Embodied Intelligence for Soil Health toward Sustainable Smart Agriculture: Sensing the Soil with Flexible Geotextiles Sensors

The integration of agriculture and Internet of Things (IoT) technology has transformed traditional farming into data-driven, automated, and highly interactive systems. Central to this evolution are sensor platforms that monitor soil conditions and environmental parameters such as moisture, temperature, pH, nutrients, and pollutants. Recent progress in flexible electronics and smart functional materials has created new opportunities for developing adaptable sensor systems suited to dynamic agricultural applications. Despite these advancements, the use of geotextiles as soil-sensing platforms remains largely unexplored. This review traces the shift from conventional rigid soil sensors to flexible and potentially geotextile-based systems, assessing their roles in IoT-enabled agricultural applications. While soil sensors are generally discussed under separate headings, the review integrates them under the common themes, including material selection, fabrication methods, testing methodologies, energy management strategies, and IoT connectivity. By identifying common materials, design principles, and manufacturing techniques across various soil sensors, the review proposes a synthesis framework that supports multi-sensor integration. Extending this integrative approach to geotextile-based structures envisions the realization of flexible, large-area, and adaptive soil sensing platforms that could enable next-generation of sustainable and smart precision agriculture.