UAV Wind Detection for Fertilizer Spreading Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for distributing fertilizers on agricultural land struggle with precise border spreading and even coverage due to the disruptive effects of changing or gusty wind conditions, as they only allow for time-delayed adjustments to operating parameters based on current wind measurements.
Innovation Solution
The use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with wind sensors and indicators to record wind speed and direction in real-time, enabling the creation of a wind map and allowing for early and timely adjustments to the operating parameters of agricultural working machines, such as centrifugal fertilizer spreaders, to compensate for wind influences before reaching a distribution position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wind sensors are installed on the working machine to detect current wind conditions, then wind influence can be compensated for, but only with time delay and insufficient correction accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions wind sensors on an unmanned aerial vehicle that flies ahead of the working machine to detect wind conditions in advance. This preliminary detection allows the control system to adjust operating parameters before the machine reaches affected areas, eliminating the time delay inherent in machine-mounted sensors and enabling proactive compensation for wind influence on material distribution.
2Manufacturing precision
If operating parameters are adjusted based on current wind measurements, then some wind influence is compensated, but precise border spreading and even coverage are still disrupted by changing or gusty wind conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a continuous feedback loop where wind sensors on the unmanned aerial vehicle continuously monitor wind conditions ahead of the working machine. The control system receives this real-time wind data and continuously adjusts operating parameters such as material flow rate and centrifugal disc speed, creating a dynamic adaptation system that maintains precise spreading despite changing or gusty wind conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
By detecting wind conditions before the working machine reaches them, the system can pre-adjust operating parameters in anticipation of upcoming wind changes. This preliminary adjustment ensures that even rapid or gusty wind conditions do not disrupt spreading precision, as the machine is already optimized for the anticipated wind state.
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 approach enables real-time adaptation of the operating parameters of agricultural working machines to prevailing wind conditions, ensuring optimal and uniform spreading patterns by predicting wind conditions ahead of the application area, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of fertilizer distribution.
Implementation Method 1
wind indicators or sensors for recording wind speed(s) and/or wind direction(s)
Data Source
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AI summary
System and method for detecting wind (10) during distribution processes in agriculture by means of a detection device of at least one essentially preferably vertically capable of take-off and landing, preferably autonomously operating, unmanned aircraft (12), which has at least one unit for detecting environmental parameters, which has a unit for receiving control signals from a base station and/or sending control signals to an agricultural implement (5) and a unit for transmitting the detected environmental parameters to a base station and/or to an agricultural implement (5).In order to enable real-time adjustment of the operating parameters of an agricultural spreading machine to the prevailing wind conditions (10), the wind conditions over an area to be worked (1) are recorded by means of wind indicators (15) and/or suitable sensors for recording wind speed(s) and/or direction(s).