Agricultural Spray UAV Wind-Adaptive Drift Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Spray drift caused by wind and wind gusts is a significant issue in agricultural production, leading to unwanted chemical application on non-target surfaces, bystanders, water bodies, and neighboring fields.
Innovation Solution
An aerial vehicle equipped with a liquid chemical tank, spray units, actuators, and sensors that measure air movement speed and direction relative to the ground, allowing the processing unit to control flying operations and spray unit settings to mitigate spray drift by adjusting height, spray unit orientation, and droplet size based on real-time wind conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the aerial vehicle sprays chemical liquid at higher speeds and closer to field edges, then productivity and spray coverage efficiency are improved, but spray drift onto non-target surfaces and sensitive zones worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The spray unit orientation is made dynamically adjustable through actuators that can change the angle and direction of spray nozzles in real-time based on wind conditions, allowing the system to adapt spray patterns to minimize drift while maintaining productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes physical parameters of spray delivery including droplet size distribution, spray pressure, and nozzle orientation angles based on real-time wind speed and direction data, optimizing spray characteristics to reduce drift potential while maintaining coverage efficiency
2Productivity
If the aerial vehicle operates closer to sensitive zones and field edges, then spray coverage and productivity are improved, but the risk of chemical contamination to bystanders and water bodies worsens
Solution Approach 1:
Wind sensors provide continuous feedback on air movement conditions, which the processing unit uses to dynamically adjust spray unit orientation and operational parameters, creating a closed-loop control system that responds to environmental changes to prevent contamination
Solution Approach 2:
The system takes preliminary action by measuring wind conditions before spray application and pre-adjusting spray unit orientation and parameters to counteract expected drift, preventing contamination before it occurs rather than reacting after drift happens
3Object-affected harmful factors
If drift mitigation measures such as lower spray height and reduced vehicle speed are implemented, then spray drift is reduced, but productivity and operational efficiency worsen
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using fixed low-speed operation, the system dynamically adjusts spray unit orientation and droplet characteristics in real-time based on wind conditions, allowing high-speed operation while maintaining drift mitigation through active control of spray parameters
Data Source
AI summary
An aerial vehicle includes a liquid chemical tank, at least one spray unit, at least one actuator, a plurality of sensors, and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to determine an air movement direction relative to a projection of the fore-aft axis onto the ground and determine an air movement speed relative to the ground, the determination comprising utilization of the speed of the aerial vehicle, the air movement direction relative to the aerial vehicle with respect to the fore-aft axis of the aerial vehicle and the air movement speed relative to the aerial vehicle. The processing unit is configured to control at least one flying operation of the aerial vehicle and/or control the at least one actuator.