Dear Mr. Metelerkamp,

I received your E-mail dated September 16th and apologize for not getting back to you 
sooner. 

Our company, Developmental Technologies, is making the abstract for the Automated 
Crop Irrigation System (ACIS) available over the World Wide Web.  To take a look 
at this paper, or to download the Acrobat version, see our site at
http://www.dvtech.com/pages/Whatnew.htm

If other interested individuals you know don't have access to the internet, please 
forward us their addresses and we will (snail) mail printed versions of this paper.

We expect the final product cost for this system to be considerably lower than other 
comparable FDR systems, such as the Sentek Enviroscan system, with greater 
flexibility in installation and usage. Overall accuracy remains to be seen, but we 
expect it will be at least comparable to the Enviroscan unit, yet without the labor 
intensive installation process. 

Other features of this system include:
 - wireless telemetry with a range up to one mile (no wires or cables to run)
 - optional satellite telemetry with unlimited range for terrestrial applications
 - the ability to monitor pH of soil at various depths 
 - probes are essentially portable and light weight for easy relocation in the field
 - up to 40 moisture sensors per datalogger
 - up to 20 pH sensors per datalogger
 - probes can be configured to work with existing dataloggers
 - all probes are fully recyclable; if it breaks, send it back to us for a replacement

We are also working on a portable probe installation tool that uses acoustic waves to 
liquefy the soil around the probe during installation, allowing easier insertion and 
removal of the probe. It is anticipated that this tool will be available for field testing 
with the probes by late 1997.

I am in the process of setting up a field testing program for our product to get 
prototypes in the hands of scientists such as yourself. I am not yet certain if there will 
be restrictions from our funding sources on providing the technology to scientists in 
other countries, but I assure you we are structuring the testing program so the product 
can be tested in as many countries as possible. If it turns out there will be certain 
restrictions, we will nonetheless provide the technology through our own corporate 
programs at a later date.

We are hoping to obtain funding from the USDA and other sources for assistance in 
developing our field testing program to provide prototypes to interested scientists free 
of charge for usage in other agricultural programs in exchange for field testing data 
and other recommendations which we will use to make a better product. This way, we 
can accelerate the introduction of this technology into the agricultural market and 
provide another tool for scientists to perform research in a cost-effective way.

In my attempt to establish a realistic testing program, some questions I have are: 
 - what do you recommend as a suitable testing period for this system? 
 - are there specific funding programs you recommend?
 - would you consider participation with us in a U.S. government funded program, such 
as the establishment of a database system to collect ground truth data via satellite 
telemetry?

If you or other scientists you know are interested in participating in this program, 
please send me E-mail at:   stocher@dvtech.com
or write me at the address below.

Since my schedule is so hectic these days, I can't guarantee an immediate response, 
but I will reply back within two weeks.

We expect to start producing prototypes during the first half of 1997, and have some 
finished prototypes available for field testing during the late third quarter of 1997.  

In developing the satellite communications option for the system,  we are in contact 
with some folks at NASA, who are interested in loaning some new portable satellite 
uplink equipment, along with the use of a communications satellite for field testing 
with this new system. 

We are considering to undertake the development of this new NASA technology into a 
new product, producing a new rugged, portable, lightweight, and compact satellite 
communications system for optional use with this or other monitoring systems needing 
telemetry based remote ground sensing or communications capabilities. 

In addition to this, we are researching the development of a new type of sensor, which 
is basically a spectrometer miniaturized into a microchip configuration for use with 
the ACIS probes. This sensor shows promise at being able to sense the presence and 
concentration of a wide range of  chemicals in the soil. This would allow agriculturists 
to determine with a high degree of accuracy the percentage of fertilizer at various 
depths in soil as well as assisting in the evaluation of proper nutrient application. In 
doing this, fertilizer usage could be controlled with more precision. This also makes 
the probes suitable for monitoring subsurface contamination as well, such as that 
which can occur from underground storage tanks. 

As always, we are interested in any comments you have.

 Regards,

Scott Tocher
Director of Technical Development
Developmental Technologies, Inc.
235 East Main Street, Suite 105
Hendersonville, Tennessee  37075
Phone:  615-826-2262
E-Mail: stocher@cris.com

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