Plant treatment system, in particular for agriculture

Abstract

This invention proposes a plant treatment system comprising: a spray bar (10) movable over an area to be treated and provided with a plurality of spray nozzles (110a, 110b) distributed on the spray bar (10) and supplied by a spray control device (120); a set of cameras (210) capable of capturing images of the area to be treated; and a digital processing device (220) capable of analyzing the images captured by the cameras, identifying the plants to be treated, and issuing instructions to the spray control device to locally apply a nominal dose of product to the plants to be treated and at a time determined according to the displacement of the spray bar. According to the invention, the system further comprises an error detection device (300) capable of providing an error signal to the spray control device in case of an error, the spray control device being configured to apply a substantially uniform dose of product to at least a portion of the area to be treated by means of the plurality of nozzles (110a, 110b) in a degraded mode. For cultivated or uncultivated spaces.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Generally speaking, this invention relates to the field of plant treatment. Existing technology

[0002] Methods and systems for selectively treating vegetation in cultivated or railway areas are known according to applicants WO2018142371A1, WO2018141995A1, and WO2018154490A1. Such systems include a spray bar moved by a tractor and equipped with multiple spaced-apart nozzles. The spray bar also includes one or more cameras and one or more processing units, the cameras capturing images of the field while the system is moving, and the processing units identifying vegetation in the captured images using learning-based image recognition technology and controlling the spray nozzles in real time to apply treatment locally, such as herbicide treatment, only at locations where the presence of vegetation to be treated is detected.

[0003] Compared to conventional solutions where all nozzles feed simultaneously and continuously as the system moves through the area to be treated, this system allows for a significant reduction in the use of treated products, such as plant protection products.

[0004] However, one problem associated with spot spraying triggered by the identification of the plants to be treated is that many operating conditions must be met.

[0005] In fact, such a system may face many problems, including hardware issues, such as:

[0006] - At least one erroneous communication between the camera and the digital processing unit.

[0007] - Power source errors in the system, particularly in the vision system comprised of the camera and digital processing unit.

[0008] - Errors in lighting fixtures when working at night or in dark conditions.

[0009] - Insufficient image sharpness due to, for example, camera optical malfunctions.

[0010] - The spray bar is positioned too low or too high.

[0011] Or software issues, such as:

[0012] - An execution error occurred during the handling of the program (system crash).

[0013] -The presence of corrupted images

[0014] - Other issues related to the work environment, such as:

[0015] - The presence of dust or fog that impairs image quality

[0016] Dust and / or moisture buildup on the camera's optics can again impair image quality.

[0017] - The image is overexposed or underexposed, for example due to sudden changes in brightness (especially clouds and sunlight).

[0018] Too much wind causes the spray to disperse excessively. Summary of the Invention

[0019] The purpose of this invention is to limit the consequences of such problems.

[0020] To address this, a plant treatment system is proposed, comprising a spray bar displaceable over a region to be treated, the spray bar having multiple spray nozzles distributed on the spray bar and fed by a spray control device. The system includes: a set of cameras capable of capturing images of the region to be treated; and a digital processing device capable of analyzing the images captured by the cameras, identifying the plants to be treated, and issuing instructions to the spray control device to locally apply a nominal product dose to the plants to be treated and at a time determined according to the displacement of the spray bar. The system is characterized by including an error detection device capable of sending an error signal to the spray control device in case of an error, the spray control device being configured to apply a substantially uniform dose of product to at least a portion of the region to be treated by means of the multiple nozzles in a degraded mode.

[0021] Preferred aspects of the system include the following optional additional features, considered individually or in any combination that a person skilled in the art would consider technically compatible:

[0022] *The product applied in normal mode and the product applied in degraded mode are the same product, with a roughly uniform dose less than the nominal dose.

[0023] The system includes two rows of nozzles distributed along the spray bar. One row of nozzles can locally spray the identified plants, and the other row of nozzles can apply the spray in a degraded mode in a roughly uniform manner.

[0024] These two rows of nozzles are connected to a shared product container via a supply device.

[0025] *For the first row of spray nozzles, the supply unit includes a separate control valve for each nozzle.

[0026] *For the second row of nozzles, the supply device includes a common control valve for at least one group of nozzles.

[0027] *For the second row of nozzles, the supply device includes a control valve for each nozzle.

