Systems and methods for image capture and analysis of agricultural fields

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11944043-B2
Application number	US-202117538069-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2021
Priority date	Jun 30, 2015
Publication date	Apr 2, 2024
Grant date	Apr 2, 2024

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods for capturing images of a field and performing agricultural data analysis of the images. In one embodiment, a computer system for monitoring field operations includes a database for storing agricultural image data including images of at least one stage of crop development that are captured with at least one of an apparatus and a remote sensor moving through a field. The computer includes at least one processing unit that is coupled to the database. The at least one processing unit is configured to execute instructions to analyze the captured images, to determine relevant images that indicate a change in at least one condition of the crop development, and to generate a localized view map layer for viewing the field at the at least one stage of crop development based on at least the relevant captured images.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for adjusting settings of a field apparatus during a pass through an agricultural field, the system comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
capturing a plurality of digital images of a portion of the agricultural field during the pass of the agricultural field by the field apparatus, the plurality of digital images captured by a mobile image capture device and the pass including a planting application pass through the agricultural field, and a tillage application pass through the agricultural field;
generating a localized view map of the agricultural field based at least in part on the plurality of digital images for viewing the agricultural field during the pass;
performing an image analysis, wherein the image analysis comprises analyzing the plurality of digital images to determine at least one condition of the agricultural field, the at least one condition of the agricultural field including a soil moisture condition of the agricultural field;
performing a tillage analysis during the tillage application pass, wherein the tillage analysis further comprises a soil residue analysis after the planting application pass; and
adjusting one or more settings of the field apparatus during the pass of the agricultural field, based on the image analysis of the plurality of digital images and the tillage analysis, the one or more settings including a speed and/or a downforce of the field apparatus.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to display the localized view map on a graphical user interface of a user device such that the captured digital images are viewable during the pass.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile image capture device is coupled to the field apparatus.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile image capture device comprises a field manager computer device, a sensor, a drone, a self-guided device, or a self-propelled device.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the image analysis occurs in real-time as the field apparatus performs the pass.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the image analysis is performed by a computing system that is part of the field apparatus or is coupled to the field apparatus.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the image analysis is performed by an agricultural system, which is remote from the field apparatus and is in communication with the field apparatus.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the localized view map is created by, for each image of the plurality of captured digital images, determining location information, orientation information, time information, and crop row information associated with the captured digital image, and determining a crop characteristic based on an analysis of the plurality of digital images and the location information, orientation information, time information, and crop row information associated with each of the plurality of captured digital images.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to display a graphical user interface of the localized view map superimposed with an agronomic information layer, the agronomic information layer comprising a yield map that identifies at least one of a high yield region or a low yield region of the agricultural field, a planting population map, a seed spacing map, a planting downforce map, or a field health map.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to display on the graphical user interface a portion of the agronomic information layer that identifies a characteristic of a particular high yield region of the agricultural field.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to display on the graphical user interface a portion of the agronomic information layer that identifies a characteristic of a particular low yield region of the agricultural field.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of digital images is captured by the mobile capture device during a pass by a field apparatus that is configured to interact with soil.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the localized view map is created by automatically performing analyzing the plurality of digital images in real-time during the pass.

14. A computer-implemented method for adjusting settings of a field apparatus during a pass through an agricultural field, the method comprising:
capturing a plurality of digital images of a portion of the agricultural field during the pass of the agricultural field by the field apparatus, the plurality of digital images captured by a mobile image capture device and the pass including a planting application pass through the agricultural field, and a tillage application pass through the agricultural field;
generating a localized view map of the agricultural field based at least in part on the plurality of captured digital images for viewing the agricultural field during the pass;
performing an image analysis, wherein the image analysis comprises analyzing the plurality of digital images to determine at least one condition of the agricultural field, the at least one condition of the agricultural field including a soil moisture condition of the agricultural field;
performing a tillage analysis during the tillage application pass, wherein the tillage analysis further comprises a soil residue analysis after the planting application pass; and
adjusting one or more settings of the field apparatus during the pass of the agricultural field, based on the image analysis of the plurality of digital images and the tillage analysis, the one or more settings including a speed and/or a downforce of the field apparatus.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising causing a graphical user interface of a user device to display the localized view map such that the plurality of captured digital images are viewable during the pass.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the mobile image capture device is coupled to the field apparatus.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the mobile image capture device comprises a field manager computing device, a sensor, a drone, a self-guided device, or a self-propelled device.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the image analysis occurs in real-time as the field apparatus performs the pass.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the image analysis is performed by a computing system that is part of the field apparatus or is coupled to the field apparatus.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the image analysis is performed by an agricultural system, which is remote from the field apparatus and is in communication with the field apparatus.

21. The method of claim 14 , wherein the localized view map is created by, for each image of the plurality of captured digital images, determining location information, orientation information, time information, and crop row information associated with the captured digital image, and determining a crop characteristic based on an analysis of the plurality of digital images and the location information, orientation information, time information, and crop ro

Assignees

• Climate Llc

Inventors

• Baurer Phil
• Koch Justin
• Sauder Doug
• Stoller Brad

Classifications

• A01G2/00 Primary

  Vegetative propagation (plant reproduction by tissue culture techniques A01H4/00) · CPC title

• A01G7/00 Primary

  Botany in general · CPC title

• G06F16/5838

  using colour · CPC title

• G06F16/5866

  using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information · CPC title

• G06F16/587

  using geographical or spatial information, e.g. location · CPC title