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Researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), in collaboration with the MINOS group of the URV, are participating in a project on the reliable, high-performance and low-cost production of ammonia sensors for livestock farming.
The aim of the project is to produce reliable, durable, low-cost sensors that are easy to use in agricultural environments and operate them with non-linear controls that optimise their dynamic features. The controls will be developed by researchers from the Micro and Nano Technologies for Solar Energy (MNT-Solar) group at the UPC. The sensors are based on a technology of nanostructured layers of metallic oxides deposited on MEMS membranes, developed by researchers in the MINOS group of the URV. In the context of the project, electronics will be designed that will generate the temperature modulations that are required for the sensors to function with a constant surface potential, and therefore have an optimised dynamic response. The model that is patented will enable an improvement in sensor response time, modulation of sensitivity, and the adaptability that is required to respond to the considerable environmental changes that may occur in agricultural areas.
Box with the electronics (right) and cavity in which the sensors lie (left). In the cavity part, the fan ensures air flow and on the other side a filter prevents the entry of unwanted particles.
This project continues and expands on a previous project in which a pilot test was carried out in a pig farm over fourteen days. The project will increase the complexity of the sensor heads and develop improved acquisition and control electronics. It also aims to undertake an experimental campaign in livestock barns, with a longer duration, to assess the reliability and performance of the technology.
Budget and funding
In addition to the MNT-Solar group at the UPC, the MINOS group at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili is working on this project, which has a budget of €49,999.5. The activity is funded through 01.02.01 Technology Transfer Operation of the Rural Development Programme of Catalonia 2014-2022 (Catalan Government). The project duration is from December 2021 to June 2024.
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