RootBeacon

Wake the whole plot.

RootBeacon is a small LoRa radio for RootSynapse. Plug it into your laptop, press Wake All Devices, and every RootVision in range wakes from its sleep, ready to capture, sync and take new settings, without waiting for its next scheduled cycle or walking the rows.

Why it matters

The field doesn't wait for your schedule

RootVision sleeps between captures to save its battery. Most days that's exactly what you want. When you're standing at the plot and want an image now, a new schedule, or a firmware update, RootBeacon brings every unit to you.

Wake on demand

Wake one unit or the whole plot without waiting for the next scheduled cycle. Capture, change settings, update, then let them sleep again.

The right radio for the call

LoRa carries short messages a long way on very little power, which is exactly what a wake call needs. Once a unit is awake, its images, temperatures and settings move over WiFi as usual.

Through the soil

Units can be set just below the surface to stay clear of mowers and machinery. LoRa's 915 MHz signal passes through soil far better than WiFi does, so a unit installed out of sight still hears the call.

Laptop or phone

Plug it into a Windows laptop running RootSynapse, or into an Android phone over USB-C. Android support is in testing now.

Coming next: the whole row online

In the next firmware, units woken together relay WiFi to one another, so a single unit within reach of your router brings the rest of the row into RootSynapse.

Calls stop on their own

A wake session switches itself off after a set time, so a forgotten beacon never keeps your units awake and draining their batteries.

On the unit's side

A radio that never sleeps

Inside every RootVision is a low-power LoRa radio that keeps listening while the cameras and computer are powered down. It checks in about every 30 seconds; when it hears the beacon, it powers the unit up.

The unit's screen shows why it woke ("Woken by RootBeacon"), and it answers so RootSynapse can list it as awake. From there it's an ordinary connected unit: capture now, change its schedule, or update its firmware.

Field range is being measured now and will be published with the final specifications.

Planning a deployment?

Tell us how many plots and units you have and we'll put the right kit together.

About RootVision