Targeted irrigation using a central pivot irrigation system with a sensor network

• US 9,943,046 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2014
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bermudez Rodriguez, Sergio A., Hamann, Hendrik F., Klein, Levente, Marianno, Fernando J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mitchell, Jason D
• Application Number:
  US14/499,458
• Publication Number:
  US 20160088807A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• Field of Search: 700284
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/092 movable around a pivot centre
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/16 Control of watering
• 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: G05B 2219/2625 Sprinkler, irrigation, watering

Abstract

A system includes a plurality of optical sensors located along at least one pipe segment of a rotating arm that pivots around an irrigation area of a field, the plurality of optical sensors continuously monitors soil and vegetation conditions and transmits sensed data to a central computer, and a plurality of in-ground sensors scattered in the irrigation area of the field, the plurality of in-ground sensors continuously monitors soil conditions and transmits sensed data to a plurality of gateway devices located in the rotating arm, the plurality of gateway devices transmits data from the plurality of in-ground sensors to the central computer where data from the plurality of optical sensors and the plurality of in-ground sensors is integrated with external data to determine water and fertilizer needs based on which an irrigation schedule is created.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of optical sensors located along at least one pipe segment of a rotating arm that pivots around an irrigation area of a field, the plurality of optical sensors comprising a down facing battery powered camera system comprising a wireless mote, a fisheye lens, and an integrated set of automatically adjustable filters located in front of the fisheye lens, the automatically adjustable set of filters comprising two or more narrow band filters that allow light on a specific bandwidth to pass through the fisheye lens to obtain spectrally distributed images of a crop, wherein each filter in the automatically adjustable set of filters is associated with a soil property or a vegetation property, and each image captured by the plurality of optical sensors is time stamped and georeferenced by means of a global positioning system such that each feature of the acquired images has associated coordinates, wherein the plurality of optical sensors continuously capture and transmit soil and vegetation data to a computer via the wireless mote, wherein the computer correlates the transmitted soil and vegetation data with a position of the rotating arm; and

a plurality of in-ground sensors scattered in the irrigation area of the field, wherein the plurality of in-ground sensors continuously monitor soil conditions and transmit sensed data to a plurality of gateway devices located in the rotating arm, wherein the plurality of gateway devices transmit data from the plurality of in-ground sensors to the computer,

wherein the computer uses real time analytics to integrate data from the plurality of optical sensors and the plurality of in-ground sensors with external data acquired by the computer to determine current soil moisture and crop conditions based on which an irrigation map of the field comprising delineated irrigation zones is created, wherein the external data comprises weather data, satellite data, solar radiation data, and crop models,

wherein in response to current soil moisture and crop conditions being below a predetermined threshold, an irrigation schedule is generated by the computer and applied to the field such that water and fertilizer are delivered only to those zones identified on the irrigation map.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the soil and vegetation properties detected by the plurality of optical sensors comprises:

canopy reflectance, vegetation index, nitrogen distribution, soil temperature and canopy temperature.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

based on a rainfall being below a predicted rainfall level in the weather data acquired by the computer, adjusting the irrigation schedule such that the difference is added to the irrigation schedule for the next day; and

based on the rainfall being above a predicted rainfall level in the weather data acquired by the computer, adjusting the irrigation schedule such that irrigation is delayed until data from the plurality of optical sensors and the plurality of in-ground sensors indicates soil moisture and crop conditions are below the predetermined threshold.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the soil properties detected by the plurality of in-ground sensors comprises:

soil moisture, soil temperature, and ionic potential variations caused by fertilizers in the soil.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of in-ground sensors are connected to various microcontrollers and radio devices to transmit acquired data to the plurality of gateway devices, the plurality of gateway devices process data from the in-ground sensors in real time and transmit processed data to the computer to adjust the irrigation schedule, a speed of the rotating arm or request additional information from additional sensors.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of microwave devices located along one or more of the pipe segments of the rotating arm, the microwave devices detecting soil moisture information to complement properties detected by the plurality of in-ground sensors scattered in the irrigation area of the field.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the plurality of microwave devices comprises:

a microwave polarimetry generator (VV, HH, VH, and HV) coupled to a sensor that functions at different frequencies and polarization levels.

