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Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Elsevier Science Publishers
Computers and Electronics in Agriculture

Elsevier Science Publishers

0168-1699

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture/Journal Computers and Electronics in AgricultureSCIEIISTP
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    Exploiting plant dynamics in robotic fruit localization

    Senden J.Janssen L.van der Kruk R.Bruyninckx H....
    9页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 The AuthorsThe task of harvesting a tomato truss requires the truss to be separated from the stem by severing the peduncle. Challenges to perform this task with an autonomous robotic system include ripeness detection of the truss and localizing the peduncle, which is often done using only a vision system. Occlusion by leaves, stems and other trusses generally hamper vision-based detection. This study proposes a supplementary method to reach the peduncles, based on vibration feedback. This is done by mechanically exciting the tree at the stem and measuring the frequency response. At a certain frequency, the truss will resonate to the excitation. When traveling along the stem, while exciting it, the shift of this resonance frequency indicates the progress towards the peduncle. It is demonstrated that the resonance frequency increases when the distance to the peduncle decreases, which is attributed to a change of the mechanical stiffness of the stem part between the location of excitation and the location of the peduncle. The method is first tested by exciting a mock-up tomato plant with a 1 degree-of-freedom (DOF) actuator and measuring the response. This mock-up behaves like a fourth order mass spring damper system, where the stiffness of one of the modeled springs increases when the distance to the peduncle decreases. Next, the method is tested on a real tomato plant with multiple trusses. It is shown how these trusses contribute to the multiple distinguishable resonance frequencies. The individual contribution of the trusses to the response can be identified due to the superposition principle for linear dynamics. The closest truss has the highest resonance frequency of 3-4Hz. Similar to the mock-up plant, it is shown that these frequencies increase when approaching the peduncle, with approximately 0.7Hz/m. The change of the frequencies should be used to track the progress towards a truss, rather than predicting an exact location. This approach is independent of the exact parameters of the plant, resulting in a promising proof-of-concept as extra sensor modality.

    Novelty detection in UAV images to identify emerging threats in eucalyptus crops

    Coletta L.F.S.de Almeida D.C.Manzione R.L.Souza J.R....
    8页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 Elsevier B.V.Supervised learning-based methods can identify crop threats in the visual data collected by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). However, as these methods induce classification models from a finite set of a priori known classes, they cannot recognize new patterns emerging in visual data to be classified. In agricultural environments, these patterns may appear over time, so that those related to diseases/pests should be addressed by the classifier timely. This study investigates an extension of a semi-supervised classification algorithm to identify new classes of threats appearing in UAV visual data. To do so, the algorithm aggregates information from clusters with Support Vector Machine (SVM) outcomes operating on the unlabeled (target) data. From an iterative active learning procedure, the classification model is then fed back to learn a new class. Experimental results showed that our algorithm can discover a new threat, named Ceratocystis wilt, in Eucalyptus plantations even with labeled data scarcity and class imbalance. Also, even this new class being the minority one, its error rate was reduced to almost zero in few iterations on a tested dataset. This is due to the adopted Entropy and Density-based Selection approach, which explored the new class better than an SVM Margin Sampling baseline. When operating on VGGNet-16 deep features, our algorithm achieved accuracies between 92% and 97% being slightly better than those results based on hand-crafted features.

    Real-time control for multi-parametric data fusion and dynamic offset optimization in sensor-based variable rate nitrogen application

