Blue River Technology Inc.

A farming machine configured for identifying incorrectly configured plant identification models in farming machines is disclosed. The farming machine includes a control system configured to monitor the performance of a plant identification model to determine if it is appropriately configured for detecting plants in the field. To do so, the control system accesses images of plants in the field and applies a first plant identification model to the images to identify a probability plants in the images are a first class of plants. The control system applies a verification model to determine if plants in the field are the second class of plants (rather than the first) based on the determined probability. The farming machine applies a second plant identification model to the images to identify a second class of plants, and treats plants in the field identified as the second class of plant.

Described are methods for identifying the in-field positions of plant features on a plant by plant basis. These positions are determined based on images captured as a vehicle (e.g., tractor, sprayer, etc.) including one or more cameras travels through the field along a row of crops. The in-field positions of the plant features are useful for a variety of purposes including, for example, generating three-dimensional data models of plants growing in the field, assessing plant growth and phenotypic features, determining what kinds of treatments to apply including both where to apply the treatments and how much, determining whether to remove weeds or other undesirable plants, and so on.

A system for plant parameter detection, including: a plant morphology sensor having a first field of view and configured to record a morphology measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, a plant physiology sensor having a second field of view and configured to record a plant physiology parameter measurement of a plant portion and an ambient environment adjacent the plant, wherein the second field of view overlaps with the first field of view; a support statically coupling the plant morphology sensor to the physiology sensor, and a computing system configured to: identify a plant set of pixels within the physiology measurement based on the morphology measurement; determine physiology values for each pixel of the plant set of pixels; and extract a growth parameter based on the physiology values.

Historical information is accessed that describes a previous state of a field, previous environmental conditions for the field, and previous farming machine actions performed in the field. A tank management model is applied to the historical information to determine expected weed densities within field portions and an amount of treatment fluid required to treat plants within the field. While the farming machine is treating plants in the field, current information describing a current state of the field is accessed. The tank management model is applied to the current information to determine updated weed densities within field portions not yet treated. The farming machine performs a modified plant treatment action based on the updated weed densities and a comparison of a remaining amount of treatment fluid within a tank of the farming machine and an updated amount of treatment fluid for treating plants within field portions not yet treated.

A method for calibrating performance characteristics of a farming machine using a performance report is described. The farming machine accesses images of plants in a field captured during the calibration pass. The images are input into a performance model to generate a performance report by identifying plants in the images using a plurality of identification sensitivities and determining expected performance characteristics of the farming machine for each of the identification sensitivities. As such, the performance report includes expected performance characteristics for each identification sensitives. The farming machine accesses a target performance characteristic (e.g., from an operator) for the farming machine corresponding identification sensitivity. Images are input into a plant identification model during a treatment pass which identify a plant in the field using the identification sensitivity corresponding to the target performance characteristic. The farming machine treats the plant in the field using a treatment array of the farming machine.

A method for calibrating characteristics of a farming machine as it travels through a field treating plants is presented. Images captured by the farming machine are input into a performance model which identifies plants in the images using an original identification sensitivity and determines expected performance characteristics of the farming machine. The performance model accesses a target performance characteristic for the farming machine and determines a modified identification sensitivity for the performance model that achieves the target performance characteristic. The farming machine inputs additional images captured by the farming machine into the performance model. The performance model identifies a plant using the modified identification sensitivity, and the farming machine treats the plant in the field.

A method of real-time plant selection and removal from a plant field including capturing a first image of a first section of the plant field, segmenting the first image into regions indicative of individual plants within the first section, selecting the optimal plants for retention from the first image based on the first image and the previously thinned plant field sections, sending instructions to the plant removal mechanism for removal of the plants corresponding to the unselected regions of the first image from the second section before the machine passes the unselected regions, and repeating the aforementioned steps for a second section of the plant field adjacent the first section in the direction of machine travel.

A farming machine identifies and treats a plant as the farming machine travels through a field. The farming machine includes an array of tiled image sensors for capturing images of the field. A control system identifies an active region in the captured images and generates a tiled image that includes the active region. The control system applies image processing functions to identify the plant in the tiled image and actuates a treatment mechanism to treat the identified plant. The control system causes the array of image sensors to capture the image, identifies the plant, and actuates the treatment mechanism in real time as the farming machine travels through the field.

Described are methods for identifying the in-field positions of plant features on a plant by plant basis. These positions are determined based on images captured as a vehicle (e.g., tractor, sprayer, etc.) including one or more cameras travels through the field along a row of crops. The in-field positions of the plant features are useful for a variety of purposes including, for example, generating three-dimensional data models of plants growing in the field, assessing plant growth and phenotypic features, determining what kinds of treatments to apply including both where to apply the treatments and how much, determining whether to remove weeds or other undesirable plants, and so on.

A farming machine is configured to identify and treat plants in a field. The farming machine includes one or more light sensors for measuring a characteristic of light. The one or more light sensors are coupled to the farming machine and are directed a substantially upwards orientation away from the plants. A control system adjusts settings of an image acquisition system based on a characteristic of light measured by the one or more light sensors. The image acquisition system captures an image of a plant using one or more image sensors coupled to the farming machine, the one or more image sensors directed in a substantially downwards orientation towards the plants. The control system identifies a plant in the image and actuates a treatment mechanism to treat the identified plant.