Discrete-event simulation of an irrigation system using Internet of Things

Agricultural water consumption represents 69% of all freshwater used on the planet. In addition, it is necessary to increase food production by 50% by 2050. The use of Internet of Things platforms to carry out the sensing and monitoring of the agricultural environment is increasingly present in the literature. One of the difficulties that such platforms face is to validate the platform's operation in different irrigation systems, as it is often necessary for specialists to work in the connection of sensors and actuators that already exist on farms or that are defined in the design of such systems. Within this context, a discrete-event simulation of an irrigation system integrated into an Internet of Things platform was developed in this work. The digital manufacturing software Plant Simulation was used to perform the discrete event simulation. An OPC UA server establishes real-time communication between the Internet of Things platform and the simulation software. Thus, farmers may verify, in real-time, how a given irrigation prescription, sent by the IoT platform, takes place in the irrigation system.