Development of a novel mechatronic system for mechanical weed ...
Development of a novel mechatronic system for mechanical weed ...
Development of a novel mechatronic system for mechanical weed ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Definition <strong>of</strong> the problem and research objectives<br />
Although the plants were sown with constant spacing, the distance between the<br />
plants in the row can vary and some <strong>of</strong> the expected positions can be without<br />
plants, because <strong>of</strong> various environmental conditions. A <strong>weed</strong>ing tool should<br />
appropriately respond to all deviations from the expected plant/<strong>weed</strong> distribution<br />
pattern, such as the missing plants (1), <strong>weed</strong>s appearing in the close-to-crop<br />
area (2) and non-regular and varying distances between plants in the row (3)<br />
(see Figure 3.2).<br />
30<br />
Figure 3.2 Deviations from the expected plant/<strong>weed</strong> distribution<br />
pattern in field conditions<br />
For successful and accurate intra-row <strong>weed</strong> control, the position <strong>of</strong> every single<br />
plant has to be determined. The eventual deviation from the sowing pattern<br />
needs to be detected and used to correct the control <strong>of</strong> the <strong>weed</strong>ing tool.<br />
Because <strong>of</strong> that, detection <strong>of</strong> the plants and the response <strong>of</strong> the <strong>system</strong> <strong>for</strong> plant<br />
detection need to be fast enough to be applicable in combination with real time<br />
<strong>weed</strong>ing tools.<br />
2<br />
1<br />
The optimal sowing distance <strong>for</strong> different crop plants is heterogeneous, thus the<br />
<strong>weed</strong>ing tool has to be flexible and adaptable to different intra-row distances.<br />
3<br />
3<br />
1