Automated location-based information recall

• US 8,417,534 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Hi Bred International Inc (Corteva, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Hi Bred International Inc (Corteva, Inc.)
• Inventors: Peterson, Todd A., Gardner, Douglas L., Corak, Steven J., Langer, David K., Terndrup, Dana Torquil, Hershey, Tracy, Anderson, Barry, Belzer, William A., Richardson, Warren, Bowen, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mahase, Pameshanand
• Application Number:
  US11/962,237
• Publication Number:
  US 20080157990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,936 Days
• Field of Search: 340/678, 701/50, 702/5
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining

Abstract

A geoposition is determined at a point using a geoposition determining mobile communication device. A crop management zone is identified based on one or more predetermined crop management boundaries and the geoposition of the point. Information about the field is wirelessly communicated between the geoposition determining mobile communications device and a remote site. Analysis may be performed at the remote site with the results of the analysis communicated to the mobile communication device at the growing point. Information may be collected at the point which is stored or analyzed at the remote site. Information may include digital images of plant conditions which may be analyzed to determine conditions such as disease or pest infestation. Contextual information from a number of different types of sources may be used to provide meaningful analysis and feedback to the producer. The producer may define crop management zones using the geoposition determining mobile communication device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving geoposition data that was collected during a production operation for at least one crop, wherein the geoposition data includes an indication of a location of the at least one crop located in a crop management zone;

determining crop management boundaries of the crop management zone in which the at least one crop is located based on the location of the at least one crop indicated in the geoposition data that was collected during the production operation for the at least one crop;

receiving a geoposition associated with a mobile communication device;

identifying the crop management zone based on a proximity of the received geoposition associated with the mobile communication device to the determined crop management boundaries of the crop management zone; and

sending information about the crop management zone to the mobile communication device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising analyzing agriculture production information associated with the crop management zone.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving agricultural production information about the crop management zone.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein sending information about the crop management zone comprises sending at least one of genetics of plants growing in the crop management zone, crop production information associated with the crop management zone, weather data associated with the crop management zone, an image of at least one plant, an image of at least one condition, or an image analysis of at least part of the crop management zone.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a digital image associated with the crop management zone; and

analyzing the digital image to determine a condition of at least one plant within the crop management zone, and wherein the information about the crop management zone comprises the condition of the at least one plant.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein determining the condition of the at least one plant comprises determining a disease or pest affecting the at least one plant.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of said crop management boundaries are determined by analysis of as-planted data and wherein said one or more crop management boundaries comprise an isolation zone that extends a pre-determined distance from the location of the at least one crop located in the crop management zone to determine whether the at least one crop is isolated from other crops outside of the crop management zone.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile communication device comprises a GPS enabled cellular phone.

9. A method comprising:

receiving a geolocation of at least one crop located in a crop management zone, wherein the geolocation is associated with a geoposition determining mobile communication device;

defining a crop management boundary associated with the crop management zone based on data that was collected during crop production and the geolocation of the at least one crop associated with the geoposition determining mobile communication device;

storing the crop management zone and the defined crop management boundary associated with the crop management zone;

associating an isolation boundary with the crop management zone; and

determining the representation of the geolocation data from the stored crop management zone and crop management boundary associated with the crop management zone and the isolation boundary.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the crop management zone comprises a first crop management zone and the crop management boundary comprises a first crop management boundary, and further comprising identifying a second crop management zone corresponding with planting of a plant genotype and determining a second crop management boundary for the second crop management zone.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the first crop management zone is separated from and not adjacent to the second crop management zone.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of defining the crop management boundary associated with the crop management zone is performed by analyzing GPS data acquired during planting of the crop management zone.

23. The method of claim 9 wherein the isolation boundary extends a pre-determined distance from the geolocation of the at least one crop located in the crop management zone to determine whether the at least one crop is isolated from other crops outside of the crop management zone.

13. A method comprising:

receiving geoposition data that was collected during a production operation for at least one crop, wherein the geoposition data includes an indication of a location of the at least one crop located in a crop management zone;

determining crop management boundaries of the crop management zone based on the location of the at least one crop indicated in the geoposition data that was collected during the production operation for the at least one crop;

receiving a geoposition associated with an electronic device;

determining that the crop management zone having the crop management boundaries contains the geoposition;

electronically communicating agricultural production information associated with the crop management zone to the electronic device; and

electronically receiving from the electronic device agricultural production information about the crop management zone.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the information comprises at least one of an alert indicating that a user is within the crop management zone, an alert indicating that a production operation should not be performed in the crop management zone, or additional information containing user observations about the crop management zone.

24. The method of claim 13 wherein the electronic device comprises a GPS-enabled cell phone.

15. A method comprising:

receiving a geolocation of at least one crop located in a crop management zone, wherein the geolocation was collected during a production operation for the at least one crop;

determining crop management boundaries of the crop management zone based on the geolocation of the at least one crop collected during the production operation for the at least one crop;

receiving an image of a plant having a plant condition within the crop management boundaries of the crop management zone from an electronic device;

receiving geospatial data, associated with the image of the plant, that is indicative of a reason the plant has the plant condition;

analyzing the image and the geospatial data of the plant to determine the plant condition; and

transmitting the plant condition to the electronic device.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising sending treatment information associated with the plant condition to the electronic device.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising receiving a request from the electronic device for scheduling of a service to treat the plant condition.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the plant condition comprises at least one of a presence of a pest, a nutrient deficiency, a biotic condition, or an abiotic condition.

25. The method of claim 15 wherein the electronic device comprises a GPS-enabled cell phone.

19. A method comprising:

receiving a geolocation of at least one crop located in a crop management zone, wherein the geolocation was collected during a production operation for the at least one crop;

determining crop management boundaries of the crop management zone based on the geolocation of the at least one crop collected during the production operation for the at least one crop;

receiving an image associated with at least one part of the crop management zone from a mobile communication device, wherein the at least one part of the crop management zone associated with the received image is included within the crop management boundaries;

receiving geospatial data, associated with the image, that is indicative of a reason the crop management zone has a condition;

analyzing the image and the geospatial data to assist in determining the condition associated with the crop management zone; and

transmitting the condition associated with the crop management zone to the mobile communication device.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising sending treatment information for the condition associated with the crop management zone to the mobile communication device.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising receiving a request from the mobile communication device for scheduling of a service to treat the condition associated with the crop management zone.

22. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

receiving additional data collected within the crop management zone from the mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device is adapted to receive the additional data through wireless communication with a sensor network; and

analyzing the additional data to assist in determining the condition associated with the crop management zone.