Customized crop modeling

• US 10,188,049 B1
• Filed: 12/04/2015
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cropx Technologies Ltd.
• Original Assignee: CropMetrics LLC (Cropx Technologies Ltd.)
• Inventors: Emanuel, Nick
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Kenneth M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huntley, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US14/959,986
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/16 Control of watering
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 17/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/22 Improving land use; Improving water use or availability; Controlling erosion

Abstract

A crop modeling system includes an irrigation system and a user input device coupled to the irrigation system. The irrigation system and the user input device are configured to communicate with a processor and non-transitory memory storing executable instructions. The executable instructions are configured to cause the processor to open a crop modeling graphical user interface for a geospatial location of a field associated with the irrigation system, move a crop graphical user interface element to a mapped location on the crop modeling graphical user interface responsive to one or more user inputs received via the user input device, generate an in-season crop model by applying the one or more user inputs to the crop model via the moving of the crop graphical user interface element, and generate one or more control signals based on the in-season crop model.

Claims

1. A crop modeling system comprising:

an irrigation system; and

a user input device communicatively coupled to the irrigation system via a communication connection,

wherein the irrigation system and the user input device are configured to communicate with a processor and a non-transitory memory with one or more executable instructions stored thereon, wherein the processor is configured to execute the one or more executable instructions, wherein the one or more executable instructions are configured to cause the processor to;

open a crop modeling graphical user interface for a geospatial location of a field associated with the irrigation system, wherein the crop modeling graphical user interface includes a crop model for the geospatial location of the field;

move a crop graphical user interface element to a mapped location on the crop modeling graphical user interface responsive to one or more user inputs received via the user input device, wherein the one or more user inputs correspond to the geospatial location of the field, wherein the one or more user inputs at least partially include data obtained during an in-season timeframe;

generate an in-season crop model by applying the one or more user inputs to the crop model via the moving of the crop graphical user interface element, wherein the in-season crop model includes one or more forecasted water application rates for the geospatial location of the field;

store the in-season crop model as a list of one or more updates made to the in-season crop model, wherein a history of the one or more updates is retrievable via an access point; and

generate one or more control signals based on the in-season crop model, wherein the one or more control signals are configured to adjust one or more components of the irrigation system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the crop graphical user interface element is one of a plurality of crop graphical user interface elements, wherein the crop graphical user interface element is associated with and representative of a growth stage of the type of crop.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the crop modeling graphical user interface includes at least one of a main input parameter tab, a season tab, a growth stage tab, a water use rate tab, or a root development tab.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more generated control signals are configured to activate or deactivate the one or more components of the irrigation system at least based on level of water content at the geospatial location of the field.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more user inputs include at least one of a click-hold-and-drag user input or a touch-hold-and-drag user input.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the access point is a record including at least one of a date or a time of the one or more updates.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the crop model includes at least one of one or more earlier growth stages or one or more later growth stages.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the in-season crop model is generated by applying the one or more user inputs to at least one of the one or more earlier growth stages or the one or more later growth stages of the crop model.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more executable instructions are further configured to cause the processor to:

implement at least one indicator by which to reference the one or more user inputs and associate the one or more user inputs to plant development,

wherein the at least one indicator includes at least one of proportion of full maturity, accumulated growing degree days, date, or days after planting.

10. A method for updating a crop model comprising:

opening a crop modeling graphical user interface for a geospatial location of a field associated with an irrigation system, wherein the crop modeling graphical user interface includes a crop model for the geospatial location of the field;

moving a crop graphical user interface element to a mapped location on the crop modeling graphical user interface responsive to one or more user inputs received via a user input device communicatively coupled to the irrigation system via a communication connection, wherein the one or more user inputs correspond to the geospatial location of the field, wherein the one or more user inputs at least partially include data obtained during an in-season timeframe;

generating an in-season crop model by applying the stored one or more user inputs to the crop model via the moving of the crop graphical user interface element to the mapped location on the crop modeling graphical user interface, wherein the in-season crop model includes one or more forecasted water application rates for the geospatial location of the field;

storing the in-season crop model as a list of one or more updates made to the in-season crop model, wherein a history of the one or more updates is retrievable via an access point; and

generating one or more control signals based on the in-season crop model, wherein the one or more control signals are configured to adjust one or more components of the irrigation system.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more user inputs include data for one or more of a crop growth stage or a crop growth development, a rate of water use, a root depth, a set of real time weather data, an irrigation event, or a set of moisture probe data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the data for the crop growth development includes data for one or more of a vegetation stage or a reproductive stage of a crop at the geospatial location of the field.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the set of real time weather data includes data for one or more of a precipitation event, an evapotranspiration event, or a growing degree day.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the data for the irrigation event includes data for one or more of a manually-entered irrigation event or an automated machine log.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the set of moisture probe data includes data for one or more of an original set point and an updated set point, a soil daily change, a real-time available water capacity, or a depth of root zone.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the in-season crop model is a component of a virtual optimizer irrigation model,

wherein the virtual optimizer irrigation model receives data from one or more of at least one database, at least one electrical circuit, or at least one module,

wherein the at least one module includes one or more of a crop database module, a crop growth model module, a weather data module, an irrigation data module, a water balance module, a moisture probe module, a set point sub-module for the moisture probe module, an available water capacity sub-module for the moisture probe module, or a root zone depth sub-module for the moisture probe module.

17. A crop modeling system comprising:

a plurality of irrigation systems; and

a plurality of user input devices,

wherein the plurality of irrigation systems and the plurality of user input devices are configured to communicate with a processor and a non-transitory memory with one or more executable instructions stored thereon, wherein the processor is configured to execute the one or more executable instructions, wherein the one or more executable instructions are configured to cause the processor to;

move a selected irrigation system graphical user interface element of a plurality of irrigation system graphical user interface elements to a mapped location on an irrigation system graphical user interface, wherein the selected irrigation system graphical user interface element corresponds to a selected irrigation system of the plurality of irrigation systems;

open a crop modeling graphical user interface for a geospatial location of a field following the moving of the selected irrigation system graphical user interface element to the mapped location of the irrigation system graphical user interface, wherein the crop modeling graphical user interface includes a crop model for the geospatial location of the field;

generate an in-season crop model by applying one or more user inputs to the crop model, wherein the one or more user inputs correspond to a growth stage of a type of crop at the geospatial location of the field, wherein the in-season crop model includes one or more forecasted water application rates for the geospatial location of the field;

store the in-season crop model as a list of one or more updates made to the in-season crop model, wherein a history of the one or more updates is retrievable via an access point; and

generate one or more control signals based on the in-season crop model, wherein the one or more control signals are configured to adjust one or more components of the selected irrigation system.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the crop model is a preseason crop model, wherein the preseason crop model is customizable during a preseason based on at least a subset of data including weather history for ten years.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

generating the one or more access points for at least one of an update, customization, or optimization of the growth stage of the type of crop in the in-season crop model.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more executable instructions are further configured to cause the system processor to:

generate the in-season crop model for the selected irrigation system of the plurality of irrigation systems independently from generating an in-season crop model for an additional irrigation system of the plurality of irrigation systems.