Autonomous Irrigation Management in Decision Agriculture

In this chapter, the important application of autonomous irrigation management in the field decision agriculture is discussed. The different types of sensor-guided irrigation systems are presented that includes center pivot systems and drip irrigation systems. Their sensing and actuator components are with detailed focus on real-time decision-making and integration to the cloud. This chapter also presents irrigation control systems which takes, as an input, soil moisture and temperature from IOUT and weather data from Internet and communicate with center pivot based irrigation systems. Moreover, the system architecture is explored where development of the nodes including sensing and actuators is presented. Finally, the chapter concludes with comprehensive discussion of adaptive control systems, software, and visualization system design

Internet access for delivery of health information to South Australians older than 50

The definitive version may be found at www.wiley.comObjectiveAn exploratory study to determine the proportion of people aged 50-76 years who have Internet access, the location of this access, predictive characteristics of such access, and preparedness to receive unsolicited health information through this medium.MethodsA random sample of 1,000 South Australians was identified from the Australian Electoral Commission roll and contacted by telephone in 2006. They were invited to answer questions about their access to the Internet and attitude towards receiving unsolicited health information via the Internet.ResultsOf those contacted, 41% provided information. Of this group, 59% indicated that they had Internet access, mostly at home. Men were more likely than women to have home access (pConclusionsMore than half the population older than 50 years has access to the Internet at some location, and there is a general acceptance of the possibility of receiving health-promoting material via this medium. However, delivery via the Internet alone would disadvantage those who are less educated, less financially well off and older.ImplicationsIt is likely that a generational change in the entire nature of public communication will influence the efficiency and effectiveness of preventive health promotion delivery via the Internet. In order to facilitate improved health outcomes, issues of disparity of access must be addressed.Carlene Wilson, Ingrid Flight, Elizabeth Hart, Deborah Turnbull, Steve Cole and Graeme Youn