IP Library Granted Patent US 10,761,211
Granted Patent B2
US 10,761,211 · App. 16/174,232 · Granted Sep 1, 2020

Plant treatment based on morphological and physiological measurements

Inventors: Lee Kamp Redden (Palo Alto, CA); Matthew Colgan (Mountain View, CA)
Assignee: BLUE RIVER TECHNOLOGY INC.
G01S17/89A01C21/007A01G7/06A01G22/00G01B11/24G01N33/0098G06K9/6202G06K2209/17
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,761,211
App. No.
16/174,232
Granted
Sep 1, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system for plant parameter detection, including: a plant morphology sensor having a first field of view and configured to record a morphology measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, a plant physiology sensor having a second field of view and configured to record a plant physiology parameter measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, wherein the second field of view overlaps with the first field of view; a support statically coupling the plant morphology sensor to the physiology sensor, and a computing system configured to: identify a plant set of pixels within the physiology measurement based on the morphology measurement; determine physiology values for each pixel of the plant set of pixels; and extract a growth parameter based on the physiology values.

Claims (124)

1. A system comprising:

a camera mounted to a vehicle navigating through a field comprising a plurality of plants, the camera recording a physiology measurement for each plant of the plurality of plants, the physiology measurement comprising a plurality of pixels representing an expression of one or more phenotypes of the measured plants;

a nozzle mounted to the vehicle and configured to release a treatment fluid onto one or more plants of the plurality of plants in the field;

a computer communicatively coupled to the camera, the computer executing a set of instructions that, when executed, cause the system to:

responsive to releasing the treatment fluid from the nozzle onto a plant of the plurality of plants, determine a set of pixels of the plurality of pixels in the physiology measurement associated with a portion of the plant affected by the released treatment fluid;

determine a physiology value for each pixel of the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant based on the recorded physiology measurement for the set of pixels;

extract a plant index for the plant affected by the released treatment fluid based on the physiology value determined for each pixel of the set of pixels;

determine, based on the plant index, effects of the treatment fluid on the one or more phenotypes expressed by the portion of the plant affected by the treatment fluid; and

store, in a non-transitory computer memory, the determined effects of the treatment fluid on the one or more phenotypes expressed by the portion of the plant.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the camera records the physiology measurement for each plant of the plurality of plants within the field and the computer executes a set of instructions that cause the system to:

determine the physiology value for each pixel of the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant within the physiology measurement; and

extract the plant index based on the physiology value of each plant.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the physiology measurement is an optical measurement.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the determined set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant represent one or more of the following:

a boundary of each plant of the plurality within the field; and

one or more portions of each plant of the plurality of plants.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein determining the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant further comprises:

identifying, from the physiology measurement, a plant feature, wherein the plant feature is associated with a measurement value different from measurement values of surrounding portions of the plant; and

determining the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant based on pixels surrounding the plant feature.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein determining the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant further comprises:

accessing, from the non-transitory computer memory, a morphology measurement recording by a second camera mounted to the vehicle, the morphology measurement describing a structure of the plant;

identifying, from the morphology measurement, a set of pixels of the morphology measurement representing a geometry of the plant; and

determining, from the physiology measurement, the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant based on the set of pixels identified from the morphology measurement.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein extracting the plant index based on the determined set of pixels further comprises:

determining a first plant index value for each pixel of a set of non-plant pixels within the physiology measurement;

determining a second plant index value for each pixel of the set of plant pixels associated with the portion of the plant within the physiology measurement;

calibrating non-plant index values of non-plant pixels and the plant index values of plant pixels; and

extracting the plant index from the calibrated non-plant index values and plant index values.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein extracting the plant index based on the determined set of pixels further comprises:

determining each plant index value of the plant index extracted based on the determined set of plant pixels within the physiology measurement;

calibrating each of the determined plant index values based on one or more of the following:

an ambient environment parameter; and

a morphological measurement of the plant; and

extracting the plant index from the calibrated index values.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions further cause the system to:

determine, based on a presence of a phenotype of interest of the at least one phenotype of interest, that the plant is eligible for successive breeding; and

store, in the non-transitory computer memory, an indication that the plant is eligible for successive breeding.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions further cause the system to:

responsive to releasing the treatment fluid onto the plant, record, by the camera mounted to the vehicle, at least one of the effects of the treatment fluid on the plant;

