Crop Insect Monitoring With Imaging and Phenology-Based Spray Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural pest monitoring systems are inefficient and costly due to manual data collection, delayed data analysis, and excessive use of agrochemicals, lacking integration of environmental variables and phenological data, and suboptimal power supply arrangements.
Innovation Solution
A system that integrates capture devices with internal and external photography, sensors for environmental variables, and an analysis device to provide precise agrochemical application recommendations based on insect presence, phenological stages, and weather data, with an optimized power supply arrangement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual monitoring of pheromone traps is performed once or twice a week, then labor costs and operational simplicity are reduced, but data timeliness and pest detection speed deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service monitoring where the trap automatically captures insects and the photographic device automatically documents the capture without requiring manual intervention. The system serves itself by performing data collection, analysis, and alert generation autonomously, eliminating the need for periodic manual checks while maintaining continuous monitoring capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical process of collecting and counting insects in traps is replaced by an automated optical system. A photographic device captures images of the trap interior, and image processing algorithms automatically identify and count insects, substituting human manual inspection with automated vision-based detection.
2Device complexity
If manual data collection from multiple traps across large fields is performed, then equipment complexity and initial investment are reduced, but data collection time and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each monitoring station performs self-service by automatically capturing images of its trap and transmitting data without requiring human presence. Multiple distributed stations independently monitor their respective areas, collectively providing comprehensive field coverage without proportional increases in human labor.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates visual copies (photographs) of the trap contents and transmits these digital representations to a central analysis system. This allows remote inspection and analysis of multiple traps simultaneously without physical collection of insects or manual traversal of the field.
3Reliability
If agrochemical applications are performed preventively without precise pest detection, then pest control reliability is improved, but chemical usage and environmental exposure increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes a feedback loop where continuous monitoring data on insect presence and phenological stages is fed back to guide agrochemical application decisions. This closed-loop control enables applications only when monitoring data indicates actual pest pressure exceeds thresholds, replacing preventive calendar-based applications with demand-driven targeted applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors changes in key parameters including insect population counts, phenological stages of crops and pests, and environmental conditions. These parameter changes trigger alerts only when they indicate conditions warranting intervention, enabling precise timing of agrochemical applications based on actual pest development rather than fixed schedules.
4Adaptability or versatility
If photovoltaic panels are placed on capture devices for power supply, then system portability and installation flexibility are improved, but power generation reliability deteriorates due to shadowing from host vegetation
Solution Approach 1:
The power supply function is segmented from the capture device. Instead of integrating photovoltaic panels directly on the trap housing, the system separates the power generation component from the monitoring component, allowing independent optimization of each function's location and design.
Solution Approach 2:
A wireless power transmission intermediary is introduced between the photovoltaic panels and the capture device. The panels can be positioned in optimal locations for power generation (unshaded areas), and power is transmitted wirelessly to the capture device, eliminating the need for direct physical connection and allowing spatial separation to resolve the shadowing conflict.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for monitoring and controlling the presence of at least one type of insect on agricultural crops, comprising the following stages: attracting and capturing at least one insect; obtaining at least one internal photograph of said interior surface; obtaining at least one external photograph of a crop coverage area; measuring the ambient temperature, soil temperature, ambient humidity and soil humidity in the crop coverage area; sending the data to at least one control device; and subsequently to at least one analysis device; detecting if there is the presence of at least one insect in it; identifying the species to which the at least one photographed insect belongs; including in an insect count for the identified species the at least one identified insect; determining a degrees day and an accumulated degrees day; determining the phenological stage of the at least one insect and of the crop coverage area; evaluating based on one or more of the parameters whether it is appropriate to apply at least one agrochemical in said crop coverage area; alerting an operator in the event of the application of at least one agrochemical in the crop coverage area; storing in the at least one analysis device the parameters obtained and the evaluation of whether the application of at least one agrochemical corresponds; and using the stored information in the determination of future indications for the application of at least one agrochemical in the crop coverage area.