An innovative solution to remotely operate a device by using natural biological processes as a source of energy could help farmers get more out of their land. As VOA correspondent Kane Farabaugh reports, two students from Northwestern University have developed a soil-analysis sensor that harnesses the energy generated by microbes. One of the biggest challenges for Illinois farmer Tom Martin is understanding the quality of the soil in the fields where he grows corn and soybeans.

“The ability to know the soil content of our land is one of the fundamental elements for production because it helps us understand what crops to grow. Testing in the past has not been reliable,” he says.

The information could help farmer Tom Martin know how much fertilizer to buy. But one of the main obstacles to using data-driven devices in his remote fields is powering the devices that collect and analyze soil quality.

“I’m trying to find other new technologies to help us do a better job of understanding what’s going on in the soil we’re growing,” he says.

“I knew there was a need for sensors that were cheaper and easier to use and more widely available to analyze the health of agricultural soils,” says Laura Jaliff, a graduate student at Northwestern University.

She has been working on developing a device that doesn’t need batteries and works almost anywhere, in any conditions, day or night.

“The device is intended to solve the challenge of analyzing the health of agricultural soils,” she says.

The microbial fuel cell that Laura Jaliff is working with was created by graduate student Bill Yen.

“Our device works by capturing electrons released by microbes and using them as an energy source,” he says.