    Heiss A.Paraforos D.S.Sharipov G.M.Griepentrog H.W....
    12页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 The Author(s)Real-time sensor systems for variable rate nitrogen (N) application (VRNA) are an established technology nowadays but they have some shortcomings in terms of their capability to consider multiple parameters relevant for plant growth. Further, the abundantly lacking section control in centrifugal spreaders limits the accuracy of a sensor-based VRNA, especially in combination with the temporal and spatial offsets between sensing and fertilizer placement. Fuzzy inference systems were incorporated into a real-time control to numerically fuse the crop N uptake sensed by a real-time sensor system, as well as mapped soil electrical conductivity (ECa) data for the calculation of site-specific N dose rates (DR). A distinction of two subsections within the working width of a sensor-spreader system was made based on the ECa data. Further, by implementing a generic model, the control system agronomically optimized the rate control of a centrifugal spreader in order to compensate positional lags and technical latencies and minimize the spatial offset between DR determination and application in a dynamic manner. With field tests at different driving speed scenarios going partly beyond the usual operation conditions, the real-time control was verified. The differentiation of the sections has resulted in slight DR differences, whereas the control system has shown a high consistency in calculating the DRs and sending commands to the spreader in a coordinated manner. The level of spatial concordance between DR determination and application had a highly stochastic character. However, the deviation was never beyond 1.5 m and the percentage of deviations beyond 1 m reached a maximum of 2.3% among the different recorded datasets, which can be considered as a sufficient performance for practical needs.

    Achieving robustness across different ages and cultivars for an NIRS-PLSR model of fresh cassava root starch and dry matter content

    Maraphum K.Saengprachatanarug K.Wongpichet S.Phuphuphud A....
    13页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 Elsevier B.V.This study used a portable near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer at wavelengths of 570–1031 nm to evaluate starch content (SC) and dry matter content (DMC) in fresh cassava tubers. An improved model was developed for the prediction of cassava tuber quality. The cassava samples were taken from four main varieties: CMR38-125-77, KU50, RY11, and RY9. The samples were obtained 4–12 months after planting (MAP). Partial least squares (PLR) regression was combined with different variable selection methods and spectral pre-treatment. Their accuracies were then compared. Variable selection methods included the successive projections algorithm (SPA) and the genetic algorithm (GA). The NIR spectra were obtained in the interactance mode under field conditions. The GA wavelengths combined with sequential pre-processing by orthogonalization (SPORT) pre-processing provided the optimum model for predicting both the SC and the DMC of cassava. The R2p, RMSEp, and RPD of SC were 0.91, 1.76%, and 3.26, respectively, and those of DMC were 0.75, 2.00%, and 2.00, respectively. The most effective model was tested against unknown samples of newly developed varieties obtained from different harvest seasons, yielding RMSEp and bias values of 2.37% and ?9.178 × 10-6%, respectively, for SC. For DMC, the RMSEp and bias values were 2.67% and 4.16 × 10-14%, respectively. The results suggest that the calibration model could be used to monitor the internal quality of cassava tubers in the field. The variety, age, position, and section of the tubers had a slight influence on the prediction performance; however, the prediction accuracy was acceptable for in-field applications. The in-field portable NIR spectrometer could become a new tool for breeders, saving time and costs. Breeders could evaluate SC without destroying the cassava roots or stalks and could correct and inspect the behaviour of the SC and DMC accumulation.

    Leaf image based plant disease identification using transfer learning and feature fusion

    Fan X.Mu Y.Zhou R.Luo P....
    12页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 Elsevier B.V.With the continuing changes in the structure of plant and cultivation patterns, new diseases are constantly appearing on the leaves of plant, exacerbating the threat to food security and agricultural production in many areas of the world. Thus, a rapid and accurate recognition of various diseases in plant will not only significantly reduce unnecessary planting costs, but also alleviate the economic losses and environmental pollution caused by incorrect disease diagnosis. Recent advances in deep learning have improved the performance in recognizing plant leaf diseases. In this paper, we present a general framework for recognizing plant diseases. Firstly, we propose a deep feature descriptor based on transfer learning to obtain a high-level latent feature representation. Then, we integrate the deep features with traditional handcrafted features by feature fusion to capture the local texture information in plant leaf images. In addition, centre loss is incorporated to further enhance the discriminative ability of the fused feature. The centre loss simultaneously minimizes intra-class distance and maximizes inter-class distance to learn both compact and separate features. Extensive experiments have been conducted on three publicly available datasets (two Apple Leaf datasets and one Coffee Leaf dataset) to validate the effectiveness of proposed method. The propose method achieves 99.79%, 92.59% and 97.12% classification accuracies on the three datasets, respectively. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively captures the discriminative feature representation for distinguishing plant leaf diseases.

