Resource use management in yards and gardens

• US 8,150,554 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2009
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Anderson, Noel Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnes-Bullock, Crystal J
• Application Number:
  US12/427,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20100268391A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,078 Days
• Field of Search: 700/283, 700/284, 701/50, 702/3, 705/400, 705/412, 47/15, 47/485, 340/870.16, 340/870.17
• US Class Current: 700/284
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/167 Control by humidity of the soil itself or of devices simulating soil or of the atmosphere; Soil humidity sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply

Abstract

Therefore, the illustrative embodiments provide a computer program product comprising a computer recordable media having computer usable program code. Resource needs are determined for each plant in a plurality of plants to form individual resource needs. Conditions are identified in an environment in which the plurality of plants are located by receiving input from a sensor system to form current conditions. A plurality of per plant prescriptions are calculated for the plurality of plants using the individual resource needs and the current conditions. The application of the resource is controlled from a mobile utility vehicle to each plant in the plurality of plants using the plurality of per plant prescriptions.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising:

a computer recordable media;

computer usable program code, stored on the computer recordable media, for determining resource needs for each plant in a plurality of plants to form individual resource needs;

computer usable program code for identifying conditions in an environment in which the plurality of plants are located by receiving input from a sensor system to form current conditions;

computer usable program code for calculating a plurality of per plant prescriptions for the plurality of plants using the individual resource needs and the current conditions; and

computer usable program code for controlling the application of the resource from a mobile utility vehicle to each plant in the plurality of plants using the plurality of per plant prescriptions.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising:

computer usable program code for accessing a knowledge base to determine individual plant resource needs.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, further comprising:

computer usable program code to determine, from the knowledge base, for the each plant at least one of a plant species, a plant variety, a growth stage, and a life cycle.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, further comprising:

computer usable program code for determining a resource need for the each plant based on at least one of the plant species, the plant variety, the growth stage, and the life cycle of the each plant.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving as input a current weather and solar forecast; and

computer usable program code for determining current resource rules.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the current resource rules include at least one of an amount of resource currently accessible, local resource shortage information, and local resource restriction information.

7. The computer program product of claim 5, further comprising:

computer usable program code for apportioning resource usage according to a utility function in order to maximize benefits and minimize costs according to a set of constraints, wherein the set of constraints are the current resource rules.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

computer usable program code for determining an amount of resource based on the individual resource needs;

computer usable program code for determining an adjustment of the amount of resource based on the current conditions; and

computer usable program code for calculating a per plant prescription in the plurality of per plant prescriptions that is distinct from the individual resource needs.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

computer usable program code for determining whether an observed growth stage of an individual plant parallels an expected growth stage of the individual plant; and

computer usable program code for, responsive to the observed growth stage of the individual plant being different than the expected growth stage of the individual plant, adjusting the amount of resource based on the observed growth stage.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer usable program code for calculating the plurality of per plant prescriptions for the plurality of plants using the individual resource needs and the current conditions further comprises:

computer usable program code for receiving as input detected soil moisture data associated with the plurality of plants;

computer usable program code for analyzing the soil moisture data using a soil moisture model;

computer usable program code for determining whether the soil moisture data parallels the soil moisture model for the plurality of plants; and

computer usable program code, responsive to the soil moisture data being different than the soil moisture model, for determining an adjusted amount of resource based on the soil moisture data and updating a knowledge base with the soil moisture data.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein computer usable program code for calculating the plurality of per plant prescriptions for the plurality of plants using the individual resource needs and the current conditions further comprises:

computer usable program code for determining whether an observed actual resource use of an individual plant parallels an expected resource need of the individual plant, wherein the observed actual resource use of the individual plant includes information received from the current weather and solar forecast and information received from the soil moisture data; and

computer usable program code for responsive to the observed actual resource use of the individual plant being different than the expected resource need of the individual plant, adjusting the amount of resource based on the observed actual resource use.

12. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the plurality of per plant prescriptions for the plurality of plants are directed to individual areas containing the plurality of plants, wherein each per plant prescription in the plurality of per plant prescriptions is associated with an individual area containing the plurality of plants.

13. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the plurality of per plant prescriptions for the plurality of plants are directed to individual plants in the plurality of plants, wherein each per plant prescription in the plurality of per plant prescriptions is associated with an individual plant in the plurality of plants.

14. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising:

computer usable program code for dispensing the mobile utility vehicle to a selected resource from among a number of resource sources; and

computer usable program code for controlling the transferring of the resource from the selected resource source into a resource storage unit of the mobile utility vehicle.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer usable program code for controlling the application of the resource to the plurality of plants according to the per plant prescription further comprises:

computer usable program code for dispensing the mobile utility vehicle to an area containing the plurality of plants; and

computer usable program code for controlling the transfer of the resource from the resource storage unit onto the plurality of plants.