BioComm · Hardware in Development
BioComm Hardware
BioComm Hardware is the physical layer of the system: nodes and probes capture bioelectrical signals and environmental conditions. The system is also designed for defined electrical and optical stimuli and connects the field devices to the BioComm software.
Hardware in Development
The BioComm hardware is still in development. The technical specifications shown reflect the current state of development. Form, materials and individual technical details may still change.
AI-generated concept visualization based on the current state of development.
System architecture
AI-generated concept visualization based on the current state of development.
BioComm Node
Probe and Sensors
Current status: circuit finalised, stimulation path simulated.The probe combines several measurement tasks in one component. It captures bioelectrical signals as well as soil temperature, soil moisture and electrical conductivity. Elements for electrical and optical stimuli are also planned.
- Bioelectrical measurement
- Soil temperature
- Soil moisture
- Electrical conductivity (EC)
- Optical stimulation
- Reference electrode
Measurement
BioComm measures electrical activity. Measurement alone does not establish its biological meaning.
Controlled stimulation
Stimulation allows targeted electrical or optical stimuli to be applied and any resulting response to be measured. Whether and what biological effect a stimulus has still needs to be investigated.
Communication layer / LoRa
Communication between field nodes and further data processing is currently being aligned with LoRa. This radio technology is intended to enable measurements over greater distances as well.
AI-generated concept visualization based on the current state of development.
Measuring Is Not the Same as Understanding
BioComm's hardware is designed to capture bioelectrical activity and environmental conditions, and to apply defined electrical or optical stimuli. This does not yet tell us what the measured signals mean biologically. That has to be clarified through comparisons, repeated measurements and further investigation.
BioComm measures. What the measurements mean still needs to be investigated.
Development status
| Node hardware design | PCB design completed – manufacturing in preparation |
| Sensor & stimulation interface | Circuit finalised, stimulation path simulated – measurement on the prototype to follow |
| Communication layer (LoRa) | In development |
| Bridge unit | PCB design completed – manufacturing in preparation |
| Hardware/software integration | In preparation: firmware framework, data format and server reception completed |
| Field validation | Planned |