Innovative Integrated UAV System for Monitoring Orchards and Vineyards

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to create a prototype of an unmanned aerial system equipped with intelligent hardware and software technologies necessary for monitoring the health and growth of crops in orchards. Another important objective was to use low-cost sensors that accurately measure ultraviolet solar radiation. The device, which needs to be attached to the commercial DJI Mini 4 Pro drone, should be small in size, portable, and have very low energy consumption. For this purpose, the widely used Vishay VEML6075 digital optical sensor was selected and implemented in a prototype, alongside a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W minicomputer. To collect data from these sensors, a program written in Python was used, containing specific blocks for data acquisition from each sensor, to facilitate the monitoring of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, or battery current. By analyzing the data obtained from the sensors, several important conclusions are drawn that may provide valuable pathways for the further development of mobile or modular equipment. Furthermore, the results of the plant condition analysis with proposed models in the Geographic Information System (GIS) environment were also presented. The visualization of maps indicating variations in vegetation condition led to the identification of problem areas like hydric stress.

Plant phenotyping relevance

果樹園・ブドウ園の植物健全性・生育状態を監視するUAVセンサー／ソフトウェアの試作と、植生状態・水ストレスの解析を中心とするため、植物フェノタイピング基盤の開発に該当します。

Code and data availability

The supplied blocks contain no paper-specific public datasets, images, code, models, or supplements. The Data Availability Statement states 'Data is contained within the article,' and all URLs in the blocks are cited references, not authors' deposits.

No evidence-backed public reproduction asset is currently recorded.