8. A system comprising:

a plurality of pipe segments joined together end to end and supported above the ground on wheeled framed towers, the plurality of pipe segments are rotatably attached at one end to a central tower such that they rotate freely about the central tower, each pipe segment comprising one or more nozzles for dispensing a fluid on an irrigation area below the pipe segments;

a plurality of optical sensors located along one or more of the pipe segments, the plurality of optical sensors comprising a down facing battery powered camera system comprising a wireless mote, a fisheye lens, and an integrated set of automatically adjustable filters located in front of the fisheye lens, the automatically adjustable set of filters comprising two or more narrow band filters that allow light on a specific bandwidth to pass through the fisheye lens to obtain spectrally distributed images of a crop, wherein each filter in the automatically adjustable set of filters is associated with a soil property or a vegetation property, and each image captured by the plurality of optical sensors is time stamped and georeferenced by means of a global positioning system such that each feature of the acquired images has associated coordinates, wherein the plurality of optical sensors estimate soil properties and vegetation properties and generate optical sensor data;

a plurality of in-ground sensors at least partially embedded into the soil within the irrigation area, wherein the in-ground sensors detect soil properties and generate in-ground sensor data;

a gateway device attached to one or more of the wheeled framed towers, wherein the plurality of in-ground sensors wirelessly transmit the soil properties to the gateway device;

a plurality of microwave devices located along one or more of the pipe segments of the rotating arm, the microwave devices detecting soil moisture information to complement properties detected by the plurality of in-ground sensors scattered in the irrigation area of the field; and

a computer located in the central tower, wherein the gateway device wirelessly transmits the in-ground sensor data to the computer, and wherein the computer integrates, using real time analytics, the in-ground data, the optical sensor data, and external data to determine current soil moisture and crop conditions based on which an irrigation map of the field comprising delineated irrigation zones is created, wherein the external data comprises weather data, satellite data, solar radiation data, and crop models,

in response to current soil moisture and crop conditions being below a predetermined threshold, an irrigation schedule is generated by the computer and communicated to flow control valves corresponding with each nozzle to open or close such that water and fertilizer are delivered to only to those zones identified on the irrigation map.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the optical sensor data includes canopy reflectance, vegetation index, nitrogen distribution, soil temperature and canopy temperature.

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

based on a rainfall being below a predicted rainfall level in the weather data acquired by the computer, adjusting the irrigation schedule such that the difference is added to the irrigation schedule for the next day; and

based on the rainfall being above a predicted rainfall level in the weather data acquired by the computer, adjusting the irrigation schedule such that irrigation is delayed until data from the plurality of optical sensors and the plurality of in-ground sensors indicates soil moisture and crop conditions are below the predetermined threshold.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the soil properties detected by the plurality of in-ground sensors comprises:

soil moisture, soil temperature, nitrogen concentration and ionic potential variations caused by fertilizers in the soil.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the in-ground sensors are connected to various microcontrollers and radio devices to transmit acquired data to the gateway device, the gateway device processes data from the in-ground sensors in real time and transmit processed data to the computer to adjust the irrigation schedule, a speed of the rotating arm or request additional information from additional sensors.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the external data comprises:

weather data, satellite data, solar radiation data, and crop models acquired by the computer, wherein the weather data comprises a rainfall level based on which the irrigation schedule is adjusted.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of microwave devices comprises:

a microwave polarimetry generator (VV, HH, VH, and HV) coupled to a sensor that functions at different frequencies and polarization levels.

15. A method comprising:

providing a central pivot irrigation system comprising a plurality of pipe segments joined together end to end and supported above the ground on wheeled framed towers, wherein the plurality of pipe segments are rotatably attached at one end to a central tower such that they rotate freely about the central tower, wherein each pipe segment comprises one or more nozzles for dispensing a fluid on an irrigation area below the pipe segments;

acquiring, by a computer, in-field data from a wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of optical sensors, a plurality of in-ground sensors, a plurality of microwave devices and a gateway device,

wherein the plurality of optical sensors are located along one or more of the plurality of pipe segments, the plurality of optical sensors comprising a down facing battery powered camera system comprising a wireless mote, a fisheye lens, and an integrated set of automatically adjustable filters located in front of the fisheye lens, the automatically adjustable set of filters comprising two or more narrow band filters that allow light on a specific bandwidth to pass through the fisheye lens to obtain spectrally distributed images of a crop, wherein each filter in the automatically adjustable set of filters is associated with a soil property or a vegetation property, and each image captured by the plurality of optical sensors is time stamped and georeferenced by means of a global positioning system such that each feature of the acquired images has associated coordinates, wherein the plurality of optical sensors continuously capture and transmit soil data and vegetation data to the computer via the wireless mote, wherein the computer correlates the transmitted soil data and vegetation data with a position of the plurality of pipe segments,

