Patents by Inventor Andrew Muehlfeld

Andrew Muehlfeld has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240273717
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for identifying rogue plants in an agricultural field. One example computer-implemented system includes accessing data specific to an agricultural field, where the data includes an image of the field captured, by at least one capture device, during a particular growth stage of a crop in the field. The method also includes applying a trained classifier model to the sub-images from the image and classifying, using the trained classifier model, each of the multiple plants included in the sub-images as a rogue plant or as not a rogue plant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2024
    Publication date: August 15, 2024
    Inventors: Tanmay AGARWAL, Joshua DEAN, Michael Joseph FRANK, Balathasan GIRITHARAN, Patricio S. LA ROSA ARAYA, Andrew MUEHLFELD, Alexander Harry SHERIDAN, Zachary Kevin STRAATMANN, Dimitris ZERMAS
  • Patent number: 11696542
    Abstract: Techniques are described for generating population counts for seed production plants based on one or more images obtained from a camera on an aerial vehicle including, but not limited to, UAVs. The image(s) is processed to identify the plurality of rows of seed production plants, classify each one of the identified rows as either male or female, and produce a count of the number of seed production plants in the male rows and produce a count of the number of seed production plants in the female rows. The seed production plants can be corn seed plants or any other type of seed production plant in which male and female seed production plants can be distinguished from one another based on one or more aerial images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Muehlfeld, Elliott Imhoff
  • Patent number: 11640651
    Abstract: Aerial imagery may be captured from an unmanned aircraft or other aerial vehicle. The use of aerial vehicle imagery provides greater control over distance from target and time of image capture, and reduces or eliminates imagery interference caused by clouds or other obstacles. Images captured by the aerial vehicle may be analyzed to provide various agricultural information, such as vegetative health, plant counts, population counts, plant presence estimation, weed presence, disease presence, chemical damage, wind damage, standing water presence, nutrient deficiency, or other agricultural or non-agricultural information. Georeference-based mosaicking may be used to process and combine raw image files into a direct georeferenced mosaic image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Taipale, Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Patent number: 11477935
    Abstract: An agricultural zone management system and methods where a variable rate prescription (VRP) includes a plurality of equipment zones of the agricultural field that are generated based on at least one treatment dimension of a farm implement to be used in the agricultural field, and each one of the equipment zones is further defined based on one or more of an intended direction of travel of the farm implement in the agricultural field, and an intended travel path of the farm implement in the agricultural field. In addition, a treatment plan, such as a treatment rate, can be generated based on the needs of plants, soil or the like in each equipment zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Patent number: 11393193
    Abstract: An agricultural zone management system and methods where agricultural management zones can be generated based on point samples generated from images of a field. The images can be captured by a camera on a UAV flown over the field. The point samples are used to generate the management zones of the agricultural field, where each management zone encompasses at least one of the point samples. The management zones are then stored in at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The management zones can then be used to, for example, treat the field using a prescription that has been developed for each management zone, make yield predictions of a crop grown or to be grown in the field, perform analysis of crops or soil in the field, make plans for the future use of the field, and others.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Muehlfeld, Joseph Franck, Devon Libby
  • Publication number: 20220198606
    Abstract: Aerial imagery may be captured from an unmanned aircraft or other aerial vehicle. The use of aerial vehicle imagery provides greater control over distance from target and time of image capture, and reduces or eliminates imagery interference caused by clouds or other obstacles. Images captured by the aerial vehicle may be analyzed to provide various agricultural information, such as vegetative health, plant counts, population counts, plant presence estimation, weed presence, disease presence, chemical damage, wind damage, standing water presence, nutrient deficiency, or other agricultural or non-agricultural information. Georeference-based mosaicking may be used to process and combine raw image files into a direct georeferenced mosaic image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2022
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Inventors: Eric TAIPALE, Andrew MUEHLFELD
  • Patent number: 11301957
    Abstract: Aerial imagery may be captured from an unmanned aircraft or other aerial vehicle. The use of aerial vehicle imagery provides greater control over distance from target and time of image capture, and reduces or eliminates imagery interference caused by clouds or other obstacles. Images captured by the aerial vehicle may be analyzed to provide various agricultural information, such as vegetative health, plant counts, population counts, plant presence estimation, weed presence, disease presence, chemical damage, wind damage, standing water presence, nutrient deficiency, or other agricultural or non-agricultural information. Georeference-based mosaicking may be used to process and combine raw image files into a direct georeferenced mosaic image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Taipale, Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Patent number: 11294377