determine, based on the at least one of the effects of the treatment fluid on a plurality of plants, at least one susceptible phenotype associated with plants susceptible to the treatment fluid and at least one resistant phenotype associated with plants resistant to the treatment fluid; and

store the at least one susceptible phenotype and the at least one resistant phenotype in the non-transitory computer memory.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions further cause the system to:

determine, based on the plant index, a time to release the treatment fluid onto the plant; and

at the determined time, release, from the nozzle, the treatment fluid onto the plant.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions further cause the system to:

determine, based on the plant index, to release the treatment fluid onto the portion of the plant; and

release the treatment fluid onto the portion of the plant.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions further cause the system to:

determine, based on the plant index, an amount of the treatment fluid to be applied to the plant; and

release the determined amount of the treatment fluid onto the plant.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the physiology measurement is a multispectral image of the plant of the plurality of plants representing frequencies of light reflected by the plant, each frequency of reflected indicating an expression of one or more phenotypes of the plant; and

each plant index value is determined based on the frequencies of reflected light described in the multispectral image of the plant.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions cause the system to record the physiology measurement of each of the plurality of plants and to determine the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant affected by the released treatment fluid during a single pass of the vehicle through the field.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions cause the system to record the physiology measurement of each of the plurality of plants and to determine the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant affected by the released treatment fluid during multiple passes of the vehicle through the field.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein physiology measurements of the plurality of plants in the field are recorded during one of the following:

a single pass of the vehicle through the field; or

multiple passes of the vehicle through the field.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the physiology measurement of each of the plurality of plants is recorded and the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant affected by the released treatment fluid is determined during a single pass of the vehicle through the field.

19. A method comprising:

recording, by a camera mounted to a vehicle navigating through a field comprising a plurality of plants, a physiology measurement for reach plant of the plurality of plants, wherein the physiology measurement of each plant indicates an expression of one or more phenotypes by the plant, each of the one or more expressed phenotypes representing a plant parameter indicative of plant physiology;

releasing, from a nozzle mounted to the vehicle, a treatment fluid onto a plant of the plurality of plants in the field;

determining, by a computer communicatively coupled to the camera, a set of pixels of the plurality of pixels in the physiology measurement associated with a portion of the plant affected by the released treatment fluid;

determine a physiology value for each pixel of the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant affected by the treatment fluid based on the physiology measurement recorded for the plant;

extracting, by the computer, a plant index for the plant affected by the released treatment fluid based on the physiology value determined for each pixel of the set of pixels;

determining, by the computer, effects of the treatment fluid on the one or more phenotypes expressed by the portion of the plant affected by the treatment fluid based on the plant index; and

storing, in a non-transitory computer memory, the determined effects of the treatment fluid on the one or more phenotypes expressed by the portion of the plant.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

recording, by the camera, the physiology measurement for each plant of the plurality of plants within the field;

determine the physiology value for each pixel of the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant within the physiology measurement; and

extracting the plant index based on the physiology value of each plant.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein the physiology measurement is an optical measurement.

22. The method of claim 19 , wherein the determined set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant represent one or more of the following:

a boundary of each plant of the plurality within the field; and

one or more portions of each plant of the plurality of plants.

23. The method of claim 19 , wherein determining the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant further comprises:

identifying, from the physiology measurement, a plant feature, wherein the plant feature is associated with a measurement value different from measurement values of surrounding portions of the plant; and

determining the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant based on pixels surrounding the plant feature.

24. The method of claim 19 , wherein determining a set of pixels associated with a portion of the plant further comprises:

accessing, from the non-transitory computer memory, a morphology measurement recording by a second camera mounted to the vehicle, the morphology measurement describing a structure of the plant;

identifying, from the morphology measurement, a set of pixels of the morphology measurement representing a geometry of the plant; and

determining, from the physiology measurement, the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant based on the set of pixels identified from the morphology measurement.

25. The method of claim 19 , extracting the plant index based on the determined set of pixels further comprises:

determining a first plant index value for each pixel of a set of non-plant pixels within the physiology measurement;

determining a second plant index value for each pixel of the set of plant pixels associated with the portion of the plant within the physiology measurement;

calibrating non-plant index values of non-plant pixels and the plant index values of plant pixels; and

extracting the plant index from the calibrated non-plant index values and plant index values.

