security.

IoT technology for precision agriculture 

As a member of the organization, Nordic will take a seat on IoT4Ag’s Industrial Practitioner Advisory Board (IPAB) to engage with the IoT4Ag leadership team, and to provide strategic guidance on the organization’s goal of developing and deploying precision agriculture technologies. As a global leader in low power wireless IoT connectivity solutions, Nordic will join other experts across the fields of agronomy, agricultural engineering, communications, economics, environmental science, electrical and computer engineering, cyber systems, and social science to work towards IoT4Ag’s mission. 

“IoT4Ag has been very effective at driving the implementation of IoT technologies that deliver efficient and long term practical solutions for the agriculture sector,” says Clay Hine, Business Development Manager – Smart Agriculture, Nordic Semiconductor, and IPAB board representative. “Including industry partners helps the organization develop actual practical solutions, not just theories and models, and Nordic is delighted to contribute to that end. 

“We will contribute our expertise in ultra-low power wireless IoT implementations as guidance, as well as development kits, prototyping platforms, protocols, and applications to help deploy, test, and evaluate various systems and concepts,” says Hine.  

Scalable wireless solutions key to growth 

Of the major IoT markets, smart agriculture is expanding rapidly, and wireless IoT technologies that are inherently low power and easily scalable will be key to this growth. As a leading provider of connectivity solutions spanning Bluetooth® LE, Thread, Matter, cellular IoT, Wi-Fi, and DECT NR+, Nordic is uniquely positioned to deliver both short and long range connectivity solutions across farms that scale from thousands to millions of square meters. 

“By some measures, over the next 25 years the planet needs to produce twice as much food,” explains Hine. “But most land that can be farmed is already being used, so the only way to accomplish that goal is to dramatically improve yield and efficiency in the agriculture sector.  

“Monitoring, control, and precision are all key attributes of improving smart agriculture, and all of these can be enhanced by implementing technologies that involve wireless IoT.” 

• About IoT4Ag
• About Nordic Semiconductor