[0028] The system includes a row of nozzles distributed along a spray bar and associated with corresponding control valves having more than two open states. The spray control device is capable of individually controlling the control valves in normal mode and selectively placing the control valves in a state that allows for the application of a substantially uniform product dosage in degraded mode.

[0029] The control valve features proportional control.

[0030] *The product dosage is generally uniform and less than the recommended nominal dosage for the relevant product.

[0031] The error detection device is configured to detect at least one of the following: data transmission errors, particularly image data transmission errors, power source errors, lighting errors, camera optics errors, software errors, image data errors, and errors caused by external factors such as brightness, dust, humidity, and wind. Attached Figure Description

[0032] Other aspects, objects, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which are provided by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] In the attached diagram:

[0034] - Figure 1 This is a schematic partial top view of a spray bar according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] - Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A partial side front view of the spray bar; and

[0036] - Figure 3 This is a schematic partial top view of a spray bar according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0037] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The image shows a spray bar 10, which includes a support structure 100 and two sets of spray nozzles, the support structure being, for example, metal, and both sets of spray nozzles being distributed along the spray bar 10.

[0038] The first series of spray nozzles 110a are fed by a first common line or pipe 112a connected to a source 130 of liquid to be sprayed under pressure, while the second series of spray nozzles 110b are fed by a second common line or pipe 112b also connected to a source 130 of liquid to be sprayed under pressure.

[0039] At least at the first series of nozzles 110a, spraying is controlled by a plurality of control valves 114a installed between the common line 112a and the respective nozzles, such that each valve can be selectively opened independently of the other valves at any desired time, so that the corresponding nozzle can be placed into the line 112a for spraying liquid.

[0040] Regarding the second series of nozzles 110b, multiple control valves 114b are provided that are associated with the respective nozzles and enable the nozzles to communicate individually with the common line 112b, or (as shown by the dashed line) a single common valve 115b is installed between the container 130 of the liquid to be dispersed and the line 112b.

[0041] Different control valves are controlled by the spray control unit 120. The control valves are preferably commercially available solenoid valves with PWM (pulse width modulation) control.

[0042] The spray boom is either integrated into machine E, towed by the machine, or carried by the machine, which may in particular be an agricultural tractor or a road or rail vehicle.

[0043] The spray boom 110 also carries a set of cameras 210, whose axis AC is oriented upwards in a vertical plane parallel to the machine's direction of travel D, and is capable of capturing images of the area Z in which the spray boom 100 is moving to identify the plants to be treated. The plants can be weeds on which herbicides are selectively sprayed, or cultivated plants on which phytosanitary products (insecticides, fertilizers, growth regulators, etc.) are selectively sprayed.

[0044] Camera 210 is connected to one or more digital processing units 220, which are capable of analyzing images captured by the camera to determine the presence of a target plant. This analysis is accomplished, for example, by decomposing each image into sub-images of a defined size, applying a convolution function to each of these sub-images using a weight matrix, and determining the probability of the target plant's presence based on the result of the convolution. Such techniques are described in the applicant's documents WO2018142371A1 and WO2018141995A1.

[0045] The system also includes an error detection unit 300, which works with the digital processing unit 200 and a set of sensors (represented by reference numeral 310) to allow the spray bar error signal to be sent when the environment requires it.

[0046] The error detection unit can perform at least one of the following functions:

[0047] - Verify the communication between each camera 210 and the digital processing unit 220, for example by programming the unit such that when no image is received, the unit sends the lost image information to the unit 300;

[0048] - Identify power source errors in the system, particularly power source errors in the vision system consisting of camera 210 and digital processing unit 220; to allow this verification, unit 300 has a power supply separate from the power supply of the monitored system, possibly with a battery backup power supply.

[0049] - Verify the operation of the lighting device. If such device is mounted on a spray bar and should be turned on, this verification can be done, for example, by monitoring the power source reaching the lamp or by means of a photodetector placed in front of one or more lamps, or by detecting anomalies in the brightness of the image at the digital processing unit.

