Soil Scanner

Faced with food shortages in many developing countries, researchers are looking for new ways to produce more food. The innovative Soil Scanner makes it easy for smallholder farmers to increase their agricultural yields due to rapid soil diagnostics. Easy to use and user-friendly, the scanner works with a ground sensor that can be intuitively activated by just one button. The collected data is then transmitted wirelessly to a smartphone app for analysis, whereupon the scanner gives advice on how to optimally fertilise the farmland and which type of crop can best be grown. The combination of Soil Scanner and smartphone thus turns into a functional unit that provides instant fertilising advice to the farmer. The aim of the design was to express the characteristics of a high-quality device and combine that with the expectations maintained toward an agricultural product. The metal elements are consistently integrated into the form to disperse the intense heat of the internal near-infrared light source. The innovative concept of combining a robust, reliable scanner for soil analysis with an app for the smartphone impresses in both form and function – especially for smallholder farmers in developing countries, it offers a very good way to utilise their soil profitably.