    Development of a variable-diameter threshing drum for rice combine harvester using MBD - DEM coupling simulation

    Liu Y.Li Y.Huang M.Zhang T....
    10页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022According to different feeding rates, the threshing gap of rice combine harvester needs to be flexibly adjusted to prevent blockage. The research shows that the threshing performance of adjusting threshing gap by changing the drum diameter is better than that by changing the concave grid position, but there are few researches on the variable-diameter threshing drum. The objective of this paper was to specifically develop a variable-diameter threshing drum and a monitoring method for rice combine harvester to improve the threshing performance. The adjusting part of the variable-diameter threshing drum was consisted of two sets of the side and the middle adjustment mechanism, which were driven by hollow hydraulic cylinder. The three states (becoming larger, smaller and stationary) of drum diameter could be realized by the designed hydraulic actuating system. The mathematical model among the feeding rate, the threshing gap and the piston rod load force of hydraulic cylinder was deduced, and the MBD - DEM coupling simulation was carried out. Finally, a field experiment was carried out. As a result, the angle of guide rail was determined 30°. When the piston rod of hydraulic cylinder moved ±8.66 mm, the threshing gap would be adjusted ±5 mm. The field experiment showed that the feeding rate and the threshing gap had obvious influence on the piston rod load force, which was basically consistent with the results of the mathematical model and the coupling simulation. Therefore, the method of monitoring the piston rod load force is feasible and provides the basis for the research of an adaptive control system for combine harvester.

    Improving path-tracking performance of an articulated tractor-trailer system using a non-linear kinematic model

    Murillo M.Sanchez G.Deniz N.Giovanini L....
    10页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 Elsevier B.V.This paper presents a novel non-linear mathematical model of an articulated tractor-trailer system that can be used, in combination with receding horizon techniques, to improve the performance of path tracking tasks of articulated systems. Due to its dual steering mechanisms, this type of vehicle can be very useful in precision agriculture, particularly for seeding, spraying and harvesting in small fields. The articulated tractor-trailer system model was embedded within a non-linear model predictive controller and the trailer position was monitored. When the kinematic of the trailer was considered, the deviation of trailer's position was reduced substantially alongside not only straight paths but also in headland turns. Using the proposed mathematical model, we were able to control the trailer's position itself rather than the tractor's position. The Robot Operating System (ROS) framework and Gazebo simulator were used to perform realistic simulations examples.

    Extraction of reflectance spectra features for estimation of surface, subsurface, and profile soil properties

    Zhou P.Li M.Sudduth K.A.Veum K.S....
    14页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared wavelength ranges has potential to provide high-resolution, pollution-free, and nondestructive estimation of soil chemical and physical properties for use in precision agriculture. Practical implementation of this approach would be facilitated if soil property sensors using a limited number of reflectance bands could maintain accuracy similar to more expensive and complex full-spectrum sensors. Studies identifying such bands are limited, especially for subsurface soils. Thus, in this study, an existing spectral database of 697 soil samples was used to compare results for three soil categories (profile, surface, and subsurface) and multiple waveband selection methods. Soil cores were obtained to approximately 1.2 m depth from ten fields, two each in Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, South Dakota, and Iowa, USA, then sieved and air-dried. Laboratory soil spectra were obtained from 350 to 2500 nm using a commercial spectrometer and soil properties (total nitrogen, soil organic carbon, total carbon, magnesium, calcium, potassium, soil texture (clay, silt, and sand) fractions, cation exchange capacity, and pH) were measured using standard laboratory analyses. The ability of ten spectral preprocessing techniques to improve analysis results was investigated. Backward interval partial least squares was used to identify those spectral regions most predictive of soil properties. Alternatively, specific characteristic wavelengths were identified by a combination genetic algorithm (GA)-back propagation neural network (BPNN) approach. Results were compared for three soil property estimation methods: (1) partial least squares regression (PLSR) models based on the full spectrum, (2) PLSR models based on sensitive regions, and (3) BPNN models based on characteristic wavelengths. The best results for profile and subsurface soils were obtained with absorbance preprocessing, but for the surface soils, the standard normal variate transformation was best. For some soil properties, the prediction R2 of the PLSR models based on sensitive regions was better than that of the PLSR models based on the full spectrum, demonstrating that retaining only sensitive wavebands could improve estimates. However, in some cases, the reduction in wavebands decreased accuracy. Differences in prediction accuracy across all calibration models over profile and subsurface soils were relatively small but were larger for surface soils. Furthermore, application of characteristic wavelength calibrations to other soil datasets resulted in a lower accuracy than with the full spectrum calibration developed for that dataset. In general, this study shows that there are measurable differences in prediction accuracy across all calibration models over the three soil depth categories. The experimental results of this study illustrate the potential for a set of wavelengths optimized for one depth category to still provide acceptable estimates for other depth categories. Overall, these results provide important guidance for the development of DRS soil sensors based on discrete wavebands to reduce cost and increase the speed of in-field data collection.

