A novel detection method of spray droplet distribution based on LIDARs

Authors

  • Zheng Yongjun College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Yang Shenghui College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Yubin Lan College of Engineering, South China Agricultural University/National Center for International Collaboration Research on Precision Agricultural Aviation Pesticides Spraying Technology (NPAAC), Guangzhou 510642, China
  • Clint Hoffmann USDA ARS, College Station, TX 77845, USA
  • Zhao Chunjiang National Engineering Research Centre of Information Technology in Agriculture (NERCITA), Beijing 100097, China
  • Chen Liping National Engineering Research Centre of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture (NERCIEA), Beijing 100080, China
  • Liu Xingxing College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Tan Yu College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25165/ijabe.v10i4.3118

Keywords:

droplets, distribution, detection, agricultural aviation, UAV

Abstract

During the process of plant protection in agriculture, the distribution and deposition of droplets or fog fields could directly influence the effectiveness and efficiency of spray. The traditional method of measurement of the distribution of droplets mainly used water sensitive papers, glass containers or flour to collect data and inverse results, while a new method of measurement based on the principle of reflection of LIDAR was presented. Droplets were the major targets of the study, and four important algorithms were primarily developed, including the recognition and extraction of targets, the superposition in time-domain, the calculation of effective ranges of distribution, and the development of 3D distribution models. Combined with these algorithms, in order to eliminate the environmental noise, the methods of Fuzzy Environment Matching and Secondary Filter were created and utilized. Meanwhile, the statistics was used for analysis of the duration of scanning as well as computation of the distribution, with enough datasets but the minimum length of time. The results of the experiments showed that the relative error of measurement was less than 7% and Relative Standard Deviation was less than 16%, compared with the values of manual measurement. Furthermore, the 3D models were accurate and clarified in the wind-tunnel experiment. The completed system based on this method could adapt to the requirements of both indoor and outdoor detection. Besides, it is capable of the quantized detection of droplet distribution, providing an effective way of tests for spray technique, especially for the research of the application of plant protection by UAVs. Keywords: droplets, distribution, detection, agricultural aviation, UAV DOI: 10. 25165/j.ijabe.20171004.3118 Citation: Zheng Y J, Yang S H, Lan Y B, Hoffmann C, Zhao C J, Chen L P, et al. A novel detection method of spray droplet distribution based on LIDARs. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2017; 10(4): 54–65.

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Published

2017-07-31

How to Cite

Yongjun, Z., Shenghui, Y., Lan, Y., Hoffmann, C., Chunjiang, Z., Liping, C., … Yu, T. (2017). A novel detection method of spray droplet distribution based on LIDARs. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 10(4), 54–65. https://doi.org/10.25165/ijabe.v10i4.3118

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 4 (2017): IJABE

Section

Applied Science, Engineering and Technology

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