wherein the plurality of in-ground sensors are at least partially embedded into the soil within the irrigation area, the plurality of in-ground sensors detect soil properties,

wherein the gateway device is attached to one or more of the wheeled framed towers and wireles sly transmits the detected soil properties from the plurality of in-ground sensors to the computer,

wherein the plurality of microwave devices are located along one or more of the pipe segments, the microwave devices detecting soil moisture properties to complement soil properties from the plurality of in-ground sensors;

integrating, by the computer using real time analytics, soil and vegetation properties from the plurality of optical sensors, soil moisture properties from the plurality of in-ground sensors, soil properties from the plurality of microwave devices and external data to determine current soil moisture and crop conditions, wherein the external data comprises weather data, satellite data, solar radiation data, and crop models;

based on the current soil moisture and crop conditions, creating an irrigation map of the field comprising delineated irrigation zones;

in response to current soil moisture and crop conditions being below a predetermined threshold, generating, by the computer, an irrigation schedule; and

communicating the irrigation schedule to flow control valves corresponding with each nozzle to open or close such that water and fertilizer are delivered only to those zones identified on the irrigation map.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

based on a rainfall being below a predicted rainfall level in the weather data acquired by the computer, adjusting the irrigation schedule such that the difference is added to the irrigation schedule for the next day; and

based on the rainfall being above a predicted rainfall level in the weather data acquired by the computer, adjusting the irrigation schedule such that irrigation is delayed until data from the plurality of optical sensors and the plurality of in-ground sensors indicates soil moisture and crop conditions are below the predetermined threshold.

17. A computer readable non-transitory article of manufacture tangibly embodying computer readable instructions which, when executed, cause a computer to carry out the steps of a method comprising:

providing a central pivot irrigation system comprising a plurality of pipe segments joined together end to end and supported above the ground on wheeled framed towers, wherein the plurality of pipe segments are rotatably attached at one end to a central tower such that they rotate freely about the central tower, wherein each pipe segment comprises one or more nozzles for dispensing a fluid on an irrigation area below the pipe segments;

acquiring, by a computer, in-field data from a wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of optical sensors, a plurality of in-ground sensors, a plurality of microwave devices and a gateway device,

wherein the plurality of optical sensors are located along one or more of the plurality of pipe segments, the plurality of optical sensors comprising a down facing battery powered camera system comprising a wireless mote, a fisheye lens, and an integrated set of automatically adjustable filters located in front of the fisheye lens, the automatically adjustable set of filters comprising two or more narrow band filters that allow light on a specific bandwidth to pass through the fisheye lens to obtain spectrally distributed images of a crop, wherein each filter in the automatically adjustable set of filters is associated with a soil property or a vegetation property, and each image captured by the plurality of optical sensors is time stamped and georeferenced by means of a global positioning system such that each feature of the acquired images has associated coordinates, wherein the plurality of optical sensors continuously capture and transmit soil data and vegetation data to the computer via the wireless mote, wherein the computer correlates the transmitted soil data and vegetation data with a position of the plurality of pipe segments,

wherein the plurality of in-ground sensors are at least partially embedded into the soil within the irrigation area, the plurality of in-ground sensors detect soil properties,

wherein the gateway device is attached to one or more of the wheeled framed towers and wirelessly transmits the detected soil properties from the plurality of in-ground sensors to the computer,

wherein the plurality of microwave devices are located along one or more of the pipe segments, the microwave devices detecting soil moisture properties to complement soil properties from the plurality of in-ground sensors;

integrating, by the computer using real time analytics, soil and vegetation properties from the plurality of optical sensors, soil moisture properties from the plurality of in-ground sensors, soil properties from the plurality of microwave devices and external data to determine current soil moisture and crop conditions, wherein the external data comprises weather data, satellite data, solar radiation data, and crop models;

based on the current soil moisture and crop conditions, creating an irrigation map of the field comprising delineated irrigation zones;

in response to current soil moisture and crop conditions being below a predetermined threshold, generating, by the computer, an irrigation schedule; and

communicating the irrigation schedule to flow control valves corresponding with each nozzle to open or close such that water and fertilizer are delivered only to those zones identified on the irrigation map.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising:

based on a rainfall being below a predicted rainfall level in the weather data acquired by the computer, adjusting the irrigation schedule such that the difference is added to the irrigation schedule for the next day; and

based on the rainfall being above a predicted rainfall level in the weather data acquired by the computer, adjusting the irrigation schedule such that irrigation is delayed until data from the plurality of optical sensors and the plurality of in-ground sensors indicates soil moisture and crop conditions are below the predetermined threshold.