Multi-Emitter Crop Treatment for Precise Plant-Level Application
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional agricultural treatment methods are inefficient and wasteful, as they rely on coarse resolution applications of chemicals, often targeting entire fields or rows of crops rather than individual plants, leading to unnecessary chemical use and reduced precision in addressing specific crop needs, particularly in challenging conditions such as climate changes and limited arable land.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural treatment delivery system that uses autonomous vehicles equipped with sensors and precision agricultural management platforms to identify and treat specific agricultural objects, such as individual plants, with micro-precision, allowing for targeted application of treatments like fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides directly to the plant, using emitters that can propel agricultural projectiles along calculated trajectories.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If conventional boom sprayers are used to apply chemicals to entire fields or rows, then coverage area is increased, but manufacturing precision and loss of substance worsen due to overspray and waste
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the treatment application by using multiple independently controllable emitters (nozzles) that can be selectively activated. Each emitter targets individual plants or specific zones within the field, dividing the overall treatment area into discrete segments that receive treatment only when needed, thereby reducing chemical waste while maintaining broad coverage capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements local quality by applying different treatment strategies to different locations within the field. The control system activates specific emitters based on real-time sensor data about plant conditions, soil characteristics, and pest presence, ensuring that chemicals are applied only where needed rather than uniformly across the entire field.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple emitters are used to treat objects from multiple payload sources, then manufacturing precision and treatment targeting improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs multiple payload sources (reservoirs) that can hold different chemical treatments, and multiple emitters that can be selectively activated from different lateral positions. This multi-functional capability allows a single vehicle platform to perform various treatment tasks by selecting appropriate emitter-payload combinations, achieving high treatment precision without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates dynamic control capabilities where emitters can be independently activated or deactivated based on real-time conditions. The control system dynamically selects which emitters to operate and from which lateral positions, allowing the system to adapt to varying field conditions and maintain optimal treatment precision while managing complexity through software-based control rather than fixed mechanical configurations.
3Speed
If spray nozzles with apertures facing the ground are used, then application speed is maintained, but loss of substance increases due to spray falling on non-intended targets
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and mapping of treatment zones using sensors before chemical application begins. This advance planning allows the control system to pre-select which emitters should be activated and from which lateral positions, ensuring that spray is directed only at intended targets. This preliminary action prevents waste by avoiding activation of emitters that would spray onto non-target areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensor feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor field conditions, plant locations, and environmental factors during treatment application. This real-time feedback allows the control system to dynamically adjust emitter activation and lateral positioning to maintain precise targeting, preventing spray waste while preserving application speed through automated real-time corrections.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This system enables precise and efficient application of treatments, reducing waste and optimizing resource use by targeting specific plants within a field, enhancing crop management and yield while minimizing environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
emitters that can propel agricultural projectiles along calculated trajectories
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments relate generally to computer vision and automation to autonomously identify and deliver for application a treatment to an object among other objects, data science and data analysis, including machine learning, deep learning, and other disciplines of computer-based artificial intelligence to facilitate identification and treatment of objects, and robotics and mobility technologies to navigate a delivery system, more specifically, to an agricultural delivery system configured to identify and apply, for example, an agricultural treatment to an identified agricultural object. In some examples, a method may include, receiving data representing a policy specifying a type of action for an agricultural object, selecting an emitter with which to perform a type of action for the agricultural object as one of one or more classified subsets, and configuring the agricultural projectile delivery system to activate an emitter to propel an agricultural projectile to intercept the agricultural object.