Sensor and method of detecting the condition of a turf grass

A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:

• attaching an active sensor to a mower;
• providing an illuminating pattern of light to said turf grass;
• and
• receiving a reflected pattern of light which is coincident with said illuminating pattern of light.

A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:

• attaching an active sensor to a mower;
• providing a first wavelength of light and a second wavelength of light to simultaneously illuminate an area;
• and
• detecting both reflected light signals simultaneously.

A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a plurality of illumination devices;
• coupling a feedback circuit to adjust the output of each illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices;
• detecting the irradiance of each illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices;
• and
• adjusting the irradiance of an illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices.

A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:

• attaching an active sensor to a mower;
• sensing the condition of said turf grass;
• and
• detecting the geographic position of said active sensor while sensing the condition of said turf grass.

A device for detecting the condition of turf grass, said device comprising:

• an array of illuminating devices generating a pattern of illuminating light;
• a detecting device receiving a pattern of reflected light which is coincident with said pattern of illuminating light;
• a detecting device adapted to detect an entity proportional to the light output from said array of illuminating devices;
• and
• a feedback loop controlling said array of illuminating devices.

A device for detecting the condition of turf grass, said device comprising:

• an array of LEDs generating a cone of illuminating light;
• a photodetector receiving a cone of reflected light which is coincident with said cone of illuminating light;
• one or more photodetectors adapted to detect light from said array of LEDs;
• and
• a feedback loop controlling said array of LEDs based upon light from said array of LEDs.

A device for detecting the condition of turf grass, said device comprising:

• an array of LEDs generating a pattern of illuminating light;
• at least one photodetector receiving a pattern of reflected light which is coincident with said pattern of illuminating light;
• one or more photodetectors adapted to detect stray light from said array of LEDs;
• a feedback loop controlling said array of LEDs based upon stray light from said array of LEDs;
• a circuit for providing offset correction, said circuit comprising a first offset correction circuit for a first frequency and a second offset correction circuit for a second frequency;
• and
• a background light subtraction circuit.