Pastures are botanically diverse and difficult to characterize. Digital modeling of pasture biomass and quality by non-destructive methods can provide highly valuable support for decision-making. This study aimed to evaluate aerial and on-ground methods to characterize grass ley fields, estimating plant height, biomass and volume, using digital grass models. Two fields were sampled, one timothy-dominant and the other ryegrass-dominant. Both sensing systems allowed estimation of biomass, volume and plant height, which were compared with ground truth, also taking into consideration basic economical aspects. To obtain ground-truth data for validation, 10 plots of 1 m2 were manually and destructively sampled on each field. The studied systems differed in data resolution, thus in estimation capability. There was a reasonably good agreement between the UAV-based, the RGB-D-based estimates and the manual height measurements on both fields. RGB-D-based estimation correlated well with ground truth of plant height ( R 2 > 0.80 ) for both fields, and with dry biomass ( R 2 = 0.88 ), only for the timothy field. RGB-D-based estimation of plant volume for ryegrass showed a high agreement ( R 2 = 0.87 ). The UAV-based system showed a weaker estimation capability for plant height and dry biomass ( R 2 < 0.6 ). UAV-systems are more affordable, easier to operate and can cover a larger surface. On-ground techniques with RGB-D cameras can produce highly detailed models, but with more variable results than UAV-based models. On-ground RGB-D data can be effectively analysed with open source software, which is a cost reduction advantage, compared with aerial image analysis. Since the resolution for agricultural operations does not need fine identification the end-details of the grass plants, the use of aerial platforms could result a better option in grasslands.

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Crop 3D modeling allows site-specific management at different crop stages. In recent years, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors have been widely used for gathering information about plant architecture to extract biophysical parameters for decision-making programs. The study reconstructed vineyard crops using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology. Its accuracy and performance were assessed for vineyard crop characterization using distance measurements, aiming to obtain a 3D reconstruction. A LiDAR sensor was installed on-board a mobile platform equipped with an RTK-GNSS receiver for crop 2D scanning. The LiDAR system consisted of a 2D time-of-flight sensor, a gimbal connecting the device to the structure, and an RTK-GPS to record the sensor data position. The LiDAR sensor was facing downwards installed on-board an electric platform. It scans in planes perpendicular to the travel direction. Measurements of distance between the LiDAR and the vineyards had a high spatial resolution, providing high-density 3D point clouds. The 3D point cloud was obtained containing all the points where the laser beam impacted. The fusion of LiDAR impacts and the positions of each associated to the RTK-GPS allowed the creation of the 3D structure. Although point clouds were already filtered, discarding points out of the study area, the branch volume cannot be directly calculated, since it turns into a 3D solid cluster that encloses a volume. To obtain the 3D object surface, and therefore to be able to calculate the volume enclosed by this surface, a suitable alpha shape was generated as an outline that envelops the outer points of the point cloud. The 3D scenes were obtained during the winter season when only branches were present and defoliated. The models were used to extract information related to height and branch volume. These models might be used for automatic pruning or relating this parameter to evaluate the future yield at each location. The 3D map was correlated with ground truth, which was manually determined, pruning the remaining weight. The number of scans by LiDAR influenced the relationship with the actual biomass measurements and had a significant effect on the treatments. A positive linear fit was obtained for the comparison between actual dry biomass and LiDAR volume. The influence of individual treatments was of low significance. The results showed strong correlations with actual values of biomass and volume with R2 = 0.75, and when comparing LiDAR scans with weight, the R2 rose up to 0.85. The obtained values show that this LiDAR technique is also valid for branch reconstruction with great advantages over other types of non-contact ranging sensors, regarding a high sampling resolution and high sampling rates. Even narrow branches were properly detected, which demonstrates the accuracy of the system working on difficult scenarios such as defoliated crops.

