SoilCam: A Fully Automated Minirhizotron using Multispectral Imaging for Root Activity Monitoring.

Abstract

A minirhizotron is an in situ root imaging system that captures components of root system architecture dynamics over time. Commercial minirhizotrons are expensive, limited to white-light imaging, and often need human intervention. The implementation of a minirhizotron needs to be low cost, automated, and customizable to be effective and widely adopted. We present a newly designed root imaging system called SoilCam that addresses the above mentioned limitations. The imaging system is multi-modal, i.e., it supports both conventional white-light and multispectral imaging, with fully automated operations for long-term in-situ monitoring using wireless control and access. The system is capable of taking 360° images covering the entire area surrounding the tube. The image sensor can be customized depending on the spectral imaging requirements. The maximum achievable image quality of the system is 8 MP (Mega Pixel)/picture, which is equivalent to a 2500 DPI (dots per inch) image resolution. The length of time in the field can be extended with a rechargeable battery and solar panel connectivity. Offline image-processing software, with several image enhancement algorithms to eliminate motion blur and geometric distortion and to reconstruct the 360° panoramic view, is also presented. The system is tested in the field by imaging canola roots to show the performance advantages over commercial systems.

Plant phenotyping relevance

根系の経時的表現型を取得する自動・マルチスペクトル画像システムと画像処理ソフトウェアを開発し、既存システムとの性能比較も行っており、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

Code and data availability

The article describes the SoilCam minirhizotron hardware and control software (Python/OpenCV/PyQt) but contains no public dataset, image deposit, or code repository with availability language. All URLs in the text are commercial product pages or cited references, not paper-specific assets.

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