Mobile Weather Station for Real-Time Crop Input Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural application methods lack real-time optimization using weather and environmental data, leading to inefficiencies and variations in crop yield due to reliance on stationary weather recording equipment and lack of real-time adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A mobile weather station connected to agricultural implements provides real-time wind speed, direction, temperature, and humidity data to an application controller, enabling automatic adjustments and optimized path planning for precise crop input application, reducing drift and ensuring efficient application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If stationary weather equipment is used for recording weather data, then documentation requirements are met, but real-time optimization of agricultural operations cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines stationary weather station data recording capabilities with mobile agricultural implements equipped with their own weather sensors. This merging allows the system to simultaneously meet documentation requirements through stationary station data while enabling real-time operational optimization through mobile sensor data collected during field operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system makes weather data collection universal by implementing sensors on mobile agricultural implements that can collect weather information across multiple field locations. This multi-functional approach allows the same equipment to both perform agricultural operations and collect weather data, eliminating the limitation of fixed stationary stations and enabling real-time optimization throughout the entire field.
2Loss of information
If operator manually records weather information in log book, then documentation is created, but data accuracy and completeness deteriorate due to human error and time variations
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automated feedback loops where weather sensors continuously monitor conditions and automatically record data to electronic storage systems. This eliminates manual recording errors and ensures that weather information is captured accurately and completely throughout the entire operation, with data automatically updated in real-time as conditions change.
Solution Approach 2:
The agricultural implements are equipped with self-contained weather sensing and recording systems that automatically collect and store weather data without requiring operator intervention. This self-service capability ensures continuous, accurate data collection even when operators are focused on other tasks, eliminating the human error and oversight problems associated with manual logging.
3Device complexity
If weather data is collected at single location, then recording is simple, but field variability cannot be captured
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments weather data collection by deploying sensors on multiple mobile agricultural implements that operate throughout different field locations. This segmentation allows weather conditions to be measured at numerous discrete points across the field, capturing spatial variability while keeping each individual sensor unit simple and easy to deploy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from single-point weather measurement to multi-dimensional spatial coverage by collecting weather data across the entire field area through mobile implements. This dimensional expansion allows the system to capture field variability in all locations while maintaining the simplicity of individual sensor units, effectively adding a spatial dimension to weather data collection.
4Productivity
If real-time weather monitoring is implemented, then operational optimization is enabled, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges weather monitoring functions with existing mobile agricultural implements, combining operational equipment with sensing capabilities. This integration avoids the need for separate complex monitoring systems and utilizes the mobility and existing infrastructure of agricultural machinery to enable real-time optimization without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An agricultural system which includes at least one agricultural implement with at least one application device for applying crop inputs, where the agricultural implement includes an agricultural harvester and/or an agricultural planter. A databus is connected to the at least one agricultural implement, and at least one input device is connected to the databus. At least one data storage device is connected to the databus, and an application controller is connected to the at least one application device. A processor is connected to the databus and the application controller, where the processor applies inputs to the application controller to adjust and/or optimize in real time a current operation of the application device(s) in order to efficiently and accurately apply the crop inputs.