Sensor system for classifying and mapping soil for agricultural crops

Abstract

The present invention proposes a system for identifying factors that interfere with agricultural crop productivity. The invention employs advanced sensors for soil compaction (200), soil water and nitrogen content (100), soil electrical conductivity (EC) (300) and soil texture (000). The sensor system for classifying and mapping soil for agricultural crops is characterised in that it comprises: a) a soil texture sensor (000); b) a soil total nitrogen and water sensor (100); c) a soil compaction sensor (200); d) a soil electrical conductivity (EC) sensor (300); e) an X-axis installation platform (400); and f) a locomotion structure (500).

Description

“SENSOR SYSTEM FOR SOIL CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING FOR AGRICULTURAL CROPS” Field of Invention

[0001] The present invention is related to the monitoring of factors in the soil that interfere with the productivity of agricultural crops. Description of the State of the Art

[0002] With each passing day, monitoring soil factors that affect crop productivity is becoming increasingly important for modern, sustainable agriculture. These factors directly influence soil health, plant nutrient availability, water retention, and, consequently, crop performance and productivity. Some reasons why this monitoring is crucial include:

[0003] Providing information for decision-making: Continuous monitoring of soil factors such as pH, nutrient content, and organic matter allows farmers and agronomists to make informed decisions to optimize land management, such as choosing appropriate crops, applying the right fertilizers, and adopting appropriate management practices.

[0004] Maximize input efficiency: Understanding soil conditions allows for more precise application of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs, avoiding waste and reducing the negative environmental impacts associated with excessive chemical use.

[0005] Prevent and control soil problems: Regular monitoring can help identify potential soil problems such as compaction, salinity, acidity, or erosion, allowing preventative action to be taken before they negatively impact crop productivity.

[0006] Adapting to climate change: With continuous soil monitoring, farmers can adapt their management practices to address challenges arising from climate change, such as shifting rainfall patterns, extreme temperatures, and more intense weather events.

[0007] Improved Sustainability: By understanding the soil factors that directly affect agricultural productivity, farmers can adopt more sustainable practices, such as crop rotation, no-till farming, minimum tillage, and cover cropping, which contribute to the long-term preservation of soil health and natural resources.

[0008] Increased productivity and profitability: By monitoring and adjusting soil conditions, farmers can improve crop productivity, resulting in higher yields and greater profitability in their agricultural activities.

[0009] In short, monitoring soil factors that affect agricultural productivity is a fundamental tool for ensuring sustainable, efficient agriculture adapted to changing environmental conditions. This practice contributes to the protection of natural resources and food security, benefiting both farmers and society as a whole.

[0010] Document CN104990900 covers a device and method for measuring soil nitrogen and water content. The device consists of a detection sensor comprising an optical system and a circuit system, and a controller connected to the detection sensor.

[0011] Document CN 107991245 has as its objects a collector of spectral information from crops and methods of acquiring crop vegetation indices.

[0012] The drawbacks of current technology are related to soil characteristics. Soil is a highly complex material containing different forms of water. When the sensor encounters an untreated soil sample, the diffuse reflection of light is affected by the varying sizes of soil particles and the varying levels of water in the soil.

[0013] The current optical spectral soil analysis method is performed in a laboratory. A soil sample is collected on the farm and must be treated before testing, and the instrument is very expensive.

[0014] The state of the art cited above does not have the unique characteristics that will be presented in detail below.

[0015] Given the difficulties inherent in the aforementioned prior art, and the need for solutions for monitoring soil factors that impact crop productivity, the need arises to develop a technology capable of performing effectively and complying with environmental and safety guidelines. The aforementioned prior art lacks the unique characteristics that will be detailed below. Objectives of the invention

[0016] It is an object of the invention to provide a system that can be used to monitor and map cropland, estimate soil nitrogen storage, monitor cropland recovery, and contribute to precision research in agriculture.

[0017] Enable the robotic platform where the sensors will be arranged to carry a nutrient box and perform drip irrigation or foliar spraying on the soil, where it can also perform fertilization and irrigation precisely, saving fertilizer consumption and increasing yield.

[0018] Another objective of the invention is to provide a significant advance in the area of ​​agriculture, contributing to the development of sustainable and effective solutions in crop management. Brief Description of the Invention

[0019] The present invention proposes a system for identifying factors that affect crop productivity. The invention utilizes advanced sensors for soil compaction, soil water and nitrogen content, soil EC conduction, and soil texture.

