Systems and methods for detecting soil characteristics
A soil detection and planting apparatus. The apparatus includes a vehicle and a controller coupled to the vehicle. The apparatus further includes a planting device coupled to the vehicle, the planting device configured to plant seeds or plants into a soil material. The apparatus includes a ground penetrating radar sensor coupled to the vehicle. The ground penetrating radar soil sensor is configured to scan the soil material up to a designated depth beneath a surface of the soil material, wherein the ground penetrating radar soil sensor is further configured to provide a sensor feedback signal to the controller with respect to an intrinsic characteristic of the soil material. The controller is configured to instruct placement of a seed or a plant into the soil material based on the feedback signal.
1. A soil detection apparatus comprising:
a housing;
a controller;
a ground penetrating radar soil sensor coupled to the housing, the ground penetrating radar soil sensor configured to scan a soil material up to a designated depth beneath a surface of the soil material, wherein the ground penetrating radar soil sensor is further configured to provide a sensor feedback signal to the controller with respect to an intrinsic characteristic of the soil material; and
a location sensor, the location sensor configured to provide a location feedback signal to the controller;
wherein the controller is configured to create a map of the soil material based on the sensor feedback signal and the location feedback signal.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the intrinsic soil characteristic comprises at least one of a composition of the soil material, a water property of the soil material, a presence of humus in the soil material, a density of the soil material, and a soil material porosity.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller analyzes the location feedback signal to determine a specific location of the intrinsic soil characteristic.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the controller indicates the intrinsic soil characteristic on the map at the specific location.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ground penetrating radar soil sensor is further configured to provide a sensor feedback signal to the controller with respect to an extrinsic characteristic of the soil material.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the extrinsic characteristic comprises a presence of the soil material.
7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the extrinsic characteristic comprises a depth of the soil material.
8. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the extrinsic characteristic comprises a presence of an object beneath the surface of the soil material.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the controller identifies the object based on the sensor feedback signal.
10. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the controller analyzes the location feedback signal to determine a specific location of the extrinsic soil characteristic.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the controller updates the map with an indication of a location of the extrinsic soil characteristic.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the housing is configured to be mounted in a bed of a pickup truck.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the housing is part of the ground-driven vehicle.
14. An air-based soil detection apparatus comprising:
an aircraft;
a controller coupled to the aircraft;
a soil sensor coupled to the aircraft, the soil sensor configured to scan a soil material up to a designated depth beneath a surface of the soil material to locate at least a portion of an irrigation system contained within the soil material or on a surface of the soil material, wherein the soil sensor is further configured to provide a sensor feedback signal relating to the detected portion of the irrigation system to the controller; and
a location sensor coupled to the aircraft, the location sensor configured to provide a location feedback signal to the controller;
wherein the controller is configured to create a map of the soil material including a location of the portion of the irrigation system based on the sensor feedback signal and the location feedback signal.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the soil sensor is a ground penetrating radar unit that emits electromagnetic radio waves into the soil material.
16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the soil sensor is a reflection seismology sensor that transmits acoustic waves into the soil material.
17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the aircraft is an airplane.
18. The apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising a spraying device coupled to the aircraft.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the controller instructs the spraying device to spray a liquid over a target area of land.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the controller updates the map with an indication of a location of the liquid.
21. The apparatus of claim 14 , further including memory coupled to the controller, wherein the controller stores the map in the memory.
22. The apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising a network interface coupled to the controller.
23. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the controller exports the map to an external computing device through the network interface.
24. An apparatus comprising:
a vehicle;
a controller coupled to the vehicle;
a soil sensor coupled to the vehicle, the soil sensor configured to scan a soil material up to a designated depth beneath a surface of the soil material to locate at least a portion of an irrigation system contained within the soil material or on a surface of the soil material, wherein the soil sensor is further configured to provide a sensor feedback signal relating to the detected portion of the irrigation system to the controller; and
a location sensor coupled to the vehicle, the location sensor configured to provide a location feedback signal to the controller;
wherein the controller is configured to create a map of the soil material including a location of the portion of the irrigation system based on the sensor feedback signal and the location feedback signal.
25. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the soil sensor is a ground penetrating radar unit that emits electromagnetic radio waves into the soil material.
26. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the soil sensor is a reflection seismology sensor that transmits acoustic waves into the soil material.
27. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the vehicle is an airplane.
28. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the vehicle is a ground-driven vehicle.
29. The apparatus of claim 24 , further comprising a spraying device coupled to the vehicle.
30. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the controller instructs the spraying device to spray a liquid over a target area of land.
31. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the controller updates the map with an indication of a location of the liquid.
32. The apparatus of claim 24 , further including memory coupled to the controller, wherein the controller stores the map in the memory.
33. The apparatus of claim 24 , further comprising a network interface coupled to the controller.
34. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the controller exports the map to an external computing device through the network interface.
35. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the extrinsic soil characteristic is related to the depth variation of moisture in the soil.
36. A soil detection and planting apparatus comprising:
a vehicle;
a controller coupled to the vehicle;
a planting device coupled to the vehicle, the planting device configured to plant seeds or plants into a soil material at varying depths;
a ground penetrating radar soil sensor in communication with the controller, the ground penetrating radar soil sensor configured to scan the soil material up to a designated depth beneath a surface of the soil material, wherein the ground penetrating radar soil sensor is further configured to provide a sensor feedback signal to the controller with respect to an intrinsic characteristic of the soil material; and
wherein the controller is configured to:
determine a designated planting depth in the soil material based on the sensor feedback signal, and
instruct placement of a seed or a plant into the soil material at the designated planting depth by the planting device.
37. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a location sensor coupled to the vehicle, the location sensor configured to provide a location feedback signal to the controller, and wherein the controller analyzes the location feedback signal to determine a specific location of the intrinsic soil characteristic.
38. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the controller instructs the planting device to plant the seed in the soil material at the specific location and at a specific depth based on the soil characteristic.
39. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to create a map of the soil material based on the sensor feedback signal and the location feedback signal.
40. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the controller updates the map with an indication that the seed was planted at the specific location and at a specific depth.
41. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the controller indicates a soil characteristic on the map at the specific location.
42. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the extrinsic characteristic comprises a moisture at different depths in the soil.