Sprayer Boom Optical Sensor Dynamic Targeting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional agricultural spraying systems face challenges in accurately targeting specific areas for treatment when the agricultural machine changes trajectory, leading to potential overspray or underspray due to sector reorganization during turns.
Innovation Solution
A localized spraying system equipped with a spray boom, optical sensors, and a control system that processes images to detect points of interest and associate them with location data, continuously updating this data to control nozzles accordingly, ensuring precise spraying regardless of the machine's movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the agricultural machine changes trajectory during spraying, then the coverage area increases and adaptability improves, but the sector reorganization causes overspray or underspray reducing precision
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically updates the location data of points of interest in real-time as the spray boom moves, continuously adjusting the reference frame coordinates to maintain accurate targeting despite trajectory changes. This dynamic coordinate transformation ensures spraying precision is preserved while allowing flexible movement patterns
Solution Approach 2:
The control system uses real-time location data from optical sensors and continuously updates the position of points of interest relative to the moving spray boom. This feedback loop allows the system to compensate for trajectory changes and maintain accurate spray targeting throughout the operation
2Device complexity
If conventional spraying systems use fixed sectorization, then the system complexity is reduced, but the reliability of accurate spraying decreases when turns are made
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of fixed sectorization, the system implements dynamic sectorization where the reference frame and point of interest locations are continuously updated based on the spray boom's movement. This dynamic approach maintains spraying reliability during turns while managing complexity through software-based coordinate transformations
3Productivity
If the spray boom moves continuously, then the productivity increases, but the measurement precision of point of interest location decreases due to movement
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously receives location data from optical sensors and updates the coordinates of points of interest in real-time as the spray boom moves. This continuous feedback mechanism maintains location detection precision during movement, enabling high-speed operation without sacrificing targeting accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system captures images and identifies points of interest before the spray boom reaches them, then continuously updates their location data in advance. This preliminary detection and continuous updating allows the system to maintain precision while moving at high speeds
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 solution enables precise targeting of areas in need of treatment, preventing overspray or underspray, and allows for adaptive dosing based on detected points of interest, improving efficiency and accuracy across varying terrain and movements.
Implementation Method 1
at least one optical sensor and a control system, each optical sensor having a field of vision, the control system being configured to process images acquired from the field of vision
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a localized spraying system, comprising a spray boom (10), at least one optical sensor and a control system, the control system being configured to process images acquired from the field of view, detect at least one point of interest (5) and associate said point of interest (5) with location data in a reference frame of the spray boom (10), the location data being continuously updated by means of a calculation system of the control system, according to the displacement of said spray boom (10), and to control said at least one spray nozzle according to said at least one point of interest (5), so that, when said location data corresponds to a sprayable area, the control system commands the opening of the spray nozzle(s) corresponding to said area of interest to spray the point of interest (5).