    Abstract: Autonomous vehicles may include one or more onboard devices to perform various actions, such as a still image capture device. In contrast with using an auxiliary communication system to control a payload, a vehicle navigation sensor is used to monitor autonomous vehicle movements to match a predefined vehicle maneuver event, and trigger a payload event based on identification of the vehicle maneuver event. For example, this allows an autopilot system or a remote drone pilot to initiate an image capture device or send other commands based on vehicle maneuver event recognition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Eickhoff, Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Patent number: 11232303
    Abstract: The present subject matter provides a technical solution for various technical problems associated with precision agriculture imagery. One solution to improving precision agriculture imagery includes identification and use of ground control points. A ground control point may include the association of a visible feature in an image of an agricultural field with a geospatial coordinate. A ground control point may be used as a common reference point between two aerial images, thereby improving alignment between the two images during stitching. The ground control points may be generated using planting prescription data or as-planted data, which may include one or more intentionally unplanted regions within an agricultural filed. Multiple aerial images may be stitched together using these ground control points to generate a precisely georeferenced output image, thereby improving the accuracy of the precision agriculture output image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Muehlfeld, Eric Taipale
  • Publication number: 20200209863
    Abstract: Autonomous vehicles may include one or more onboard devices to perform various actions, such as a still image capture device. In contrast with using an auxiliary communication system to control a payload, a vehicle navigation sensor is used to monitor autonomous vehicle movements to match a predefined vehicle maneuver event, and trigger a payload event based on identification of the vehicle maneuver event. For example, this allows an autopilot system or a remote drone pilot to initiate an image capture device or send other commands based on vehicle maneuver event recognition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Publication date: July 2, 2020
    Inventors: Brian Eickhoff, Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Patent number: 10685228
    Abstract: Index-based geospatial analysis may include applying a first and second index-based analysis for a set of imagery. The set of imagery may include a location-specific index values used to form a histogram for a single index image (e.g., for a single surveyed field). This first analysis may be referred to as an “acre-to-acre” mapping, which may be useful for identifying differences in indices (e.g., NDVI vegetative health) of different parts of the field from a single day. A second “day-to-day” index-based analysis may be performed by calculating a histogram for each set of imagery from multiple days, combining the histograms, and generating a single equal-area index map. The index map can be applied to redistribute the histogram values within multiple days of data, which may provide a more useful map of variation in each individual image and changes between images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Muehlfeld, Justin Hui, Reid Plumbo, Joe Tinguely
  • Publication number: 20200184188
    Abstract: The present subject matter provides a technical solution for various technical problems associated with precision agriculture imagery. One solution to improving precision agriculture imagery includes identification and use of ground control points. A ground control point may include the association of a visible feature in an image of an agricultural field with a geospatial coordinate. A ground control point may be used as a common reference point between two aerial images, thereby improving alignment between the two images during stitching. The ground control points may be generated using planting prescription data or as-planted data, which may include one or more intentionally unplanted regions within an agricultural filed. Multiple aerial images may be stitched together using these ground control points to generate a precisely georeferenced output image, thereby improving the accuracy of the precision agriculture output image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Inventors: Andrew Muehlfeld, Eric Taipale
  • Patent number: 10613534
    Abstract: Autonomous vehicles may include one or more onboard devices to perform various actions, such as a still image capture device. In contrast with using an auxiliary communication system to control a payload, a vehicle navigation sensor is used to monitor autonomous vehicle movements to match a predefined vehicle maneuver event, and trigger a payload event based on identification of the vehicle maneuver event. For example, this allows an autopilot system or a remote drone pilot to initiate an image capture device or send other commands based on vehicle maneuver event recognition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Eickhoff, Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Patent number: 10614305
    Abstract: The present subject matter provides a technical solution for various technical problems associated with precision agriculture imagery. One solution to improving precision agriculture imagery includes identification and use of ground control points. A ground control point may include the association of a visible feature in an image of an agricultural field with a geospatial coordinate. A ground control point may be used as a common reference point between two aerial images, thereby improving alignment between the two images during stitching. The ground control points may be generated using planting prescription data or as-planted data, which may include one or more intentionally unplanted regions within an agricultural filed. Multiple aerial images may be stitched together using these ground control points to generate a precisely georeferenced output image, thereby improving the accuracy of the precision agriculture output image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Muehlfeld, Eric Taipale
