PhD Student Profile
Dr Md Adnan Al Moshi
Federation University Australia
My PhD research investigated acoustic wave-based communication as an alternative to radio frequency (RF) signals for Wireless Underground Sensor Networks (WUSNs) used in precision agriculture.
Precision agriculture relies on underground sensors to monitor soil health and nutrients, but RF signals suffer severe attenuation in soil, especially under high moisture conditions, due to increased dielectric permittivity, electrical conductivity, and scattering from heterogeneous soil structures. This limits transmission range and drives up infrastructure costs through additional relay nodes, higher transmission power, and increased energy consumption. My research addresses this gap by exploring acoustic signals as a more robust physical layer for underground communication.
Using an integrated methodology of analytical modelling, numerical simulation, laboratory experimentation, and multi-site field validation, I developed and adapted a soil dependent acoustic attenuation model in MATLAB to characterise underground acoustic propagation across varying soil densities, moisture levels, and excitation frequencies.
Laboratory experiments validated these predictions and optimised key parameters such as excitation frequency, modulation scheme, burial depth, and transducer orientation, while field trials in two contrasting soil types confirmed real world performance.
Results showed that acoustic signals achieved transmission distances of 31 to 38 metres under dry conditions and 27 to 32 metres under high moisture conditions, substantially outperforming RF based systems in both cases.
Building on these findings, I also optimised transducer design and developed energy efficient encoding schemes, culminating in a prototype acoustic transceiver system evaluated for transmission range, energy consumption, and scalability.
PhD Title: “Next Generation Below Ground Sensor Network Using Acoustics”
PhD start date: July 2021
Supervisors: Professor Joarder Kamruzzaman (Federation University), Dr Tanveer Choudhury (Federation University), Dr Marcus Hardie (University of Tasmania)
What interested you about this sort of research?
I have always been drawn to problems where a well-known solution from one domain quietly fails when applied to another, and RF communication breaking down underground while working perfectly above ground was exactly that kind of puzzle. The agricultural angle made it even more compelling, since precision farming has real potential to save water and improve food security, but only if the underlying sensor networks are reliable and affordable in the field. I was also excited by the interdisciplinary nature of the problem, requiring me to draw on acoustics, soil physics, and wireless systems design rather than staying within a single narrow specialism.
What do you love about soil?
What I love about soil is that it is deceptively complex, a seemingly simple, uniform material that turns out to be a rich, heterogeneous medium with its own physics, chemistry, and behaviour that varies from field to field and even metre to metre. Working with soil taught me to respect how much it resists easy generalisation, since moisture, density, and texture can each dramatically change how energy or signals move through it. There is something grounding, quite literally, about a research career built on understanding the ground beneath our feet and how it supports the food systems we depend on.
What do you love about your PhD?
What I love most about my PhD is the way it bridges theory and real-world impact, taking a signal propagation model from equations in MATLAB all the way to a working prototype tested in actual farm soil. I find real satisfaction in solving a genuinely practical problem, subsurface communication, that could make precision agriculture more accessible and affordable for farmers. It has also been rewarding to work across disciplines, combining acoustics, soil science, and wireless systems engineering to build something that did not really exist before in this form.
How will your PhD help to make a difference for farmers?
This research provides a cost effective and reliable underground communication solution that can extend sensor network coverage and reduce infrastructure costs, enabling farmers to monitor soil health and nutrients more affordably and accurately across larger field areas, even in challenging soil moisture conditions. This supports better informed irrigation and fertilisation decisions, ultimately improving water use efficiency, crop productivity, and the broader adoption of precision agriculture technologies.
What do you want to do when you finish your PhD?
After finishing my PhD, I want to take this research beyond the lab and turn it into technology that farmers can use, by integrating AI to make the system smarter and working to bring it to market at an affordable price. Alongside commercialisation, I am equally committed to farmer education and outreach, so that end users understand how the technology works and feel confident adopting it. Ultimately, I want to see this research translate into a practical, trusted tool that genuinely improves farming outcomes rather than remaining a theoretical contribution.
Find out more
Read Adnan’s publications
- Al Moshi, M. A., Hardie, M., Choudhury, T., & Kamruzzaman, J. (2024). Wireless underground sensor communication using acoustic technology. Sensors, 24(10), 3113. (https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/10/3113)
- Al Moshi, M.A., & Rodriguez, L. (2018). Impact of the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) on international postgraduate students at The University of Newcastle. ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference 2018. (https://conference.acspri.org.au/index.php/conf/conference2018/paper/view/1061)
- Moshi, A. A., Cynthia, S. S., Islam, E., Rahman, R., & Azad, A. (2011). Performance analysis of robotic arm manipulators control system under multitasking environment. In 2011 IEEE 18th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (pp. 613-617). IEEE.
- Moshi, A.A., Cynthia, S.S., Islam, E., Rahman, R. & Azad, A. (2012). A Performance Analysis of Robotic Arm Manipulators Control System under Multitasking Environment. International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering, May 2012, Vol 2, No. 5, 327–331. ISSN 2159- 5275 (Print) and ISSN 2159-5283 (Online), David Publishing, USA. (https://www.davidpublisher.com/Public/uploads/Contribute/551b92c57d753.pdf)
- Asad, A., Moshi, A. A., Ferdous, J., & Azad, A., 2012. Comparative Study and Performance Analysis of Solar Panels Using Solar Simulator. In Proceedings of International Conference of Renewable Energy: Generation and Application 2012. Al-Ain, UAE.