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The concept of precision agriculture, which proposes farming management adapted to crop variability, has emerged in recent years. To effectively implement precision agriculture, data must be gathered from the field in an automated manner at minimal cost. In this study, a small autonomous field inspection vehicle was developed to minimise the impact of the scouting on the crop and soil compaction. The proposed approach integrates a camera with a GPS receiver to obtain a set of basic behaviours required of an autonomous mobile robot to inspect a crop field with full coverage. A path planner considered the field contour and the crop type to determine the best inspection route. An image-processing method capable of extracting the central crop row under uncontrolled lighting conditions in real time from images acquired with a reflex camera positioned on the front of the robot was developed. Two fuzzy controllers were also designed and developed to achieve vision-guided navigation. A method for detecting the end of a crop row using camera-acquired images was developed. In addition, manoeuvres necessary for the robot to change rows were established. These manoeuvres enabled the robot to autonomously cover the entire crop by following a previously established plan and without stepping on the crop row, which is an essential behaviour for covering crops such as maize without damaging them.

Plant modeling can provide a more detailed overview regarding the basis of plant development throughout the life cycle. Three-dimensional processing algorithms are rapidly expanding in plant phenotyping programmes and in decision-making for agronomic management. Several methods have already been tested, but for practical implementations the trade-off between equipment cost, computational resources needed and the fidelity and accuracy in the reconstruction of the end-details needs to be assessed and quantified. This study examined the suitability of two low-cost systems for plant reconstruction. A low-cost Structure from Motion (SfM) technique was used to create 3D models for plant crop reconstruction. In the second method, an acquisition and reconstruction algorithm using an RGB-Depth Kinect v2 sensor was tested following a similar image acquisition procedure. The information was processed to create a dense point cloud, which allowed the creation of a 3D-polygon mesh representing every scanned plant. The selected crop plants corresponded to three different crops (maize, sugar beet and sunflower) that have structural and biological differences. The parameters measured from the model were validated with ground truth data of plant height, leaf area index and plant dry biomass using regression methods. The results showed strong consistency with good correlations between the calculated values in the models and the ground truth information. Although, the values obtained were always accurately estimated, differences between the methods and among the crops were found. The SfM method showed a slightly better result with regard to the reconstruction the end-details and the accuracy of the height estimation. Although the use of the processing algorithm is relatively fast, the use of RGB-D information is faster during the creation of the 3D models. Thus, both methods demonstrated robust results and provided great potential for use in both for indoor and outdoor scenarios. Consequently, these low-cost systems for 3D modeling are suitable for several situations where there is a need for model generation and also provide a favourable time-cost relationship.

Weather conditions can affect sensors’ readings when sampling outdoors. Although sensors are usually set up covering a wide range of conditions, their operational range must be established. In recent years, depth cameras have been shown as a promising tool for plant phenotyping and other related uses. However, the use of these devices is still challenged by prevailing field conditions. Although the influence of lighting conditions on the performance of these cameras has already been established, the effect of wind is still unknown. This study establishes the associated errors when modeling some tree characteristics at different wind speeds. A system using a Kinect v2 sensor and a custom software was tested from null wind speed up to 10 m·s−1. Two tree species with contrasting architecture, poplars and plums, were used as model plants. The results showed different responses depending on tree species and wind speed. Estimations of Leaf Area (LA) and tree volume were generally more consistent at high wind speeds in plum trees. Poplars were particularly affected by wind speeds higher than 5 m·s−1. On the contrary, height measurements were more consistent for poplars than for plum trees. These results show that the use of depth cameras for tree characterization must take into consideration wind conditions in the field. In general, 5 m·s−1 (18 km·h−1) could be established as a conservative limit for good estimations.

Crop monitoring is an essential practice within the field of precision agriculture since it is based on observing, measuring and properly responding to inter- and intra-field variability. In particular, “on ground crop inspection” potentially allows early detection of certain crop problems or precision treatment to be carried out simultaneously with pest detection. “On ground monitoring” is also of great interest for woody crops. This paper explores the development of a low-cost crop monitoring system that can automatically create accurate 3D models (clouds of coloured points) of woody crop rows. The system consists of a mobile platform that allows the easy acquisition of information in the field at an average speed of 3 km/h. The platform, among others, integrates an RGB-D sensor that provides RGB information as well as an array with the distances to the objects closest to the sensor. The RGB-D information plus the geographical positions of relevant points, such as the starting and the ending points of the row, allow the generation of a 3D reconstruction of a woody crop row in which all the points of the cloud have a geographical location as well as the RGB colour values. The proposed approach for the automatic 3D reconstruction is not limited by the size of the sampled space and includes a method for the removal of the drift that appears in the reconstruction of large crop rows.