Image Processing System for Soil Characterization
AssigneeTazco Soil Service Co.
InventorAustin Lee Nelan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system processes images of soil using image processing techniques that help to reveal soil characteristics and differences between soil characteristics. The characteristics may be indicative of soil type, and the differences between soil characteristics help to identify where soil types change in a field. The system may determine management zones for a field based on the soil characteristics, e.g., by identifying multiple regions within a field, each management zone corresponding to similar soil characteristics. The system may communicate the management zones to devices in the field, to land appraisers, or to customers who use the results to manage the soil, as just a few examples.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a memory comprising:
- source image data comprising a region of ground soil to analyze, the source image data comprising near infrared (NIR) spectral data and Green spectral data;
- image processing instructions configured to process the NIR spectral data and the Green spectral data according to an SMI function:
- SMI
- =
- NIR
- -
- Green
- NIR
- +
- Green
- ;
- processing logic in communication with the memory, the processing logic configured to:
- transform the source image data into a soil processed image by executing the image processing instructions on the source image data;
- store the soil processed image in the memory;
- and
- delineate the soil processed image into discrete management zones, each management zone corresponding to a distinction in soil type indicated in the soil processed image after application of the SMI function.
A method comprising:
- obtaining source image data comprising a region of ground soil to analyze, the source image data comprising near infrared (NIR) spectral data and Green spectral data;
- transforming the source image data into a soil modified index representation, by applying an SMI function:
- SMI
- =
- NIR
- -
- Green
- NIR
- +
- Green
- ;
- to the NIR spectral data and the Green spectral data;
- determining, within the soil modified index representation, differences in soil type;
- assigning the differences in soil type to a pre-determined number of types of management zones;
- and
- creating a management zone map by delineating the management zones according to their type on the region of ground soil.
A system comprising:
- a memory comprising:
- source image data comprising a region of ground soil to analyze, the source image data comprising near infrared (NIR) spectral data and Green spectral data;
- image processing instructions configured to process the NIR spectral data and the Green spectral data according to an SMI function:
- SMI
- =
- NIR
- -
- Green
- NIR
- +
- Green
- ;
- processing logic in communication with the memory, the processing logic configured to:
- identify, within the source image data, a particular crop field to analyze among other terrain;
- clip the particular crop field from the source image data;
- execute the image processing instructions on the particular crop field, but not the other terrain, to generate a soil processed image for the particular crop field;
- store the soil processed image in the memory;
- determine a number of types of management zones to identify in the particular crop field;
- identify, responsive to executing the image processing instructions, differentiations in soil type in the particular crop field;
- assign the differentiations in soil type to the number of types of management zones;
- and
- create a management zone map comprising delineations of the particular crop field into discrete management zones.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.