Direction-Dependent Path Loss Modeling in Olive Orchards for Precision Agriculture

2026-04-21

AI Summary

This study addresses the limitations of conventional wireless propagation models, which assume isotropy and thus fail to accurately capture the anisotropic signal attenuation characteristics in structured orchards such as olive groves, where path loss differs significantly along versus across tree rows. To overcome this, the work proposes a novel two-dimensional path loss model that explicitly incorporates orchard topology and directional dependence, accounting for plant row alignment and the relative positions of LoRa devices operating at 868 MHz. Validation against empirical RSSI measurements demonstrates that the proposed model substantially outperforms both the free-space path loss (FSPL) model and the ITU-R vegetation attenuation model. This advancement provides a more accurate foundation for link budget estimation in Internet of Things deployments within structured agricultural environments.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Search and Optimization: Evaluation and Analysis
• Machine Learning: Learning on the Edge & Model Compression

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Models for Web evolution

Abstract

Wireless links deployed in orchards often exhibit significant variability in the strength of the received signal that is not adequately captured by classical distance-based propagation models. In row-structured olive groves, signal attenuation differs markedly between along-row and cross-row propagation directions, leading to discrepancies when using omnidirectional propagation assumptions such as those adopted in the Free Space Path Loss (FSPL) model or ITU-R vegetation loss formulations. This paper proposes a topology-based propagation model that explicitly accounts for orchard layout and the relative positions of radio devices within the plantation structure. Experimental validation was conducted using LoRa technology operating at 868 MHz, and the results were compared with established models from the literature and with the proposed two-dimensional model. The proposed approach achieves a closer fit to measured RSSI data than conventional models, providing a more reliable basis for link budgeting and network planning in structured agricultural environments.

Problem

• path loss
• direction-dependent propagation
• olive orchards
• wireless signal attenuation
• precision agriculture

Innovation

• direction-dependent path loss
• orchard topology
• LoRa
• precision agriculture
• propagation modeling