Apparatus and method for parameterizing a plant

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9886749-B2
Application number	US-201514941093-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 13, 2015
Priority date	May 16, 2013
Publication date	Feb 6, 2018
Grant date	Feb 6, 2018

Abstract

An apparatus for parameterizing a plant includes a recorder for recording a three-dimensional data set of the plant including not only volume elements of non-covered elements of the plant, but also volume elements of elements of the plants that are covered by other elements, and a parameterizer for parameterizing the three-dimensional data set for obtaining plant parameters.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for parameterizing a plant, comprising:
a recorder for recording a three-dimensional data set of the plant, which does not only comprise volume elements of non-covered elements of the plant, but also volume elements of elements of the plant that are covered by other elements;
a parameterizer for parameterizing the three-dimensional data set for acquiring plant parameters,
wherein the parameterizer is implemented to convert the three-dimensional data set into a point cloud, wherein the point cloud only comprises points on a surface of the plant or points of a volume structure of the plant,
wherein the parameterizer is further implemented to segment the three-dimensional point cloud into single elements of the plant, wherein a single element is selected from the group consisting of a leaf, a stem, a branch, a trunk, a blossom, a fruit skeleton, and a leaf skeleton, and
wherein the parameterizer is implemented to calculate, by using a single-element model, parameters for the single element by adapting the single-element model to the single element,
wherein the parameterizer is implemented to determine surface normal for area elements of a surface of the plant for segmenting, and to determine for the area elements, based on an examination of the surface normal, whether a point belongs to a single element or not, and
wherein the parameterizer is implemented to determine, for segmenting, for each of the points a local neighborhood around a point, to fit a plane into the points of the local neighborhood and to determine a normal onto this plane which is the normal for this considered point.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the recorder is implemented to perform an X-ray computer tomography method or a magnetic resonance tomography method for acquiring the three-dimensional data set, wherein a volume element of the three-dimensional data set comprises a three-dimensional coordinate and at least one intensity value.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the parameterizer is implemented to represent the points of the point cloud only by a coordinate derived from the coordinate of a respective volume element or corresponding to the same.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the single element is a leaf and wherein one or several plant parameters are calculated, wherein the one or several plant parameters are selected from the group comprising the following plant parameters:
a leaf length, a leaf width, a leaf area, an inclination of a leaf with regard to the stem, an orientation of the leaf with regard to a plant main axis, a twist with regard to a leaf axis, a leaf arch, a leaf shape, a leaf outline, errors in an expected leaf outline, corrugations at the edge of the leaf, corrugations in the area of the leaf, a folding of the leaf halves, rolling-in of the leaf along the leaf axis, and rolling-in of the leaf transversal to the leaf axis.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the parameterizer is implemented to determine, by means of an intensity threshold, volume elements belonging to the plant, wherein the point cloud essentially comprises no points belonging to a background of the plant.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the parameterizer is implemented to determine the point cloud, which comprises an interface between the plant and a background, by using a marching cubes method.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein a point belongs to at least a plurality of polygon areas, wherein the parameterizer is implemented to determine, for each polygon area of the plurality of polygon areas to which the point belongs, a normal, and to average the normals of the polygon areas to which the point belongs for determining a normal for the point.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 ,
wherein the polygon areas of the plurality of polygon areas have different sizes, wherein the parameterizer is implemented to perform weighted averaging of the normal, such that a normal of a polygon area with a first size is incorporated more into the weighted averaging than a normal of a polygon area having a second size, wherein the second size is smaller than the first size.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the recorder is implemented to use a scintillator screen and a plurality of single cameras and to perform analog binning with the plurality of single cameras to perform capturing with a radiation exposure that is reduced compared to a radiation exposure when using only one single camera.

10. A method for parameterizing a plant, comprising:
recording a three-dimensional data set of the plant, which does not only comprise volume elements of non-covered elements of the plant, but also volume elements of elements of the plant that are covered by other elements; and
parameterizing the three-dimensional data set for acquiring plant parameters, wherein parameterizing comprises:
converting the three-dimensional data set into a point cloud, wherein the point cloud only comprises points on a surface of the plant or points of a volume structure of the plant,
segmenting the three-dimensional point cloud into single elements of the plant, wherein a single element is selected from the group consisting of a leaf, a stem, a branch, a trunk, a blossom, a fruit skeleton, and a leaf skeleton, and
calculating, by using a single-element model, parameters for the single element by adapting the single-element model to the single element,
wherein the parameterizing comprises determining surface normals for area elements of a surface of the plant for segmenting, and determining for the area elements, based on an examination of the surface normal, whether a point belongs to a single element or not, and
wherein the parameterizing comprises determining, for the segmenting, for each of the points a local neighborhood around a point, fitting a plane into the points of the local neighborhood and determining a normal onto this plane which is the normal for this considered point.

11. Non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for performing the method for parameterizing a plant according to claim 10 when the computer program runs on a computer or a processor.

12. Apparatus for parameterizing a plant, comprising:
a recorder for recording a three-dimensional data set of the plant, which does not only comprise volume elements of non-covered elements of the plant, but also volume elements of elements of the plant that are covered by other elements;
a parameterizer for parameterizing the three-dimensional data set for acquiring plant parameters,
wherein the parameterizer is implemented to convert the three-dimensional data set into a point cloud, wherein the point cloud only comprises points on a surface of the plant or points of a volume structure of the plant,
wherein the parameterizer is further implemented to segment the three-dimensional point cloud into single elements of the plant, wherein a single element is a leaf, a stem, a branch, a trunk, a blossom, a fruit or a leaf skeleton, and
wherein the parameterizer is implemented to calculate, by using a single-element model, parameters for the single element by adapting the single-element model to the single element,
wherein the recorder is implemented to use a scintillator screen and a plurality of single cameras and to perform analog binning with the plurality of single cameras to perform capturing with a radiation exposure that is reduced compared to a radiation exposure when using only one single camera.

13. Method for parameterizing a plant, comprising:
recording a three-dimensional data

Assignees

• Fraunhofer Ges Forschung

Inventors

• Schmitt Peter
• Uhrmann Franz
• Kube Matthias
• Kostka Guenther

Classifications

• G06T7/60

  Analysis of geometric attributes · CPC title

• G06T2207/10088

  Magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] · CPC title

• G06T2207/10081

  Computed x-ray tomography [CT] · CPC title

• G06T2207/10072

  Tomographic images · CPC title

• G06T2207/10116

  X-ray image · CPC title