    Forecasting regional apple first flowering using the sequential model and gridded meteorological data with spatially optimized calibration

    Zhu Y.Yang G.Yang H.Xu B....
    14页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022China is one of the largest apple-producing countries in the world, with large orchards and diverse climates. Accurately forecasting the first-flowering time of apple trees can assist orchard managers in their deciding when to apply anti-freeze. The temperature-driven sequential model from previous studies can be used to forecast the flowering phenology of deciduous fruit trees. However, this model requires many years of observational data for calibration, so flowering forecasts based on traditional phenological models cannot be implemented in areas that lack such historical data. To overcome this problem, the present work combines a spatial rather than a temporal phenological survey method with 1-km-gridded temperature products to calibrate the chill and heat requirement parameters of the sequential model. We then use the model to forecast the first-flowering on a regional scale for Luochuan and Linyi, which are two main apple-producing areas of China. The results show that the proposed method accurately forecasts regional flowering. The root mean squared errors (RMSE) for Luochuan and Linyi were 4.7 and 4.4 days, respectively, and the normalized RMSEs were all less than 5.19%. We expect the proposed regional first-flowering forecast method to be an important aid to optimize orchard management.

    Assessing environmental control strategies in cage-free aviary housing systems: Egg production analysis and Random Forest modeling

    Gonzalez-Mora A.F.Rousseau A.N.Larios A.D.Godbout S....
    15页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 The AuthorsSince 1990, worldwide egg production has increased on average 2.8% per year. This increase has drawn the attention of animal welfare advocates. In Canada, new challenges have emerged, among them: increased awareness in animal welfare and environmental footprint and a shift to cage-free egg production systems (CFSs). Welfare assessment of environmental control strategies (ECSs), and deployment of early warning egg production systems based on on-line monitoring, have become an important field of research to understand interactions and mitigate environmental issues related to these CFSs. This study assessed the effect of selected ECSs on hen-day egg production (HDEP) and daily egg cleanliness (EGC) in experimental CFSs, using Principal Component Analysis and Linear Discriminant Analysis. The assumption that air quality conditions could play an important role in HDEP predictions was addressed by developing a machine learning method based on Random Forest models (RF) to predict HDEP daily fluctuations using measured hygrothermal and air quality conditions as input variables. A variable importance analysis further confirmed the governing variables of the egg production time series. Following that, an inquiry-driven scenario analysis was performed to identify potential changes in egg production. Results showed that the ECSs did not disrupt the egg production in the experimental CFSs. Meanwhile, A RF model with a window size of 14 days showed satisfactory performance predicting HDEP daily fluctuations with a RMSE of 0.176% and 0.368%, and a R2 of 0.94 and 0.78, for training and testing, respectively. The temperature was the dominant governing variable among the predictors, followed by hen's age and relative humidity. Finally, the scenario analysis revealed that a 5% temperature's increase could negatively affect the egg yield. The outcomes of this study aim to contribute to the on-line monitoring and control activities in laying hen facilities as an important aspect in Precision Livestock Farming.