INFRARED AERIAL THERMOGRAPHY FOR USE IN MONITORING PLANT HEALTH AND GROWTH

• US 20160216245A1
• Filed: 01/25/2016
• Published: 07/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Air Scout Inc.
• Original Assignee: Air Scout Inc.
• Inventors: Sutton, Brian Harold
• Granted Patent: US 10,234,439 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0098 Plants or trees wood G01N33/46
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/08 Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10032 Satellite or aerial image; Remote sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10048 Infrared image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30188 Vegetation; Agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0016 involving temporal comparison
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/10 Terrestrial scenes scenes under surveillance with static cameras G06V20/52; scenes perceived from the exterior of a vehicle G06V20/56; scenes perceived from the interior of a vehicle G06V20/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/17 taken from planes or by drones
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/188 Vegetation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/68 Food, e.g. fruit or vegetables
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/18124 related to illumination properties, e.g. according to a reflectance or lighting model
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/189 Soil moisture sensing

Abstract

A method and system for monitoring the health and growth of plants in a field. The method and system acquire a thermal image indicative of thermal energy emitted by the plants and process the thermal image to assess variations in the temperatures among the plants.

Claims

1. A method of analyzing a field, the method comprising:

positioning an imaging system in an aircraft;

acquiring an aerial image of at least a portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field; and

processing the aerial image to assess variations in the pixels of the aerial image.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

mapping the location of the aerial image to a position of the field on a geographical map;

overlaying the aerial image on the geographical map;

providing the aerial image on the geographical map to a handheld device located in the field; and

locating and displaying the present position of the handheld device on the aerial image on the geographical map.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

mapping the location of the aerial image to a position of the field on a geographical map;

overlaying the aerial image on the geographical map;

providing the aerial image on the geographical map to a user interface;

operating an unmanned aerial vehicle to fly over the field;

locating and displaying the present position of the unmanned aerial vehicle on the aerial image on the geographical map;

directing the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the aerial image on the geographical map; and

viewing the field with the unmanned aerial vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the aerial image is a thermal image that is indicative of thermal energy emitted by plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, and the processing of the aerial image includes assessing relative variations in temperatures among the plants.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the thermal image is a first thermal image, the method further comprising:

acquiring a second thermal image of the portion of the field that is indicative of thermal energy emitted by the plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field at a time after the first aerial thermal image is acquired;

processing the second aerial thermal image to assess variations in temperatures among the plants; and

comparing the first thermal image with the second thermal image to assess the health or growth of the plants over a time period between when the first thermal image was acquired and the time when the second thermal image was acquired.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the variations in temperatures among the plants are assessed to detect disease in the plants.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the variations in temperatures among the plants are assessed to detect insect infestation in the plants.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the variations in temperatures among the plants are assessed to predict a future yield of the plants.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

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

processing the thermal image having the three pixels identified thereon to perform a yield prediction of the plants in the portion of the field.

10. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

locating a soil moisture probe at a location within the portion of the field;

sensing a moisture content at the location with the soil moisture probe;

identifying the location of the soil moisture probe on the thermal image; and

analyzing the relative variations in temperatures as compared to the location of the soil moisture probe and determining moisture content across the field.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the field comprises bare soil having substantially no vegetation, the method further comprising:

acquiring a thermal image that is indicative of thermal energy emitted by the bare soil within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field;

processing the thermal image to assess relative variations in temperatures across the field;

acquiring a digital visual image that is indicative of light reflected by the bare soil within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, the digital visual image capturing light in the near-infrared, visual, and ultraviolet spectrums;

processing the digital visual image to assess relative variations in light reflectance across the field; and

analyzing the relative variations in temperatures across the field and the relative variations in light reflectance across the field to identify soil types within the portion of the field.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the aerial image is a digital visual image that is indicative of light reflected by plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, the digital visual image captures light in the near-infrared, visual, and ultraviolet spectrums, and the processing of the aerial image includes processing the digital visual image to assess relative variations in light reflectance among the plants.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

acquiring a thermal image of the portion of the field that is indicative of thermal energy emitted by the plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field;

processing the thermal image to assess relative variations in temperatures among the plants; and

comparing the relative variations in light reflectance among the plants and the relative variations in temperatures among the plants to assess stress factors among the plants.

14. A system for analyzing a field, the system comprising:

an imaging system in an aircraft;

means for acquiring an aerial image of at least a portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field; and

means for processing the aerial image to assess variations in the pixels of the aerial image.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for mapping the location of the aerial image to a position of the field on a geographical map;

means for overlaying the aerial image on the geographical map;

means for providing the aerial image on the geographical map to a handheld device located in the field; and

means for locating and displaying the present position of the handheld device on the aerial image on the geographical map.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

means for mapping the location of the aerial image to a position of the field on a geographical map;

means for overlaying the aerial image on the geographical map;

means for providing the aerial image on the geographical map to a user interface;

means for operating an unmanned aerial vehicle to fly over the field;

means for locating and displaying the present position of the unmanned aerial vehicle on the aerial image on the geographical map;

means for directing the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the aerial image on the geographical map; and

means for viewing the field with the unmanned aerial vehicle.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the aerial image is a thermal image that is indicative of thermal energy emitted by plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, and the means for processing the aerial image includes means for assessing relative variations in temperatures among the plants.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the thermal image is a first thermal image, the system further comprising:

means for acquiring a second thermal image of the portion of the field that is indicative of thermal energy emitted by the plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field at a time after the first aerial thermal image is acquired;

means for processing the second aerial thermal image to assess variations in temperatures among the plants; and

means for comparing the first thermal image with the second thermal image to assess the health or growth of the plants over a time period between when the first thermal image was acquired and the time when the second thermal image was acquired.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the variations in temperatures among the plants are assessed to detect disease in the plants.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the variations in temperatures among the plants are assessed to detect insect infestation in the plants.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the variations in temperatures among the plants are assessed to predict a future yield of the plants.

22. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

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

means for processing the thermal image having the three pixels identified thereon to perform a yield prediction of the plants in the portion of the field.

23. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

a soil moisture probe at a location within the portion of the field, the soil moisture probe sensing a moisture content at the location;

means for identifying the location of the soil moisture probe on the thermal image; and

means for analyzing the relative variations in temperatures as compared to the location of the soil moisture probe and determining moisture content across the field.

24. The system of claim 14, wherein the portion of the field comprises bare soil having substantially no vegetation, the system further comprising:

means for acquiring a thermal image that is indicative of thermal energy emitted by the bare soil within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field;

means for processing the thermal image to assess relative variations in temperatures across the field;

means for acquiring a digital visual image that is indicative of light reflected by the bare soil within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, the digital visual image capturing light in the near-infrared, visual, and ultraviolet spectrums;

means for processing the digital visual image to assess relative variations in light reflectance across the field; and

means for analyzing the relative variations in temperatures across the field and the relative variations in light reflectance across the field to identify soil types within the portion of the field.

25. The system of claim 14, wherein the aerial image is a digital visual image that is indicative of light reflected by plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, the digital visual image captures light in the near-infrared, visual, and ultraviolet spectrums, and the means for processing the aerial image includes means for processing the digital visual image to assess relative variations in light reflectance among the plants.

26. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

means for acquiring a thermal image of the portion of the field that is indicative of thermal energy emitted by the plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field;

means for processing the thermal image to assess relative variations in temperatures among the plants; and

means for comparing the relative variations in light reflectance among the plants and the relative variations in temperatures among the plants to assess stress factors among the plants.