UAV Spray Nozzle Flow Control for Uniform Crop Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aerial application of agricultural chemicals by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) faces challenges due to inconsistent coverage caused by fluctuations in wind speed, altitude, velocity, and vehicle movements such as rolling, pitching, and yawing, leading to non-uniform distribution of sprays.
Innovation Solution
A dispersement system for UAVs that includes a product reservoir, pump system, and control system with sensors to monitor flight parameters and adjust the flowrate of dispersement nozzles, using extended Kalman filters for navigation state estimation and dynamic control to achieve uniform spray patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional pump and valve assembly systems are used for aerial chemical application, then the system structure is simple, but the spray coverage uniformity deteriorates due to wind speed fluctuations, altitude changes, and UAV motion variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic flowrate control by continuously adjusting the pump output based on real-time sensor data regarding UAV position, velocity, acceleration, and attitude. The system transitions from static fixed flowrate to dynamic adaptive flowrate modulation, allowing the dispersement system to respond to changing flight conditions and maintain uniform spray coverage despite variations in altitude, speed, and vehicle motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates multiple sensors that continuously monitor flight parameters (position, velocity, acceleration, attitude angles) and feed this information back to the control system. The control system processes this feedback data and adjusts the pump flowrate accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that actively compensates for disturbances and maintains desired spray uniformity.
2Manufacturing precision
If fixed flowrate dispersement is used, then the device complexity is low, but the coverage uniformity deteriorates under varying flight conditions including acceleration, cruising, and deceleration phases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the dispersement apparatus to automatically adjust its own operation based on real-time flight conditions. The control system autonomously modulates the pump flowrate without external intervention by processing sensor data and applying control algorithms, allowing the system to self-correct for variations in flight phase, velocity, and attitude to maintain uniform coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the flowrate parameter based on flight conditions. Instead of maintaining a constant flowrate, the system adjusts the flowrate magnitude in response to measured variations in velocity, acceleration, and attitude, thereby adapting the dispersement process to maintain optimal coverage uniformity across different operational phases.
3Manufacturing precision
If no compensation for vehicle motion is implemented, then the system is simple to operate, but the spray distribution uniformity deteriorates due to rolling, pitching, and yawing movements
Solution Approach 1:
The control system applies counteracting adjustments to the flowrate to compensate for the effects of vehicle motion. By measuring attitude changes (roll, pitch, yaw) and acceleration through sensors, the system calculates compensatory flowrate modifications that counterbalance the disruptive effects of vehicle motion on spray pattern uniformity, effectively neutralizing their impact.
Data Source
AI summary
A dispersement system for a UAV is provided. The dispersement system may include a plurality of dispersement nozzles operable to dispense an agricultural product at variable flowrates, a flow controller responsive to instructions and operable to regulate a volume of the agricultural product dispensed by the dispersement nozzles, and a control system. The control system may include a plurality of sensors operable to monitor a plurality of flight parameters and a processing unit configured to model an effect of the plurality of flight parameters on first flow control instructions corresponding to a prescription coverage of the agricultural product and calculate and output modulated flow control instructions to the flow controller. The control system may modulate the first control instructions to change a flowrate of one or more of the plurality of dispersement nozzles to achieve an actual coverage of the agricultural product that is closer to the prescription coverage.