Raster-Based Nozzle Control for Accurate Agricultural Spraying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural devices face inaccuracies in dispensing liquid products due to mismatches between expected and actual boom positions, leading to missed spraying targets and unintended spraying, which can be exacerbated by deviations in device movement and speed.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural device equipped with a detection system, positioning system, and a map generator that generates a raster-based representation of the field, allowing real-time control of nozzles based on precise position data and detection information to accurately dispense liquid products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the boom moves at high speed to increase productivity, then the spraying coverage increases, but the position accuracy between expected and actual boom position deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously receives feedback from the positioning system about the actual boom position and uses this information to adjust the nozzle control in real-time, ensuring accurate spraying despite high movement speeds
Solution Approach 2:
The map generator creates a preliminary raster-based representation of the field with marked spray zones before actual spraying begins, allowing the system to pre-plan the spraying path and adjust for position deviations
2Reliability
If the nozzle dispensing range is increased to compensate for position deviations, then the reliability of spraying targets improves, but the loss of substance increases due to overspray
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a uniform large dispensing range for all nozzles, the system assigns different active dispensing ranges to each nozzle based on its specific position and the detected target location, optimizing coverage while minimizing overspray
Solution Approach 2:
The nozzle dispensing range is dynamically adjusted in real-time based on the actual position of the boom and detected targets, allowing the system to adapt to position deviations without requiring a permanently large fixed range
3Productivity
If the detection system is positioned far in front of the boom to detect plants early, then the productivity improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system is integrated with the existing boom structure and control units, allowing it to serve multiple functions: detecting plants, determining target positions, and triggering spraying operations through a unified system architecture
4Productivity
If the boom length is increased to cover larger areas, then the productivity improves, but the pressure maintenance difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The longitudinal supply line is divided into multiple segments with individual pressure control, allowing each section of the boom to maintain proper pressure independently despite the overall increased length
Data Source
AI summary
An agricultural device and method for dispensing a liquid product to be sprayed over a surface, such as an agricultural field. The agricultural device includes a boom having a longitudinal supply line for transporting the liquid product and a plurality of nozzles, a pressure regulation unit for controlling the opening and closing of one or more associated nozzles, a positioning system to provide position data, where the position data comprises a real-time position of the agricultural device and a time stamp, a detection system positioned on the boom and/or in front of the agricultural device and is configured to provide detection data comprising information on the surface to be sprayed, and a map generator to, based on the detection data and position data, generate a raster-based representation of the surface, the representation comprising a number of raster elements, where each raster element includes position data associated with that raster element.