Fluxbot: The Next Generation - Design and Validation of a Wireless, Open-Source Mechatronic CO2 Flux Sensing Chamber

Precision gas analyzers are widely used in ecological research for manual measurement of soil carbon flux, a key metric used in the study of climate change. We present a generational update to the first low-cost, autonomous, closed-chamber style soil CO2 flux sensors (Fluxbots). Fluxbot 2.0 is the first such low-cost autonomous flux chamber capable of real-time wireless data transmission, which enables ecologists conducting in situ soil carbon flux surveys to set up their own wireless sensor arrays, reporting carbon flux data in real time at a very high level of temporal resolution. The system’s low cost (less than 500 USD per unit) and long-range cellular data transmission capabilities also allow for greatly improved spatial resolution. Additionally, the updated system consumes significantly less power, resulting in the ability to be deployed for longer than 10 × the battery lifetime of the original version on a single charge.