[0050] - For example, by means of a subroutine for calculating the sharpness of the image applied to the image arriving at the processing unit, the sharpness of the image received by the digital processing unit 220 is estimated, and sharpness information is provided to the unit 300;

[0051] - For example, by inserting normal sequence signals generated by appropriate routines into the program involved, program execution errors (crashes, lockouts, etc.) of the digital processing unit can be detected;

[0052] - Again, by inserting the appropriate subroutine into unit 220, errors (especially formatting errors, checksum errors, etc.) in the image arriving at that unit are detected;

[0053] - The presence of dust and / or fog in the atmosphere can be detected by means of the set of sensors 310, for example by determining the light propagation between the light source and the associated sensor, and / or (e.g. by optically determining the condition of a transparent reference plate exposed to the environment in the same manner as the camera) the accumulation of dust and / or moisture on the optics of the camera, and / or excessive wind can be detected by means of an anemometer set in the set of sensors, which would greatly impair the spraying accuracy.

[0054] - Detect the presence of dust or fog in the atmosphere, in which case detection is achieved by, for example, digitally processing the captured image using a neural network;

[0055] - For example, by means of an appropriate routine inserted into the program of the unit, overexposure or underexposure of the image received by the digital processing unit 220 can be detected.

[0056] Of course, other factors related to the operation or environment of the spray bar can be considered, especially the behavior of the device for dynamically adjusting the tilt of the spray bar when such a device is provided.

[0057] Possibly, and as suggested in some of the preceding paragraphs, each spray bar may include any supplementary equipment, such as height measuring devices, devices for controlling the position or geometry of the spray bar, lighting systems, etc.

[0058] Whenever a plant to be treated is detected in an image by the processing unit 220, its position in the image allows inference of its actual position in the area being treated, and the corresponding data is transmitted to the spray control unit 120.

[0059] According to one aspect of the invention, if the processing operation performed by unit 300 results in the determination of normal operation, the spray bar can operate normally, and the control unit 120 controls the spot spraying and selective spraying of the plant to be treated by using the first series of nozzles 110a and performing individual control of the relevant control valves 112a at the time specified by the plant detection, as described, for example, in the applicant's patent application, based on the plant detection operation performed by the vision systems 210, 220.

[0060] If unit 300 issues an error signal causing the spray bar to cease normal operation, as explained above, a corresponding signal is applied to control unit 120, causing it to switch spraying to a degraded mode. In degraded mode, when the machine is moved, uniform spraying of the area to be treated is performed using all nozzles of the second series of nozzles 110b, or spraying is performed using a subset of the second series of nozzles 110b in a sub-region of the area to be treated, corresponding to the location where the error was detected. Preferably, the control circuit 120 and / or the nozzle supply circuit are configured such that the dose applied by the nozzles 110b is substantially uniform across the entire area or sub-region to be treated, taking into account head loss in the supply line 112b. During this spraying in degraded mode, the first series of nozzles 110a is deactivated.

[0061] Preferably, the dose applied for such spraying in degraded mode (generally defined by the product weight or volume per unit treated surface) is less than the dose applied locally during normal operation. This lower dose is achieved by appropriately controlling control valves 114b or 116b associated with the second series of nozzles. This lower dose is intended to minimize the application of product to plants that should not normally receive the product, particularly cultivated plants, and also takes into account that some plants will receive product from two or more adjacent nozzles (due to the overlap that is conventionally present in spray bars with multiple nozzles). This also allows for a reduction in the amount of product applied, taking into account environmental and economic criteria. Alternatively, it can be applied uniformly at a standard dose, while localized application at an overdose is performed in normal operating mode.

[0062] Therefore, in normal operation, the first series of nozzles 110a allows for localized treatment on the plants to be treated, detected by the vision systems 210, 220, with optimal efficiency, while when operating in degraded mode, the second series of nozzles 110b is used to apply a safe treatment to the entire area so as to ensure that all plants to be treated are sprayed, although typically at a lower dose than the nominal dose.

[0063] In the second implementation scheme and referenced Figure 3 The nozzle rod has a single series of nozzles 110a, each nozzle being connected to a common supply line 112a via a corresponding control valve.

[0064] In this embodiment, each valve 112a has proportional control, meaning it can release a product dose that varies according to instructions and subsequently between 0% and 100%.

[0065] In normal operation, valve 112a is individually controlled based on the plant detection by vision systems 210 and 220. The nozzles involved, as well as the start and end times of spot treatment, are determined at processing unit 220 and / or control unit 120 according to the system architecture. The control valve 112a of the nozzles involved is controlled by control unit 120 to perform nominal opening of the control valve 112a associated with the nozzles involved between the calculated start and end times, so as to perform spraying with a higher dose of the relevant product during this time window.

