Crop growers, wine grape and other fruit growers, food
processors and even concrete makers all benefit from water sensors for
accurate, steady and numerous moisture readings. But current sensors are large,
may cost thousands of dollars and often must be read manually.
Now, Cornell University researchers have developed a
microfluidic water sensor within a fingertip-sized silicon chip that is a
hundred times more sensitive than current devices. The researchers are now
completing soil tests and will soon test their design in plants, embedding
their “lab on a chip” in the stems of grape vines, for example. They hope to
mass produce the sensors for as little as $5 each.