Applications of IoT for optimized greenhouse environment and resources management

The role of Internet-of-Things (IoT) in precision agriculture and smart greenhouses has been reinforced by recent R&D projects, growing commercialization of IoT infrastructure, and related technologies such as satellites, artificial intellige nce, sensors, actuators, uncrewed aerial vehicles, big data analytics, intelligent machines, and radio-frequency identification devices. Even though the integration of intelligent technologies offers unlimited potential in precision commercial agriculture, optimal resource management remains a challenge considering that IoT infrastructure is unevenly distributed across the world and concentrated in high-income countries. The utilization of IoT technologies in smart greenhouses often involves a tradeoff between the cost of agricultural production, environmental conservation, ecological degradation, and sustainability. The installation of IoT infrastructure is capital-intensive and often translates to higher energy demand, that elevates the risk for climate change. The widespread use of IoT sensors and networks also increases new challenges in the management of electronic waste, depletion of finite resources, and destruction of fragile ecosystems, resulting in climate change. the integration of IoT systems in greenhouses would be augmented by the global deployment of advanced 5G technology and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation broadband internet with low latency and high speeds. Intelligent application of agrochemicals could yield significant savings ($500/acre or more), while need-based irrigation and fertilizer application would help improve crop yields. Globally, the deployment of IoT infrastructure would yield about $500 billion of added value to the GDP by 2030. The forecasted economic benefits affirm that the applications of IoT for optimized greenhouse environment and resources management were sustainable, and any potential risks are incomparable to the long-term benefits in commercial agriculture. The review article contributes new insights on the role of IoT in agriculture 4.0, the challenges, and future prospects for developing nations, which lacked the resources to invest in precision agriculture technologies.