Helping improve production with smart farming solutions

Precision farming

Increase productivity and control with smart farming technology

Agriculture has changed extensively over the last 20 years. Now – with the use of IoT technology enabling smart and precision farming – agricultural productivity improvements can be made in a cost-effective way.

Asset tracking, environmental sensors and smart agriculture technology, enable farmers to reduce waste, enhance productivity and utilise resources including water, electricity and fuel.

Working with farmers and agriculturists to deliver smart farming practices through reliable IoT technology.

Remote connectivity

Many farms are located out of reach of consistent, reliable cellular connections. A blend of radio and satellite-based IoT bridges the gap to record, transmit, and interpret data signals.

Increased productivity

IoT smart farming solutions are built to monitor crop fields with the help of sensors to monitor and manage light, humidity, temperature, soil moisture and crop health.

Real-time tracking

With automated and on-demand location updates via inbuilt collar tag devices, farmers can see a precise view of where cattle and livestock are in the field, at any time of day or night.

Helping farmers in remote areas

Ground Control are already helping established Agritech organisations working with farmers in remote areas. These solutions enable our customers to report on critical crop data from remote locations and can be delivered rapidly, in order to meet seasonal requirements.

Kenyan-based Synnefa is a great example of this. Their FarmShield device combines multiple sensors and both cellular and satellite transceivers (in this case, the RockBLOCK 9602), which means that irrespective of where the device is, essential data on soil moisture, temperature, light intensity and nutrient levels can be transmitted in real-time. Synnefa's FarmCloud software then interprets the data to give farmers accurate projections of yield, and suggestions on when to water / fertilise their crops, reducing wastage and improving production.

Read Case Study

Early, effective environmental warning systems

Temperature too high? Is the water too low? Are cattle too inactive? Enabled by satellite IoT, farmers are fully in the know with real-time monitoring, tracking and sensor intelligence across the complete farm network. Growers and farmers can make adjustments based on accurate real-time data to ensure healthy crops and livestock. Not only can these adjustments improve the overall control and management of the farming landscape, but expenditure can be saved through the effective monitoring of temperature, irrigation requirements, and livestock health.

Optimum harvesting for optimum productivity

Smart farming enables farmers to make smart, informed decisions to enhance productivity. Via environmental sensors, data including light, temperature, humidity, and soil quality is collected in real-time. Farmers can then make smart, informed choices about the optimum time to harvest each year for maximum efficiency and productivity. As a result, crop yields are increased, livestock produce is enhanced and both time and money are saved. Smart farming significantly helps growers and farmers in several ways, including precise forecasting, data-driven decision-making, and more. The technological advances of smart farming result in a positive impact on the bottom line of most farmers.

Smart irrigation to save time, money and waste

Smart irrigation technology uses weather data or soil moisture data to determine the irrigation need of the landscape at any given time, from anywhere. As such, water waste can be reduced and crop yield improved through satellite-based water monitoring and management systems. Data and irrigation analytics, collected via these remote sensors, assist farmers to manage irrigation in real-time to conserve natural resources and maximise irrigation effectiveness.

IoT smart farming solutions

Satellite solutions for farming

RockBLOCK

RockBLOCK enables farmers and growers to track and monitor livestock send from anywhere on Earth with a clear view of the sky. It works far beyond the reach of Wi-Fi and GSM networks.

RockBLOCK 9602

RockREMOTE

Highly adaptable, the RockREMOTE guarantees robust communication and provides the vital link to ensure that critical data and analytics keep flowing when the grid stops and cellular connectivity is out of reach.

RockREMOTE

RockSTAR

The RockSTAR provides real-time tracking and two-way communication for remote field workers. If your team are venturing outside of cellular coverage, send one of these with them to ensure their safety.

RockSTAR Professional

Smart farming for farmers and agriculturists

Resilient communications via satellite for Autonomous Agricultural Robots

The global autonomous farm equipment market is worth an estimated $62.89 billion. But without resilient, ubiquitous connectivity, Ag operators won’t be able to reap the full benefits. Read how satellite communications can help.

View case study

Empowering climate resilience through satellite-enabled precision farming

Ground Control’s RockBLOCK 9602 is providing vital connectivity for Synnefa’s precision farming tools, helping farmers in Kenya gain greater yields and reduce waste, aligned with the UN’s sustainable development goals.

View case study

BGAN M2M’s role in soil moisture monitoring to help combat climate change

As well as optimum vegetation and crop management through soil moisture monitoring, measuring soil moisture also helps to inform our understanding of how the natural environment responds to climate change. Here’s how the BGAN M2M service is supporting this initiative.

View case study

Going Global with M2M: Animal Tracking

M2M – or machine-to-machine – solutions are deployed to solve a wide range of challenges, from farmers who want to track and monitor their livestock to scientists studying animals in the wild. In each case, a unique solution is required.

View case study

Transmitting Sensor Data Back from Extremely Remote Locations with Gill Instruments

Ground Control offers users the ability to connect to all Gill meteorological sensors, taking key data on a regular basis and transmitting it over satellites at an affordable price.

View case study

ActivitySense – How it Works

Our RockSTAR and RockFLEET devices are used throughout the world, tracking all sorts of things – people, vehicles, machines, animals.

View case study

ETH Zurich’s Autonomous UAVs utilising the RockBLOCK

The Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) of ETH Zurich has developed two solar-powered, low-altitude long-endurance (LALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are gathering valuable data on climate change and agriculture.

View case study

Here to help

When you need to get data from the field to know the right time to harvest, instruct an irrigation system to start or stop, or see where your livestock and cattle are any time of day or night - and from anywhere - you need 100% reliable connectivity, and that’s where Ground Control can help. With hybrid cellular and satellite connectivity solutions, we’ve got you covered.

Whatever your communication or connectivity needs, we can help.

Drifting Data Buoys

BGAN M2M Airtime

Delivering critical medical care via drone

Agriculture

Increase productivity and control with smart farming technology