Abstract: A system for plant parameter detection, including: a plant morphology sensor having a first field of view and configured to record a morphology measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, a plant physiology sensor having a second field of view and configured to record a plant physiology parameter measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, wherein the second field of view overlaps with the first field of view; a support statically coupling the plant morphology sensor to the physiology sensor, and a computing system configured to: identify a plant set of pixels within the physiology measurement based on the morphology measurement; determine physiology values for each pixel of the plant set of pixels; and extract a growth parameter based on the physiology values.

Abstract: A farming machine including a number of treatment mechanisms treats plants according to a treatment plan as the farming machine moves through the field. The control system of the farming machine executes a plant identification model configured to identify plants in the field for treatment. The control system generates a treatment map identifying which treatment mechanisms to actuate to treat the plants in the field. To generate a treatment map, the farming machine captures an image of plants, processes the image to identify plants, and generates a treatment map. The plant identification model can be a convolutional neural network having an input layer, an identification layer, and an output layer. The input layer has the dimensionality of the image, the identification layer has a greatly reduced dimensionality, and the output layer has the dimensionality of the treatment mechanisms.

Abstract: A modular system includes a hub and a set of modules removably coupled to the hub. The modules are physically coupled to the frame relative to each other so that each module can operate with respect to a different row of a field. An individual module includes a sensor for capturing field measurement data of individual plants along a row as the modular system moves through the geographic region. An individual module further includes a treatment mechanism for applying a treatment to the individual plants of the row based on the field measurement data before the modular system passes by the individual plants. An individual module further includes a computing device that determines the treatment based on the field measurement data and communicates data to the hub. The hub is communicatively coupled to the modules, so that it may exchange data between the modules and with a remote computing system.

Abstract: A method for plant treatment, including: receiving a first measurement for a plant from a sensor as the sensor moves within a geographic area comprising a plurality of plants; in response to receipt of the first measurement and prior to receipt of a second measurement for a second plant of the plurality, determining a set of treatment mechanism operation parameters for the plant to optimize a geographic area output parameter based on the first measurement and historical measurements for the geographic area; determining an initial treatment parameter for the plant; and operating a treatment mechanism in a treatment mode based on the set of operating parameters in response to satisfaction of the initial treatment parameter.

Abstract: A method of real-time plant selection and removal from a plant field including capturing a first image of a first section of the plant field, segmenting the first image into regions indicative of individual plants within the first section, selecting the optimal plants for retention from the first image based on the first image and the previously thinned plant field sections, sending instructions to the plant removal mechanism for removal of the plants corresponding to the unselected regions of the first image from the second section before the machine passes the unselected regions, and repeating the aforementioned steps for a second section of the plant field adjacent the first section in the direction of machine travel.

Abstract: Described are methods for identifying the in-field positions of plant features on a plant by plant basis. These positions are determined based on images captured as a vehicle (e.g., tractor, sprayer, etc.) including one or more cameras travels through the field along a row of crops. The in-field positions of the plant features are useful for a variety of purposes including, for example, generating three-dimensional data models of plants growing in the field, assessing plant growth and phenotypic features, determining what kinds of treatments to apply including both where to apply the treatments and how much, determining whether to remove weeds or other undesirable plants, and so on.

Abstract: A treatment system for spraying treatment fluid onto plants in a field is described. The treatment system includes a highly configurable treatment mechanism including an array of nozzles and valve assemblies coupled into manifolds, and manifold assemblies. The manifolds of the manifold assemblies can be oriented in an open state or a nested state, the open state with no overlap between nozzles of adjacent manifolds and the nested state with overlap between nozzles of adjacent manifolds. The manifolds can have multiple configurations, examples of which include a tube manifold and an offset manifold. The nozzles of the system can have multiple configurations, examples of which include a tri-spray nozzle, a bar nozzle, a fan nozzle, and a deflected fan nozzle. The system can be controlled by a system controller which detects plant material and instructs a nozzle or combination of nozzles to spray treatment fluid.

Abstract: A method for plant treatment, including: receiving a first measurement for a plant from a sensor as the sensor moves within a geographic area comprising a plurality of plants; in response to receipt of the first measurement and prior to receipt of a second measurement for a second plant of the plurality, determining a set of treatment mechanism operation parameters for the plant to optimize a geographic area output parameter based on the first measurement and historical measurements for the geographic area; determining an initial treatment parameter for the plant; and operating a treatment mechanism in a treatment mode based on the set of operating parameters in response to satisfaction of the initial treatment parameter.

Abstract: A modular system includes a hub and a set of modules removably coupled to the hub. The modules are physically coupled to the frame relative to each other so that each module can operate with respect to a different row of a field. An individual module includes a sensor for capturing field measurement data of individual plants along a row as the modular system moves through the geographic region. An individual module further includes a treatment mechanism for applying a treatment to the individual plants of the row based on the field measurement data before the modular system passes by the individual plants. An individual module further includes a computing device that determines the treatment based on the field measurement data and communicates data to the hub. The hub is communicatively coupled to the modules, so that it may exchange data between the modules and with a remote computing system.

