COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES FOR DISTRIBUTED MONITORING IN CONTROLLED PLANT GROWTH SYSTEMS

Shmelev Oleg Sergeevich, Butakov Vitaliy Alekseevich, Trifonov Sergei Viktorovich

Modern controlled-environment plant growth systems require continuous monitoring of multiple microclimatic parameters to ensure optimal conditions for crop development. Distributed wireless sensor networks represent a promising solution for organizing spatially distributed measurements of temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and illumination in phytotron chambers and greenhouses. This study is devoted to a systematic comparison of four major wireless technologies for use in confined spaces under extreme operating conditions. A comprehensive analysis of LoRaWAN, ZigBee, WiFi, and Bluetooth Low Energy protocols was conducted based on criteria of energy efficiency, data transmission reliability, communication range, and resistance to interference in environments with high humidity and temperature gradients. Experimental measurements were carried out under real conditions in a climatic chamber with temperature variation from 15 to 35 degrees Celsius and relative humidity from 40 to 95 percent. Quantitative performance evaluation included measurement of packet delivery ratio, received signal strength, power consumption, and latency under various network topology configurations. The results demonstrate significant differences in the applicability of the studied technologies for specific deployment scenarios. The LoRaWAN technology provided the maximum autonomous operation time of nodes while maintaining acceptable transmission reliability at distances up to 150 meters indoors. ZigBee ensured an optimal balance between power consumption and throughput for densely located nodes in a mesh topology.

Keywords:wireless sensor networks, phytotron systems, energy-efficient monitoring, IoT protocols, LoRaWAN, ZigBee, multicriteria analysis.