Agricultural Plant Positioning and Separation for Automated Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual assessment of plants, particularly cereal crops, is time-consuming and costly, and aerial detection using drones is inaccurate and error-prone.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural device equipped with a positioning unit for deflecting and separating plants and an analysis unit for detecting and analyzing, utilizing various image sensors and sensors to automate the assessment process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual assessment of plants is performed, then accurate detection and analysis of plant characteristics can be achieved, but the process becomes time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical assessment with an automated optical-mechanical system. The agricultural device uses image sensors (optical system) mounted on a moving platform to capture plant images, which are then processed by evaluation units (computational system) to automatically determine plant characteristics. This substitution eliminates the need for manual field assessment while maintaining high detection accuracy through multiple sensors and algorithms.
2Productivity
If aerial detection using drones is employed, then time consumption is reduced, but detection accuracy becomes too inaccurate and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection system into multiple specialized components working in coordination: positioning units for precise plant location, deflecting units for plant positioning, multiple types of image sensors (RGB, NIR, SWIR, MWIR, LWIR, MSI, HSI) for different spectral information, and specialized evaluation units for different plant characteristics. This segmentation allows each component to optimize for its specific function, achieving both speed and accuracy that a single drone system cannot provide.
Solution Approach 2:
The agricultural device integrates multiple functions into a single platform: it combines aerial mobility with ground-level precision positioning, integrates multiple spectral sensing capabilities, incorporates plant deflecting and positioning mechanisms, and performs real-time image processing and evaluation. This multi-functional integration allows the system to achieve both the speed of aerial detection and the accuracy of manual assessment.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple guide elements and positioning units are added to improve plant positioning accuracy, then the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic positioning mechanisms where guide elements and deflecting units can be adjusted during operation. The positioning units are designed to adapt to different plant positions and orientations, using movable components that can be actuated based on real-time plant location feedback. This dynamic approach allows the system to maintain high positioning accuracy without requiring a fixed complex structure for every possible plant configuration.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an agricultural device (1) for detecting and/or analyzing at least one plant (2), in particular a cereal plant, comprising at least one positioning unit (3) for positioning, deflecting, fanning out, and/or separating the at least one plant (2) and/or at least one row of plants (4) formed from several plants (2) arranged in a row, and comprising at least one analysis unit (5) for detecting and/or analyzing the at least one plant (2). Furthermore, the invention relates to a singling device (17), a method, and a computer-implemented method for detecting and/or analyzing at least one plant (2).