A lightweight and affordable method for canopy porosity estimation for precision spraying

Abstract

In order to enable Variable Rate Application (VRA) for spraying tasks, an on-line system for canopy properties estimation is particularly useful. The proposed solution aims to retrieve canopy porosity in real-time to adapt spraying nozzles with respect to the estimated values. In this scenario, fast computational times are required to allow for proper execution, while cheap hardware may facilitate market adoption. The solution has been tested against manual Point Quadrat Analysis (PQA) and implemented on an autonomous ground robotic platform.