Sustainable Networking Solutions in Remote IoT Environments: Use Cases, Challenges, and Solutions for Smart Agriculture

Smart agriculture has laid a solid foundation for the development of society and the growth of national economies. However, due to the vast variety of cultivable lands, some of which may be in inaccessible regions, numerous requirements and challenges have emerged over time, necessitating the development of innovative technological solutions. Despite the fact that technological improvements have substantially facilitated the expansion of agricultural services, more effort is required to fully integrate novel solutions based on heterogeneous network architectures. In addition, the incorporation of new technology to achieve high performance, while preserving high quality and a minimal environmental footprint, remains a challenge for sustainable agricultural development. Therefore, researchers continue to work on designing and developing new technologies and techniques to meet these objectives. Consequently, the management of Internet of Things (IoT) data, the expansion of terrestrial connectivity, and the development of a sustainable infrastructure for the future generation of agriculture are critical research challenges. In this context, new technological approaches and solutions, such as Νon-Τerrestrial telecommunications Νetworks, Machine Learning (ML)-based algorithms, and Green IoT protocols, are being proposed and investigated. The aim of this chapter is to familiarize readers with the current agricultural landscape, its requirements, and the most promising technologies being developed to meet those needs.