A hybrid dynamical systems approach to smart irrigation

Abstract

We present a novel model for a drip irrigation system, using a hybrid dynamical systems paradigm to take into account the intrinsic binary nature of the control input. We consider an irrigation pipe with a generic number of drippers, analyzing the effect that the transients in the pipe have on the irrigation uniformity, and propose an intuitive irrigation strategy based on the one currently used by farmers. The model is presented together with simulations, whose parameters are based on real farm data.