Plant Attribute Encoding for High-Resolution Crop Referencing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Real-time kinematic global positioning systems and global navigation satellite systems used for geo-referencing in crop monitoring lack high resolution and are costly, and face challenges with crop canopies and terrain obstacles.
Innovation Solution
A data encoding system that intentionally varies planting attributes of individual plants to form patterns, allowing for high-resolution phyto-referencing, which encodes data for more accurate correlation of plant health and yield factors, using a controller to generate control signals for planting devices to vary attributes such as location and characteristics of plants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If real-time kinematic global positioning systems or global navigation satellite systems are used for geo-referencing of crop information, then positioning capability is provided, but high resolution is lacking and cost is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a physical copy of data information by encoding it into the spatial arrangement and attributes of plants themselves. Instead of using expensive satellite systems to locate and identify plants, the system embeds location and identification data directly into the plant population pattern, eliminating the need for high-cost positioning infrastructure while achieving high-resolution crop monitoring.
2Reliability
If real-time kinematic global positioning systems or global navigation satellite systems are used for geo-referencing, then positioning capability is provided, but availability is limited by crop canopies and terrain obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces plants themselves as intermediary carriers of positioning information. Rather than relying on satellite signals that are blocked by crop canopies and terrain, the system uses the plants' own spatial arrangement and attributes as mediators to encode and convey location and identification data, making the system immune to canopy and terrain interference.
3Measurement precision
If planting attributes are varied to encode data, then high-resolution phyto-referencing is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the planting system multi-functional by having plants serve dual purposes: both as the crop being monitored and as the medium for encoding reference data. The same planting equipment that places crops in the field also encodes identification and location information by varying plant attributes such as species, spacing, or arrangement patterns, eliminating the need for separate encoding hardware and reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller controls a device to vary the at least one attribute for each of a plurality of individual plants so as to form a pattern of attributes that encodes data for later recovery.