  • Publication number: 20190340727
    Abstract: Aerial imagery may be captured from an unmanned aircraft or other aerial vehicle. The use of aerial vehicle imagery provides greater control over distance from target and time of image capture, and reduces or eliminates imagery interference caused by clouds or other obstacles. Images captured by the aerial vehicle may be analyzed to provide various agricultural information, such as vegetative health, plant counts, population counts, plant presence estimation, weed presence, disease presence, chemical damage, wind damage, standing water presence, nutrient deficiency, or other agricultural or non-agricultural information. Georeference-based mosaicking may be used to process and combine raw image files into a direct georeferenced mosaic image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Publication date: November 7, 2019
    Inventors: Eric TAIPALE, Andrew MUEHLFELD
  • Patent number: 10402942
    Abstract: Aerial imagery may be captured from an unmanned aircraft or other aerial vehicle. The use of aerial vehicle imagery provides greater control over distance from target and time of image capture, and reduces or eliminates imagery interference caused by clouds or other obstacles. Images captured by the aerial vehicle may be analyzed to provide various agricultural information, such as vegetative health, plant counts, population counts, plant presence estimation, weed presence, disease presence, chemical damage, wind damage, standing water presence, nutrient deficiency, or other agricultural or non-agricultural information. Georeference-based mosaicking may be used to process and combine raw image files into a direct georeferenced mosaic image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Sentera, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Taipale, Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Publication number: 20190205610
    Abstract: The present subject matter provides a technical solution for various technical problems associated with precision agriculture imagery. One solution to improving precision agriculture imagery includes identification and use of ground control points. A ground control point may include the association of a visible feature in an image of an agricultural field with a geospatial coordinate. A ground control point may be used as a common reference point between two aerial images, thereby improving alignment between the two images during stitching. The ground control points may be generated using planting prescription data or as-planted data, which may include one or more intentionally unplanted regions within an agricultural filed. Multiple aerial images may be stitched together using these ground control points to generate a precisely georeferenced output image, thereby improving the accuracy of the precision agriculture output image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Publication date: July 4, 2019
    Inventors: Andrew Muehlfeld, Eric Taipale
  • Publication number: 20190096033
    Abstract: Aerial imagery may be captured from an unmanned aircraft or other aerial vehicle. The use of aerial vehicle imagery provides greater control over distance from target and time of image capture, and reduces or eliminates imagery interference caused by clouds or other obstacles. Images captured by the aerial vehicle may be analyzed to provide various agricultural information, such as vegetative health, plant counts, population counts, plant presence estimation, weed presence, disease presence, chemical damage, wind damage, standing water presence, nutrient deficiency, or other agricultural or non-agricultural information. Georeference-based mosaicking may be used to process and combine raw image files into a direct georeferenced mosaic image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Publication date: March 28, 2019
    Inventors: Eric Taipale, Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Publication number: 20180224855
    Abstract: Autonomous vehicles may include one or more onboard devices to perform various actions, such as a still image capture device. In contrast with using an auxiliary communication system to control a payload, a vehicle navigation sensor is used to monitor autonomous vehicle movements to match a predefined vehicle maneuver event, and trigger a payload event based on identification of the vehicle maneuver event. For example, this allows an autopilot system or a remote drone pilot to initiate an image capture device or send other commands based on vehicle maneuver event recognition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Brian Eickhoff, Andrew Muehlfeld
  • Publication number: 20180196987
    Abstract: Index-based geospatial analysis may include applying a first and second index-based analysis for a set of imagery. The set of imagery may include a location-specific index values used to form a histogram for a single index image (e.g., for a single surveyed field). This first analysis may be referred to as an “acre-to-acre” mapping, which may be useful for identifying differences in indices (e.g., NDVI vegetative health) of different parts of the field from a single day. A second “day-to-day” index-based analysis may be performed by calculating a histogram for each set of imagery from multiple days, combining the histograms, and generating a single equal-area index map. The index map can be applied to redistribute the histogram values within multiple days of data, which may provide a more useful map of variation in each individual image and changes between images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Publication date: July 12, 2018
    Inventors: Andrew Muehlfeld, Justin Hui, Reid Plumbo, Joe Tinguely