Actuatable Work Tool Assemblies for Automated Crop Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional agricultural and livestock management systems require extensive manual effort and are often hazardous, as they involve searching for weeds, nutrient deficiencies, and monitoring in dense vegetation or hostile animal environments, making them inefficient and dangerous.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural system with support assemblies, propulsion units, and actuatable work tool assemblies equipped with measurement attachments such as cameras, sensors, and actuators, controlled by a processor to perform automated measurements and data collection within environments, enabling remote monitoring and decision-making.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual crop scouting and measurement is performed, then direct observation and identification of crops, weeds, and environmental conditions is possible, but extensive manual effort, time consumption, and exposure to hazardous environments are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs sensors, cameras, and measurement attachments that create digital copies and representations of physical crop conditions, weed presence, soil moisture, and environmental parameters. These measurements are captured remotely without requiring human physical presence, thereby maintaining measurement precision while eliminating time-consuming manual scouting
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection with automated sensing systems including optical sensors, electromagnetic sensors, and measurement attachments that can detect and quantify crop conditions, weed infestations, and environmental factors remotely, significantly reducing the time required for field assessment
2Ease of operation
If manual crop scouting is performed in dense vegetation or hostile environments, then direct access to crops and livestock is possible, but human mobility is impeded and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary automated system consisting of robotic platforms, sensors, and measurement attachments that physically access crops and livestock in hazardous environments. This intermediary system performs data collection tasks that would otherwise require human presence in dense vegetation, confined livestock spaces, or otherwise unsafe conditions, thereby eliminating safety risks while maintaining operational capability
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement attachments and sensors create digital representations of physical conditions in hazardous environments, allowing remote assessment of crop health, livestock conditions, and environmental factors without requiring human physical access to dangerous areas
3Device complexity
If traditional manual agricultural management is used, then simple system structure is maintained, but productivity and efficiency are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs measurement attachments and sensors that can perform multiple functions including optical detection, electromagnetic sensing, environmental monitoring, and data collection across different crop types and conditions. This multi-functionality increases productivity by allowing a single system to handle diverse agricultural assessment tasks without requiring separate specialized equipment for each function
Solution Approach 2:
The automated measurement system creates comprehensive digital copies of agricultural conditions including crop health, soil moisture, weed presence, and livestock conditions, enabling efficient data analysis and decision-making that significantly outperforms manual observation in terms of productivity and speed
Data Source
AI summary
An agricultural system comprising includes a support assembly having one or more support structures and one or more propulsion units coupled to the one or more support structures. The agricultural system includes one or more actuatable work tool assemblies having one or more measurement attachments configured to perform one or more measurements of at least one of one or more objects or one or more regions within an environment. The one or more actuatable work tool assemblies may be actuated by one or more actuation systems. The agricultural system may include a controller configured to cause one or more processors to direct the one or more actuation systems to actuate the one or more actuatable work tool assemblies position to perform one or more measurements of at least one of one or more objects or one or more regions within the environment.