Abstract: A method for plant treatment, including: receiving a first measurement for a plant from a sensor as the sensor moves within a geographic area comprising a plurality of plants; in response to receipt of the first measurement and prior to receipt of a second measurement for a second plant of the plurality, determining a set of treatment mechanism operation parameters for the plant to optimize a geographic area output parameter based on the first measurement and historical measurements for the geographic area; determining an initial treatment parameter for the plant; and operating a treatment mechanism in a treatment mode based on the set of operating parameters in response to satisfaction of the initial treatment parameter.

Abstract: Field data is collected of a field. Each instance of field data contains information that can be used to determine a value corresponding to whether or not a plant is present or absent in a particular location and is referred to as a plant presence value. The plant presence values are aggregated using the position data associated with each instance of field data to generate aggregated plant presence values. Gaps between plots are identified based partly on variations in the plant presence values within the aggregated field data. Information known about a field can be used to heuristically identify gaps in a seed line or used to eliminate locations on a seed line that may look like a gap based on low plant presence values. The aggregated plant presence values can be presented as a heat map of plant presence values showing the relative plant density of the field.

Abstract: A system for plant parameter detection, including: a plant morphology sensor having a first field of view and configured to record a morphology measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, a plant physiology sensor having a second field of view and configured to record a plant physiology parameter measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, wherein the second field of view overlaps with the first field of view; a support statically coupling the plant morphology sensor to the physiology sensor, and a computing system configured to: identify a plant set of pixels within the physiology measurement based on the morphology measurement; determine physiology values for each pixel of the plant set of pixels; and extract a growth parameter based on the physiology values.

Abstract: Field data is collected of a field. Each instance of field data contains information that can be used to determine a value corresponding to whether or not a plant is present or absent in a particular location and is referred to as a plant presence value. The plant presence values are aggregated using the position data associated with each instance of field data to generate aggregated plant presence values. Gaps between plots are identified based partly on variations in the plant presence values within the aggregated field data. Information known about a field can be used to heuristically identify gaps in a seed line or used to eliminate locations on a seed line that may look like a gap based on low plant presence values. The aggregated plant presence values can be presented as a heat map of plant presence values showing the relative plant density of the field.

Abstract: A method including: recording a first image of a first field region; automatically treating a plant within the first region in-situ based on the first image; automatically verifying the plant treatment with a second image of the first region; and automatically treating a second region concurrently with treatment verification.

Abstract: A technique for generating virtual models of plants in a field is described. Generally, this includes recording images of plants in-situ; generating point clouds from the images; generating skeleton segments from the point cloud; classifying a subset of skeleton segments as unique plant features using the images; and growing plant skeletons from skeleton segments classified as unique plant feature. The technique may be used to generate a virtual model of a single, real plant, a portion of a real plant field, and/or the entirety of the real plant field. The virtual model can be analyzed to determine or estimate a variety of individual plant or plant population parameters, which in turn can be used to identify potential treatments or thinning practices, or predict future values for yield, plant uniformity, or any other parameter can be determined from the projected results based on the virtual model.

Abstract: A method of real-time plant selection and removal from a plant field including capturing a first image of a first section of the plant field, segmenting the first image into regions indicative of individual plants within the first section, selecting the optimal plants for retention from the first image based on the first image and the previously thinned plant field sections, sending instructions to the plant removal mechanism for removal of the plants corresponding to the unselected regions of the first image from the second section before the machine passes the unselected regions, and repeating the aforementioned steps for a second section of the plant field adjacent the first section in the direction of machine travel.

Abstract: A method including: recording a first image of a first field region; automatically treating a plant within the first region in-situ based on the first image; automatically verifying the plant treatment with a second image of the first region; and automatically treating a second region concurrently with treatment verification.

Abstract: A system for plant parameter detection, including: a plant morphology sensor having a first field of view and configured to record a morphology measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, a plant physiology sensor having a second field of view and configured to record a plant physiology parameter measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, wherein the second field of view overlaps with the first field of view; a support statically coupling the plant morphology sensor to the physiology sensor, and a computing system configured to: identify a plant set of pixels within the physiology measurement based on the morphology measurement; determine physiology values for each pixel of the plant set of pixels; and extract a growth parameter based on the physiology values.

Abstract: A method of real-time plant selection and removal from a plant field including capturing a first image of a first section of the plant field, segmenting the first image into regions indicative of individual plants within the first section, selecting the optimal plants for retention from the first image based on the first image and the previously thinned plant field sections, sending instructions to the plant removal mechanism for removal of the plants corresponding to the unselected regions of the first image from the second section before the machine passes the unselected regions, and repeating the aforementioned steps for a second section of the plant field adjacent the first section in the direction of machine travel.

Abstract: A method of distinguishing individual plants within a row of plants, including directing radiation at the row of plants at an angle selected to illuminate a portion of the plant and cast a shadow at the plant center, collecting an image from the radiation reflected off of two or more contiguous plants with a detector, identifying a continuous foreground region indicative of a plant within the image, identifying points of interest within the region, classifying the points of interest as plant centers and non-plant centers, and segmenting the region into sub-regions, each sub-region encompassing a single point of interest classified as a plant center.