[0066] When unit 300 detects an error, it controls the valve 112a to open to a certain degree, so that the area to be treated is sprayed roughly evenly.

[0067] Therefore, the same advantages as the first implementation scheme are obtained.

[0068] Of course, the present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described and depicted, but those skilled in the art will be able to make many variations and modifications. In particular:

[0069] - "Nozzle" means a single nozzle or a group or a string of nozzles, such as nozzles that operate in different directions and / or have different spraying geometries;

[0070] - In the case of a group of nozzles, the associated control valve may include a valve for each nozzle, a valve for each group, or a valve for a subgroup;

[0071] - Control valves (whether they are on / off or have proportional control) can be made by any suitable technology that integrates them into the nozzle or separates them from the nozzle;

[0072] - The system of the first embodiment can be used to apply two different products, for example, to apply a local foliar herbicide in normal operation and to apply a selective herbicide in degraded operation mode;

[0073] - The activation of the nozzles involved in point spraying also includes the activation of a group of adjacent nozzles;

[0074] - In the event of an error in the communication between the camera, camera optics, image, or camera and processing unit, it is conceivable to place only the nozzle group associated with the camera involved into a degraded mode;

[0075] - Error detection unit 300 may apply different error signals to unit 120 according to the error type, for example, to apply different uniform doses according to the error type, or to superimpose local application on overall uniform application if the error only means a coarser detection of the plant to be treated, although local treatment will be less accurate and / or the probability of the presence of the plant to be treated will be lower.

[0076] - "Digital processing unit" refers to a single processing device and a group of processing devices, especially processing devices for parallel processing, which may be distributed in different locations of the plant treatment system and associated with corresponding cameras or camera groups.

[0077] This invention relates to agriculture and any field in which plant treatment may be necessary, such as the application of herbicides to weeds, particularly in areas such as transportation and urban management.

Claims

1. A plant treatment system comprising a spray bar movable over an area to be treated, the spray bar having a plurality of nozzles distributed on the spray bar and supplied by a spray control device, the plant treatment system comprising: A set of cameras, the set of cameras being capable of capturing images of the area to be processed; A digital processing device capable of analyzing the image captured by the camera, identifying the plant to be treated, and issuing instructions to the spray control device to apply a nominal product dose to the plant to be treated locally and at a time determined according to the displacement of the spray bar in normal mode, the plant treatment system being characterized in that the plant treatment system includes an error detection device capable of issuing an error signal to the spray control device in case of an error, the spray control device being configured to apply a uniform product dose less than the nominal product dose to at least a portion of the area to be treated by means of some of the plurality of nozzles in a degraded mode.

2. The plant treatment system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The product applied in normal mode and the product applied in degraded mode are the same product.

3. The plant treatment system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The plant treatment system includes two rows of nozzles distributed along the spray bar, the first row of nozzles being capable of locally spraying the identified plants, and the second row of nozzles being capable of applying the uniform product dosage in a degraded mode.

4. The plant treatment system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The two rows of nozzles are connected to a common product container via a supply device.

5. The plant treatment system according to claim 4, characterized in that, For the first row of nozzles, the supply device includes a separate control valve for each nozzle.

6. The plant treatment system according to claim 5, characterized in that, For the second row of nozzles, the supply device includes a common control valve for at least one group of nozzles.

7. The plant treatment system according to claim 5, characterized in that, For the second row of nozzles, the supply device includes a control valve for each nozzle.

8. The plant treatment system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The plant treatment system includes a row of nozzles distributed along the spray bar, the row of nozzles being associated with corresponding control valves having more than two open states, the spray control device being able to individually control the control valves in normal mode and selectively switch the control valves simultaneously to a state that allows the application of the uniform product dosage in degraded mode.

9. The plant treatment system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The control valve has proportional control.

10. The plant treatment system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The error detection device is configured to detect at least one of the following: data transmission error, power source error, lighting error, camera optics error, software error, image data error, and error caused by external factors.

11. The plant treatment system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The error detection device is configured to detect at least one of the following: data transmission error, power source error, lighting error, camera optics error, software error, image data error, and error caused by external factors.

12. The plant treatment system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The data transmission errors include errors in the transmission of image data.

13. The plant treatment system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The external factors mentioned include brightness, dust, humidity, or wind.

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