[0020] The invention relates to a sensor system for soil classification and mapping for agricultural crops, comprising: a) soil texture sensor; b) total nitrogen and soil water sensor; c) soil moisture sensor; soil compaction; d) soil EC conductivity sensor; e) X-axis installation platform; f) locomotion structure. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021] The present invention will be described in more detail below, with reference to the attached figures which, in a schematic manner and not limiting the inventive scope, represent examples of its implementation. The drawings show: - Figure 1 illustrates the axis visualization; - Figure 2 illustrates the front view; - Figure 3 illustrates the side view of the total nitrogen and water content sensor; - Figure 4 illustrates the axis view of the total nitrogen and water content sensor; - Figure 5 illustrates the sectional view of the total nitrogen and water content sensor; - Figure 6 illustrates the axis view of the total nitrogen and water content sensor; - Figure 7 illustrates the sectional view of the total nitrogen and water content sensor; - Figure 8 illustrates the axis view of the total nitrogen and water content sensor; - Figure 9 illustrates the side view of the total nitrogen and water content sensor axis; - Figure 10 illustrates the axis view of the X-axis installation platform; - Figure 11 illustrates the front view of the X-axis installation platform; - Figure 12 illustrates the 4-terminal electrode scheme; - Figure 13 illustrates the conventional structure method; - Figure 14 illustrates the method of the proposed new structure. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0022] Below is a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is exemplary and in no way limiting. However, possible additional embodiments of the present invention, still encompassed by the essential and optional features below, will become clear to one skilled in the art upon reading this description.

[0023] As mentioned previously, the current state-of-the-art testing method involves collecting a soil sample and sending it to a laboratory. This requires a lengthy testing period and is quite costly.

[0024] The present invention proposes a sensor system for soil classification and mapping for agricultural crops.

[0025] The sensor is mobile and provides results quickly. The sensor works in conjunction with a robot and can generate a comprehensive diagnostic map for the entire farm, providing significant support to farmers. This means it's not just a single test result for each individual soil sample.

[0026] The soil total nitrogen and water sensor (100) adopts active VIS-NIR spectral analysis to perform online and real-time testing to obtain the total nitrogen and water content of the soil at different depths.

[0027] The soil compaction sensor (200) is equipped with a pressure sensor, which is stable, fast, and accurate, directly analyzing soil compaction during insertion of the sensor into the crop field. The soil compaction sensor (200) obtains soil data when the probe is inserted into the soil in a stable state. Therefore, it obtains more stable and accurate data.

[0028] The Soil EC Conductivity Sensor (300) utilizes the four-terminal electrode method to test and analyze soil EC conductivity. By combining the four-terminal electrodes in one probe, it is able to significantly reduce power consumption and operating cost.

[0029] A 4-terminal electrode (figure 12) is used to measure soil conductivity where terminals 1 and 4 are used as excitation, while terminals 2 and 3 are used as feedback, and soil conductivity is calculated by detecting the potential difference between the ends of the two terminals (2,3) at the feedback end.

[0030] Both the distance between the electrodes and the contact area with the ground affect the conductivity of the measuring object. Therefore, to obtain more accurate measurement results, a new ring electrode probe was developed. Compared to the conventional method, the differences are as follows:

[0031] The soil texture sensor (000) is based on the spectrum camera module, which is equipped with a high-resolution camera (113), which detects the soil surface situation during the process that includes online nutrient sampling. Combining the comprehensive mapping of soil information and distribution map, such as soil total nitrogen sensor (100) (200) (300), compaction, EC etc. The soil texture sensor (000), is the cultivation guide and does fixed-point monitoring.

[0032] The soil texture sensor (000) is based on the spectral camera module (113), equipped with a camera and a VIS-NIR spectral chip. During integrated nutrient sampling, the soil surface appearance is sampled and analyzed. Plant growth is monitored as the robot moves. Combined with comprehensive soil information such as soil nitrogen and / or total carbon (100), (200), (300), nutrients, compaction, salinity, temperature, and moisture, a soil information distribution map and crop growth map are generated to provide guidance for agricultural services.

[0033] The soil total nitrogen sensor and water sensor (100) consists of two parts: The total nitrogen sensor and water sensor (100) and, the Z axis (120) (The same as the Z axis (210) of the system (200), which will be described later).

