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Methods and systems for analyzing a field

  • US 10,234,439 B2
  • Filed: 01/25/2016
  • Issued: 03/19/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2012
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of analyzing a field, the method comprising:

  • positioning an imaging system in an aircraft;

    acquiring with the imaging system an aerial thermal image and an aerial digital visual image of at least a portion of the field that contains plants while the aircraft is in flight over the field, wherein the aerial thermal image comprises pixels indicating different levels of thermal energy emitted by the plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, and the aerial digital visual image comprises pixels indicating different levels of light reflected by the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field;

    identifying at least three of the pixels on the aerial thermal image, a first of the pixels indicating a lowest temperature in the aerial thermal image, a second of the pixels indicating a highest temperature in the aerial thermal image, and a third of the pixels indicating a temperature between the lowest and highest temperatures of the first and second pixels;

    processing the aerial thermal image to assess relative variations in temperatures among the plants within the portion of the field by assessing variations in the pixels of the aerial thermal image, determining a temperature difference between the lowest and highest temperatures of the plants, and comparing the temperature difference and the first, second, and third pixels to each of the pixels in the aerial thermal image to assign each of the pixels thereof with a yield prediction based on temperature to perform a yield prediction of the plants in the portion of the field; and

    comparing the aerial digital visual image to the aerial thermal image.

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