System and method for aquatic plant harvesting
A system for aquatic plant processing includes a harvester, which includes a nozzle assembly and optionally a pump assembly; and a transport subsystem. Additionally or alternatively, the system can include and/or interface with any or all of: a conduit, a collection assembly, a control subsystem, a sensor subsystem, a pond, and/or any other suitable components. A method for harvesting includes operating the harvesting system in a set of one or more operation modes.
1 . A system for aquatic plant harvesting in a pond, the system comprising:
a beam configured to extend across a first axis of a pond and to move along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis;
a nozzle assembly comprising a nozzle, wherein the nozzle assembly moves along a length of the beam and vertically actuates the nozzle;
a pump fluidly connected to the nozzle, wherein the pump extracts aquatic plant material from the pond through the nozzle;
a set of sensors monitoring a set of pond parameters;
a control subsystem that controls motion of the beam along the second axis based on the set of pond parameters.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of pond parameters comprises a pond surface plant coverage metric.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the control subsystem determines whether to extract the aquatic plants by comparing the pond surface plant coverage metric to a minimum plant coverage threshold and a maximum plant coverage threshold.
4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the beam moves along the second axis at a harvesting speed while extracting aquatic plants, wherein the control subsystem dynamically adjusts the harvesting speed based on the pond surface plant coverage metric.
5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a secondary nozzle assembly mounted to the beam, wherein the secondary nozzle assembly moves along the length of the beam.
6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a fluid channel downstream of the nozzle, the fluid channel carrying extracted aquatic plants, wherein the motion of the beam is based on a concentration of extracted aquatic plants in the fluid channel.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle defines a superior region and an inferior region, wherein the superior region and inferior region cooperatively:
guide aquatic plant material adjacent the nozzle into an inlet of the nozzle; and
block aquatic plant material inferior to the nozzle from entering the inlet of the nozzle.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the nozzle comprises multiple inlets that cooperatively ingest aquatic plant material from a region azimuthally spanning 360° around the nozzle.
9 . A system for aquatic plant harvesting, comprising:
a beam configured to extend across a first axis of a pond;
a set of motorized carts connected to and configured to move the beam along a second axis of the pond perpendicular axis to the first axis of the pond;
a nozzle assembly comprising a nozzle, wherein the nozzle assembly moves along a length of the beam and vertically actuates the nozzle;
a pump fluidly connected to the nozzle, wherein the pump extracts aquatic plants from the pond through the nozzle;
a set of sensors configured to monitor a surface density of aquatic plants in a region of the pond; and
a control subsystem configured to control motion of the nozzle assembly based on the surface density of aquatic plants.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the set of motorized carts comprises a first wheeled cart that does not move along a rail.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the set of motorized carts further comprises a second wheeled cart, wherein the first wheeled cart and the second wheeled cart are independently controlled.
12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the control subsystem comprises a remote computing system.
13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the control subsystem dynamically determines whether to extract aquatic plants from the pond during motion of the nozzle assembly.
14 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the control subsystem estimates a volumetric density of aquatic plants based on the surface density, wherein motion of the nozzle assembly is based on the volumetric density.
15 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the control subsystem controls the system to move between ponds of a plurality of ponds.
16 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a secondary nozzle assembly mounted to the beam, wherein the secondary nozzle assembly moves along the length of the beam.
17 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a fluid channel downstream from the nozzle, wherein the fluid channel carries extracted aquatic plants, wherein the motion of the nozzle assembly is based on a concentration of extracted aquatic plants in the fluid channel.
18 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the nozzle assembly moves at a harvesting speed while extracting aquatic plants, wherein the control subsystem dynamically adjusts the harvesting speed based on the surface density of aquatic plants.
19 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the control subsystem controls the nozzle assembly to dynamically maintain a predetermined position relative to a water surface of the pond.
20 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the nozzle defines a superior region and an inferior region that cooperatively guide aquatic plant material moving laterally into an inlet of the nozzle and block aquatic plant material moving vertically into the inlet.