[0034] The sensor (100) includes an electric push rod (111), a DC motor (112), a spectrum camera module (113), a ground lead screw (114), an optical fiber protection cover (115) which can open and close, an electric push rod (115), a slide rail (116), a PCBA spectrum information collection card (117), a full spectrum halogen lamp (118), a multi-head Y-type optical fiber (119), and a transmission gear (120).

[0035] The Z-axis (120) motor (224) drives the total nitrogen and water content sensor (100), moving the sensor (100) downward. The DC motor (112) drives the soil lead screw (114) to rotate and drill holes through the Z-axis (120) drive belt and gear.

[0036] The optical fiber protection cover (115) is closed, and the top of the cover is equipped with a positioning blade to locate and remove debris such as straw and weeds on the soil surface, so that the optical fiber (119) can collect soil samples online and in real time, sending all data via the cloud via the robot.

[0037] When the Z axis (120) drives the test system to move to a designated position, the electric rod (110) pushes the optical fiber (119), the protective cover (115) is opened, so that the optical fiber (119) can penetrate into the ground.

[0038] The full-spectrum halogen lamp (118) provides a full-spectrum light source between 300 and 2500 nm, which enters the optical fiber (116) through a collimator to illuminate the soil. At this time, the sampling cavity is in dark cavity mode. The light scattered by the soil is collected by the photoelectric sensor on the Y-type fiber optic spectral information acquisition card PCBA (117), and the reaction status of nitrogen and water in the soil in each sensitive band is analyzed, as well as the content value. The spectral camera module (113) includes a high-resolution lens, which can analyze the soil status.

[0039] The sensor (200) contains two parts: A compaction sensor (210) and a Z axis (220). The compaction sensor (210) includes a standard probe (211) which can be disassembled and replaced, a main needle (212), a photoelectric sensor (213) for bending moment detection, a column (214) for force transmission, a soil compaction signal acquisition and processing board PCBA (215), an integrated temperature-compensated high-precision pressure sensor (216), sensor housing (217), and sensor mounting plate (218). The Z axis includes a Z axis protective housing (221), a linear bearing (222), a drag chain (223), a motor (224), a transmission gear (225) on the motor (224) to drive the compaction sensor (210) installed on the sensor mounting plate (218) moves up and down along the polished rod 228, and the probe (212) goes into the soil and collects the compaction degree value.The Z axis (220) is used as an up and down motion module and is commonly used in other sensor implementation modules.

[0040] The sensor (300) includes a probe (311), an electric rod (312), a transmission wheel (313), a frequency domain wave generator circuit and a PCBA signal acquisition board (314), a linear motor (315), an electrode (316), and a DC electrode (317).

[0041] The probe (311) has three characteristic parts: a) a discontinuous, non-conductive outer shell with threaded features, b) a probe core, and c) a probe tip with a temperature sensor.

[0042] The gear (313) and probe (311) are static, forming part of the measurement system of the EC sensor (300). The DC motor (317) is driven by the gear (313) and drives the probe (311) to rotate. Driven by the linear motor (315), the probe (311) penetrates the soil bed. When it reaches the detection point, the electric rod (312) is reset and the electrode (316) touches the probe (311). At this time, according to the sampling requirements, the frequency domain wave generation circuit and the signal acquisition card PCBA (314) form different driving loops to complete the soil EC conductivity sampling.

[0043] The X-axis installation platform (400), which can adjust the installation spacing, includes the main shaft (410), linear bearing (420), auxiliary shaft (430), fixed flange (440), transmission belt module (450), sensor installation plate (460), drive motor (470), installation plate (480), and drag chain (490).

[0044] The platform (400) can adjust the installation distance of the auxiliary axes (430) on both sides according to the distance of the installed robotic platforms and the crop production situation. The sensors (100, 200, 300) are installed on the sensor installation plate (460), and different sensors can be selected for installation as needed. The sensor can move in the horizontal direction to achieve fixed-point sampling; its depth is controllable, and data collection and analysis of soils at different depths can be achieved.

[0045] The structure (500) is a kind of robot, where the entire sensor system described above is mounted. The structure (500) provides an autonomous means of locomotion for the sensor system. The structure (500) is provided with a chassis (501) where the platform (400) is mounted. The structure (500) also has four wheels (502) for locomotion, two of which are coupled to motors (503).

