Camera-Mapped Spray Boom Control for Selective Plant Spraying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing smart spraying systems for agriculture face challenges in simplifying calculations, ensuring reliable association between plant location and nozzle activation, and adapting plant recognition systems to different spraying systems.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a memory for mapping data between camera and spraying reference systems, allowing the digital processing device to apply subdivision data to images, directly determining the nozzle to activate and its activation time based on plant location within specific image cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex calculations are performed to determine nozzle activation and spray timing based on multiple parameters (camera position, height, orientation, system speed, plant location), then accurate spraying control is achieved, but on-board calculation resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing mapping data that relates camera reference system coordinates to spray reference system coordinates. This mapping data is stored in memory before the actual spraying operation, allowing the system to directly lookup nozzle activation information without performing complex real-time calculations during spraying, thus reducing on-board calculation resource consumption while maintaining spray control accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces mapping data as an intermediary between the camera image data and the spray control commands. This mapping data serves as a pre-computed translation layer that converts plant location information from the image coordinate system to the spray nozzle coordinate system, eliminating the need for complex real-time coordinate transformations and parameter calculations during the spraying operation
2Reliability
If real-time calculations are performed to associate plant location with nozzle activation timing, then accurate spray timing is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation by pre-determining the mapping between camera coordinates and spray coordinates, storing this mapping data in memory before operation. During actual spraying, the system only needs to retrieve the pre-calculated mapping data and perform simple lookups based on plant location, significantly reducing real-time calculation complexity while maintaining reliable nozzle activation timing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copied representation of the spatial relationship between camera and spray systems in the form of mapping data stored in memory. This copied spatial model allows the system to determine nozzle activation without performing complex real-time geometric calculations, simplifying the calculation system while maintaining activation reliability
3Device complexity
If a fixed mapping between camera and spray systems is used, then calculation simplicity is achieved, but adaptability to different spraying systems is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic mapping data structure that can be configured for different camera and spray system configurations. The mapping data is not fixed but can be adjusted and re-calibrated to match different spraying systems, camera positions, and geometries, allowing the same basic system architecture to adapt to various configurations while maintaining calculation simplicity through the mapping approach
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows changes in mapping parameters to adapt to different spraying systems. The mapping data can be re-calibrated with different parameters corresponding to different camera heights, orientations, and spray boom configurations, enabling the system to adapt to various spraying systems without changing the fundamental calculation approach
Data Source
AI summary
A system for treating plants, in particular in agriculture, comprising a spray boom (RP) provided with a plurality of spray nozzles (BPi) supplied by a spray control device, and comprising a set of cameras (CAk) capable of capturing images of an area to be treated, a digital processing device capable of analyzing the images captured by the camera, identifying plants to be treated and applying commands to the spray control device with a view to selectively spraying a product on plants to be treated, each camera (CAk) being capable of capturing images of the crop area.According to the invention, the system comprises a memory in which mapping data relating to mapping between a camera reference system and a spraying reference system are stored, and the digital processing circuit is capable, on the basis of said mapping data, of applying, to the images captured by each camera (CAk), subdivision data (Gk) for subdividing the image into cells corresponding to spray areas on the ground that are to be sprayed by respective spray nozzles, in order to thereby directly determine, from said subdivision data, at least one nozzle to be activated and its activation time when a plant to be treated is identified in a given cell of the image.