26. The method of claim 19 , wherein extracting the plant index based on the determined set of pixels further comprises:

determining each plant index value of the plant index extracted based on the determined set of plant pixels within the physiology measurement;

calibrating each of the determined plant index values based on one or more of the following:

an ambient environment parameter; and

a morphological measurement of the plant; and

extracting the plant index from the calibrated index values.

27. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

determining, based on a presence of a phenotype of interest of the at least one phenotype of interest, that the plant is eligible for successive breeding; and

storing, in the non-transitory computer memory, an indication that the plant is eligible for successive breeding.

28. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

responsive to releasing the treatment fluid onto the plant, recording, by the camera mounted to the vehicle, at least one of the effects of the treatment fluid on the plant;

determining, based on the at least one of the effects of the treatment fluid on a plurality of plants, at least one susceptible phenotype associated with plants susceptible to the treatment fluid and at least one resistant phenotype associated with plants resistant to the treatment fluid; and

storing the at least one susceptible phenotype and the at least one resistant phenotype in the non-transitory computer memory.

29. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

determining, based on the plant index, a time to release the treatment fluid onto the plant; and

at the determined time, releasing, from the nozzle, the treatment fluid onto the plant.

30. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

determining, based on the plant index, to release the treatment fluid onto the portion of the plant; and

releasing the treatment fluid onto the portion of the plant.

31. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

determining, based on the plant index, an amount of the treatment fluid to be applied to the plant; and

releasing the determined amount of the treatment fluid onto the plant.

32. The method of claim 19 , wherein the physiology measurement is a multispectral image of the plant of the plurality of plants representing, the method further comprising:

determining, based on the multispectral image of the plant, frequencies of light reflected by the plant, wherein each frequency of reflected indicating an expression of one or more phenotypes of the plant; and

determining, based on the frequencies of reflected light described in the multispectral image of the plant, each plant index value of the plant index.

33. The method of 19 , wherein the physiology measurement of each of the plurality of plants is recorded and the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant affected by the released treatment fluid is determined during multiple passes of the vehicle through the field.

34. The method of claim 19 , wherein the physiology measurements of the plurality of plants in the field are recorded during one of the following:

a single pass of the vehicle through the field; or

multiple passes of the vehicle through the field.

35. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions, the instructions comprising instructions thereon that, when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

recording, by a camera mounted to a vehicle navigating through a field comprising a plurality of plants, a physiology measurement for reach plant of the plurality of plants, wherein the physiology measurement of each plant indicates an expression of one or more phenotypes by the plant, each of the one or more expressed phenotypes representing a plant parameter indicative of plant physiology;

releasing, from a nozzle mounted to the vehicle, a treatment fluid onto a plant of the plurality of plants in the field;

determining, by a computer communicatively coupled to the camera, a set of pixels of the plurality of pixels in the physiology measurement associated with a portion of the plant affected by the released treatment fluid;

determine a physiology value for each pixel of the set of pixels associated with the portion of the plant affected by the treatment fluid based on the physiology measurement recorded for the plant;

extracting, by the computer, a plant index for the plant affected by the released treatment fluid based on the physiology value determined for each pixel of the set of pixels;

determining, by the computer, effects of the treatment fluid on the one or more phenotypes expressed by the portion of the plant affected by the treatment fluid based on the plant index; and

storing, in a non-transitory computer memory, the determined effects of the treatment fluid on the one or more phenotypes expressed by the portion of the plant.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 11, 2024
From: BLUE RIVER TECHNOLOGY INC.
To: DEERE & COMPANY
Reel/Frame 069164/0195 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 9, 2018
From: REDDEN, LEE KAMP; COLGAN, MATTHEW
To: BLUE RIVER TECHNOLOGY INC.
Reel/Frame 047466/0183 →
Continuity (7)
Continuation 15486654 · Apr 13, 2017
Continuation 14329161 · Jul 11, 2014
Provisional Application 62004722 · May 29, 2014
Provisional Application 61942740 · Feb 21, 2014
Provisional Application 61859091 · Jul 26, 2013
Provisional Application 61844967 · Jul 11, 2013
Related Publication 20190064363A1 · Feb 28, 2019
Cited By (3)
US 12,201,044 US 12,317,881 US 12,419,234