Claims

Claims 1 - SENSOR SYSTEM FOR SOIL CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING FOR AGRICULTURAL CROPS, characterized by comprising: a) soil texture sensor (000); b) total nitrogen and soil water sensor (100); c) soil compaction sensor (200); d) soil EC conductivity sensor (300); e) X-axis installation platform (400) f) locomotion structure (500). 2- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (100) adopts an active VIS-NIR spectral analysis to perform the tests online and in real time. 3- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (200) is equipped with a pressure sensor to analyze compaction directly in the soil during insertion of the sensor in the cultivation area. 4- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (300) uses the four-terminal electrode method to test and analyze the EC conductivity of the soil. 5- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (000) is based on the spectrum camera module (113). 6- SYSTEM, according to claim 5, characterized in that the spectrum camera module is equipped with a high-resolution camera (113). 7- SYSTEM, according to claim 6, characterized by the high resolution camera (113) detecting the condition of the ground surface. 8- SYSTEM, according to claims 5 to 7, characterized by the sensor (000), according to nutrient sampling, combining the soil situation with the comprehensive mapping of soil information and the distribution map, compaction, EC, etc. 9- SYSTEM, according to claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the sensor (000) is the cultivation guide and performs fixed-point monitoring. 10- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (100) consists of two parts: total nitrogen sensor and water sensor (100) and the Z axis (120). 11 - SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (100) comprises an electric push rod (111), a DC motor (112), a spectrum camera module (113), a ground lead screw (114), a fiber optic protection cover (115), an electric rod (115), a slide rail (116), a PCBA spectrum information collection card (117), a full spectrum halogen lamp (118), a multi-head Y-type optical fiber (119) and a transmission gear (120). 12- SYSTEM, according to claim 11, characterized in that the Z axis (120) has a motor that performs a downward movement of the sensor (100). 13- SYSTEM, according to claim 11, characterized in that the DC motor (112) drives the ground lead screw (114) to rotate and make holes through the belt and the Z-axis transmission gear (120). 14- SYSTEM, according to claim 11, characterized in that the optical fiber protection cover (115) is closed, and the upper part of the cover is equipped with a positioning blade. 15- SYSTEM, according to claim 14, characterized by the positioning blade locating and removing debris to collect soil samples in real time via the optical fiber (119). 16- SYSTEM, according to claim 11, characterized in that the full spectrum halogen lamp (118) provides a full spectrum light source between 300 and 2500 nm, which enters the optical fiber (116) through a collimator to illuminate the ground. 17- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (200) contains two parts: a compaction sensor (210) and a Z axis (220). 18- SYSTEM, according to claim 17, characterized in that the compaction sensor (210) includes a standard probe (211), a main needle (212), a photoelectric sensor (213), a column (214), an acquisition plate and soil compaction signal processing PCBA (215), an integrated temperature-compensated high-precision pressure sensor (216), sensor housing (217), and sensor mounting plate (218). 19- SYSTEM, according to claim 17, characterized in that the Z axis (220) includes a Z axis protection housing (221), a linear bearing (222), a drag chain (223), a motor (224), a transmission gear (225) in the motor (224). 20- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (300) includes a probe (311), an electric rod (312), a transmission wheel (313), a frequency domain wave generator circuit, a PCBA signal acquisition board (314), a linear motor (315), an electrode (316) and a DC electrode (317). 21 - SYSTEM, according to claim 20, characterized in that the probe (311) has three characteristic parts: a) a discontinuous and non-conductive outer casing with threaded features, b) a probe core and c) a probe tip with a temperature sensor. 22- SYSTEM, according to claim 20, characterized in that the gear (313) and the probe (311) are fixed. 23- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the X-axis installation platform (400) includes a main shaft (410), linear bearing (420), auxiliary shaft (430), fixed flange (440), transmission belt module (450), sensor installation plate (460), drive motor (470), installation plate (480) and drag chain (490). 24- SYSTEM, according to claim 23, characterized in that the X-axis installation platform (400) adjusts the installation distance of the auxiliary axes (430) on both sides according to the distance of the installed robotic platforms and the crop production situation. 25- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensors (100), (200), (300) are installed on the sensor installation plate (460) and different sensors can be selected for installation if necessary. 26- SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the structure (500) is provided with a chassis (501) where the platform (400) is mounted. 27- SYSTEM, according to claim 26, characterized in that the structure (500) also has four wheels (502) for locomotion, two of these wheels being coupled to motors (503).

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