2D LiDAR-Based System for Canopy Sensing in Smart Spraying Applications

Abstract

The efficient application of phytochemical products in agriculture is a complex issue that demands optimised sprayers and variable rate technologies, which rely on advanced sensing systems to address challenges such as overdosage and product losses. This work developed a system capable of processing different tree canopy parameters to support precision fruit farming and environmental protection using intelligent spraying methodologies. This system is based on a 2D light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver integrated into a sprayer driven by a tractor. The algorithm detects the canopy boundaries, allowing spray only in the presence of vegetation. The spray volume spared evaluates the system's performance compared to a Tree Row Volume (TRV) methodology. The results showed a 28% reduction in the overdosage of spraying product. The second step in this work was calculating and adjusting the amount of liquid to apply based on the tree volume. Considering this parameter, the saving obtained had an average value for the right and left rows of 78%. The volume of the trees was also monitored in a georeferenced manner with the creation of a occupation grid map. This map recorded the trajectory of the sprayer and the detected trees according to their volume.INDEX TERMS Agricultural robotics, canopy characterization, precision spraying, robotics.

Precision Inter-Row Relative Positioning Method by Using 3D LiDAR in Planted Forests and Orchards

“…The LiDAR has the advantages of high positioning accuracy, large data, and less susceptibility to weather [28]. This makes LiDAR widely used in crop detection and navigation [21,29,30]. Among them, horizontally mounted LiDAR is used for navigation and vertically mounted for crop detection [31,32].…”