Sensor and system for plant canopy measurement
First Claim
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1. A sensor apparatus, comprising:
- a housing having a first end shaped for placing on, or inserting into, a ground;
a first photo-sensor disposed at a second end, opposite the first end, of the housing and having a near-infrared (IR) bandpass filter, the first photo-sensor oriented to be sensitive to near-IR light received from above the sensor opposite the first end;
a second photo-sensor disposed at the second end of the housing and having a red light bandpass filter, the second photo-sensor oriented to be sensitive to red light received from above the sensor opposite the first end;
a third photo-sensor disposed at the second end of the housing, the third photo-sensor oriented to be sensitive to solar light incident from above the ground when the first end of the housing is placed in or on the ground, wherein the third photo-sensor is configured and oriented to measure broadband visible spectrum solar illumination for normalizing sensor values from the first and second photo-sensors;
a wireless transmitter disposed within the housing; and
a controller coupled to the first, second, and third sensors to acquire the sensor values from the first, second, and third photo-sensors and coupled to the wireless transmitter to wirelessly transmit the sensor values via the wireless transmitter,wherein the sensor apparatus comprises a plant canopy sensor and the first, second, and third photo-sensors are orientated on the housing for collectively mapping a shape or tracking changes in the shape of a plant canopy from below the plant canopy.
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Abstract
A technique and apparatus for monitoring a plant canopy over a field is disclosed. The technique includes receiving first sensor values from a plurality of plant canopy sensors disposed in or on a ground of the field under the plant canopy. The first sensor values are indicative of near-infrared (IR) light reflected or reradiated from the plant canopy. Second sensor values are also received from the plant canopy sensors. The second sensor values are indicative of red light that is incident through the plant canopy. A map of the plant canopy may be generated based upon the first and second sensor values.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A sensor apparatus, comprising:
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a housing having a first end shaped for placing on, or inserting into, a ground; a first photo-sensor disposed at a second end, opposite the first end, of the housing and having a near-infrared (IR) bandpass filter, the first photo-sensor oriented to be sensitive to near-IR light received from above the sensor opposite the first end; a second photo-sensor disposed at the second end of the housing and having a red light bandpass filter, the second photo-sensor oriented to be sensitive to red light received from above the sensor opposite the first end; a third photo-sensor disposed at the second end of the housing, the third photo-sensor oriented to be sensitive to solar light incident from above the ground when the first end of the housing is placed in or on the ground, wherein the third photo-sensor is configured and oriented to measure broadband visible spectrum solar illumination for normalizing sensor values from the first and second photo-sensors; a wireless transmitter disposed within the housing; and a controller coupled to the first, second, and third sensors to acquire the sensor values from the first, second, and third photo-sensors and coupled to the wireless transmitter to wirelessly transmit the sensor values via the wireless transmitter, wherein the sensor apparatus comprises a plant canopy sensor and the first, second, and third photo-sensors are orientated on the housing for collectively mapping a shape or tracking changes in the shape of a plant canopy from below the plant canopy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of monitoring changes in a plant canopy over a field, the method comprising:
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receiving first sensor values from a plurality of plant canopy sensors disposed in or on a ground of the field under the plant canopy, the first sensor values indicative of near-infrared (IR) light reflected or reradiated from the plant canopy; receiving second sensor values from the plant canopy sensors, the second sensor values indicative of red light, which encourages photosynthesis, that is incident through the plant canopy; acquiring reference sensor values from a reference sensor positioned in or adjacent to the field at an open location having an unobstructed view of a sky above the field, wherein the reference sensor values represent a broadband visible spectrum measurement of solar illumination; normalizing the first and second sensor values based upon the reference sensor values acquired approximately contemporaneously with the first and second sensor values; and generating a map of the plant canopy based upon the first and second sensor values. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A machine-accessible storage medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a machine, will cause the machine to perform operations for monitoring changes in a plant canopy over a field, the operations comprising:
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receiving first sensor values from a plurality of plant canopy sensors disposed in or on a ground of the field under the plant canopy, the first sensor values indicative of near-infrared (IR) light reflected or reradiated from the plant canopy; receiving second sensor values from the plant canopy sensors, the second sensor values indicative of red light, which encourages photosynthesis, that is incident through the plant canopy; indexing the first and second sensor values to dates and times of when the first and second sensor values were acquired by the plant canopy sensors; associating the first and second sensor values to a field location of the plant canopy sensors; and generating a map of the plant canopy based upon the first and second sensor values, wherein generating the map of the plant canopy comprises; identifying sun path data based upon the dates and the field location of the plant canopy sensors, wherein the sun path data changes based upon the field location and a time of year; and referencing the sun path data to increase a resolution of the map calculated based upon the sensor values.
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18. A machine-accessible storage medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a machine, will cause the machine to perform operations for monitoring changes in a plant canopy over a field, the operations comprising:
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receiving first sensor values from a plurality of plant canopy sensors disposed in or on a ground of the field under the plant canopy, the first sensor values indicative of near-infrared (IR) light reflected or reradiated from the plant canopy; receiving second sensor values from the plant canopy sensors, the second sensor values indicative of red light, which encourages photosynthesis, that is incident through the plant canopy; acquiring reference sensor values from a reference sensor, wherein the reference sensor values represent a broadband visible spectrum measurement of solar illumination; normalizing the first and second sensor values based upon the reference sensor values acquired approximately contemporaneously with the first and second sensor values; and generating a map of the plant canopy based upon the first and second sensor values.
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Specification