Real-Time Crop Treatment Using Geo-Spatial Image Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural technologies face challenges in efficiently and sustainably increasing food production to meet the demands of a growing global population, with existing methods being incremental and requiring significant land, chemicals, time, and labor.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural observation and treatment system utilizing cameras, light emitting devices, and a treatment device mounted on a gimbal, equipped with onboard electronic circuitry and sensors, employs artificial intelligence and computer vision to identify and treat specific agricultural objects with precision, emitting a fluid projectile or light treatment based on real-time imagery and geo-spatial location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional agricultural methods are used to increase food production, then crop yield can be improved, but chemical usage and environmental harm increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies treatments locally to specific plants or plant portions that require them, rather than uniformly treating entire fields. The camera identifies individual plants and the treatment device delivers chemicals only to targeted locations, creating localised treatment zones that reduce overall chemical usage while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables plants to receive treatment based on their own observed conditions. The camera detects plant characteristics and the control system automatically triggers treatment only for plants that need it, allowing each plant to receive care based on its individual needs without manual intervention for each plant.
2Productivity
If traditional agricultural methods are used to increase food production, then crop yield can be improved, but land and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
By treating only specific plants or plant portions that require treatment rather than entire fields, the system maximizes the utility of each unit of land. This localized approach ensures that resources are concentrated on productive areas, effectively increasing yield per unit area without expanding total land usage.
3Loss of substance
If precision treatment system is implemented to reduce chemical usage, then chemical efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines multiple functions into a single integrated platform: the camera serves both observation and identification functions, the gimbal provides both positioning and treatment delivery, and the control system handles both image processing and treatment activation. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical treatment application with an automated optical-mechanical system. The camera captures images, the processor analyzes them, and the gimbal-controlled treatment device automatically positions and applies treatment, substituting human labor and simple mechanical spraying with a sophisticated but integrated automated system.
4Manufacturing precision
If real-time imaging and AI analysis are used to identify target objects, then treatment precision is improved, but processing time and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary image capture and analysis before treatment is applied. By capturing images in advance and processing them to identify target plants, the system prepares treatment data beforehand, allowing for rapid execution when treatment is actually needed. This reduces the critical processing time during the treatment phase itself.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of an apparatus, methods, systems and computer program products described herein are directed to an agricultural observation and treatment system and method of operation. The agricultural treatment system may determine a first real-world geo-spatial location of the treatment system. The system can receive captured images depicting real-world agricultural objects of a geographic scene. The system can associate captured images with the determined geo-spatial location of the treatment system. The treatment system can identify, from a group of mapped and indexed images, images having a second real-word geo-spatial location that is proximate with the first real-world geo-spatial location. The treatment system can compare at least a portion of the identified images with at least a portion of the captured images. The treatment system can determine a target object and emit a fluid projectile at the target object using a treatment device.