Weed Control Spray Map via Soil Elevation Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current weed control methods in agriculture, particularly pre-emergence weed control, face inefficiencies due to the application of herbicidal products over entire fields rather than targeted areas, leading to excessive use and suboptimal timing, as the location of weeds is unknown before emergence.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the acquisition of geopositional information of crop seeds and soil elevation data at multiple time points to generate a weed control agent spray map, allowing for precise application of herbicides by identifying areas of soil displacement indicative of weed germination without affecting emerging crop seeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If herbicidal products are applied to the whole field at pre-emergence stage, then weed control effectiveness is improved, but herbicide usage increases and precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by transitioning from uniform field-wide herbicide application to location-specific targeted spraying. Soil elevation sensors detect local soil displacement caused by weed seedlings, and the system generates a spray map that applies herbicide only to specific locations where weeds are detected, rather than treating the entire field uniformly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by detecting weed emergence at the soil displacement stage before weeds fully emerge above the soil surface. This early detection allows herbicide application at the optimal pre-emergence moment when weeds are most vulnerable, improving control effectiveness while enabling precise targeting before weed distribution across the field becomes apparent.
2Reliability
If herbicidal products are applied at pre-emergence stage, then weed control effectiveness is improved, but timing precision deteriorates due to lack of weed location information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by using soil elevation sensors to continuously monitor soil surface changes and detect weed emergence in real-time. This feedback loop provides location information about where weeds are emerging, allowing the system to adjust and optimize herbicide application timing and location dynamically, rather than relying on fixed schedules or field-wide applications.
3Manufacturing precision
If soil elevation monitoring is used to detect weed emergence, then spray precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using a multi-functional integrated system where a single vehicle platform performs multiple functions: soil elevation monitoring, crop seed location tracking, spray map generation, and herbicide application. This consolidates what could be separate complex systems into one unified platform, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high spray precision through coordinated multi-functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method (10) to control weeds comprising the steps of: a) acquiring geopositional information of planted crop seeds on an agricultural field and generating a crop seed map, b) acquiring soil elevation data and the corresponding geopositional information of the soil elevation on the agricultural field where the crop seeds have been planted or are being planted at at least two different time points and generating soil surface profile maps of the agricultural field, the soil surface profile maps showing the soil surface profiles at the at least two different time points, c) comparing the soil surface profile maps and the crop seed map to identify differences in the soil elevation profile that are not associated with seed growth of the planted seeds on the agricultural field, d) generating a weed control agent spray map on the basis of the differences in the identified soil elevations on the agricultural field that are not associated with seed growth of the planted crop seeds on the agricultural field.