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How to set up your data on via.farm

A Quick Summary

This website allows you to see data from your Chameleon sensors. 

Let us assume you have just buried your sensor array in a tomato crop growing in Plot 4 on your farm called 'Sunrise'.

You will need to go through the following steps:

  1. Login to https://via.farm
  2. Update your farm details and name the farm 'Sunrise'
  3. Create an Irrigation Bay called 'Plot 4'
  4. Your sensor array has a unique 4 digit code which you assign to Irrigation Bay 'Plot 4'
  5. You then 'Add' your tomato crop to the sensor array and set the start date
  6. Click the 'Visualise Farm' button to see your soil water pattern

Continue reading for detailed instructions.

Understanding the terms

Farm: On this website, a 'farm' is a loose term to define a specific site that grows crops.  

A farm may consist of:

  • land growing crops with a single manager
  • a small-scale irrigation scheme, with many farmers 
  • a food garden with sensors in different plots

Irrigation Bay: An Irrigation Bay is defined as a plot of land where the irrigation can be uniquely controlled.

Some examples are:

  • for a farm, each field is an Irrigation Bay
  • for a small-scale irrigation scheme, each individual farmer's plot is an Irrigation Bay
  • for a food garden, each bed watered separately is an Irrigation Bay

Sensor Array: A number of sensors buried at one location in the field to measure soil water status at different depths.

The original Chameleon Sensor Array is comprised of four Chameleon Sensors that are buried at different depths.

The current Chameleon Sensor Array is comprised of a temperature & ID sensor, plus three Chameleon Sensors. The Chameleon Sensors are buried at different depths and the temperature sensor is buried with the middle sensor.

Users: are assigned to one or more farms where they can view their data. Users can only make changes for farms they are assigned. 

Logging In

If you are part of a CSIRO project, you will be issued with a login username and password.

If you purchased a Chameleon Wi-Fi Reader from https://viashop.csiro.au/ you will be emailed a username and password.

Visit https://via.farm and use the 'Log In' button at the top of the screen.

Click 'My Farms' on the left-hand menu.

Configuring your farm

First login to https://via.farm (as above).

  1. Click 'Configure Farm' to start to open the Configure Farm page.
  2. Use the button 'Update Farm' to change your farm's name and provide Latitude and Longitude, and set whether the data is private or can be viewed by others (checkbox).

Create an Irrigation Bay

Once you have named your farm, you can create an Irrigation Bay. 

To create an Irrigation Bay:

  1. On the 'Configure Farm' page click 'Create Irrigation Bay'
  2. Fill in the Description. The description is the name of the field or plot.  The name or initials of a farmer can be used as the descriptor for an irrigation scheme.
  3. The Latitude and Longitude are optional. If provided, users visiting your farm page will be able to view your Irrigation Bay on Google Maps.
  4. Click 'Add' to save the information

Each farm can have a number of irrigation bays.

Setting up a Sensor Array and entering sensor records

Data from the sensor array can be uploaded to the website automatically via a Wi-Fi Access Point using the Wi-Fi hotspot on a Smartphone.

Alternatively, you can write down the colours and then enter the data manually into the website.

If you have the original red Chameleon then your only option is to manually enter the data.

How to set up a Wi-Fi Sensor Array

When using the Wi-Fi option, the data is automatically added to your farm on the website. 

You must upload at least one sensor record before you can assign a sensor array to your Irrigation Bay.  This is because website needs to capture the unique identification code of your sensor array.

You can do this before or after the sensor array is installed in the ground. 

Before you can upload data to the website you must connect or 'pair' your Chameleon reader to a Wi-Fi Access Point. See: How to setup your Chameleon Wi-Fi Reader

Once the Wi-Fi reader is paired with a Wi-Fi Access Point, upload your first sensor record:

  1. Plug the Sensor Array in to the Chameleon reader and press the reset button on the bottom 
  2. Write down the four letter Sensor ID displayed on the screen
  3. Wait for the reading to be taken and then finally the words 'Upload Confirmed' are displayed

You are now ready to go the via.farm website and setup this sensor array:

  1. On the 'Configure Farm' page click 'Claim Wi-Fi Sensor Array'
  2. Type in the four letter Sensor ID collected earlier into the 'Sensor Array Short ID' field
  3. Select your Irrigation Bay (the location where this Sensor Array will be buried)
  4. Click 'Claim Sensor'

If all goes well you will see a message 'Successfully claimed sensor XXXX to irrigation bay YYYY.'

  1. Click 'Configure Farm', your new Sensor Array will be listed under the heading 'Sensor Arrays'
  2. To the right of the new Sensor Array click 'Action' \ 'Update'
  3. Fill in the field 'Name' and the three Layer Depths in cm. Leave 'Layer 4 Depth' blank
  4. Click 'Update' to save the changes

Your Sensor Array is now setup on via.farm.

Skip to Setting up a Crop below.

How to set up a Manual Sensor Array on via.farm

If you are not using Wi-Fi, but are recording the Chameleon colours manually, you can still view the data on the website. 

  1. On the 'Configure Farm' page click 'Add Manual Sensor Array'
  2. Provide a name for the Sensor Array (eg. Farmers initials)
  3. Select the Irrigation Bay created earlier and enter the depths of the sensors in cm. Only fill out 'Layer 4 Depth' if you have four Chameleon Sensors. Otherwise, leave this field blank
  4. Click 'Add' to save the information

The Sensor Array is now setup and is ready for sensor records to be added.

How to manually enter sensor records

A manual Sensor Array will be listed on the Configure Farm page under the heading 'Sensor Arrays' and have a Sensor ID of 'None'.

To add sensor records:

  1. On the 'Configure Farm' page, to the right of the Sensor Array, click 'Action' \ 'Sensor Data'
  2. Click on the Date field and select the measurement date from the calendar
  3. Click on the relevant colours to describe the colour pattern observed
  4. Enter an optional comment
  5. Click 'Add' to save the information

The sensor record will now form part of the visualisation.

Continue to add all data records for this sensor.

If you make an error, you can delete single records by click the Delete icon in the table below, then re-enter that record.

Sensor data can only be entered against a manual Sensor Array.  You cannot add data to a sensor array that is collecting data automatically by Wi-Fi. 

Setting up a Crop

After setting up the sensor array, you assign a crop to the sensors.  This allows you to view the sensor data as a "visualisation" or colour pattern over a specific time period. The same sensor array can then be used for another crop as the seasons change.  A new crop will be assigned to the sensor array, with new start and end dates.

To set up a crop:

  1. On the 'Configure Farm' page, to the right of the Sensor Array, click 'Action' \ 'Add Crop'. 
  2. Initially just fill in the details that are known (Crop Type, Variety, Planting Date). The other details will be added after harvest.
  3. Click 'Add' to save the changed.
  4. Click 'Visualise Farm' at the top of the Configure Farm page and you will now see a visualisation (colour pattern) for your crop if there is data available.