A COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED METHOD FOR ESTIMATING A PRODUCT CONSUMPTION OF AN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT FOR AN AGRICULTURAL FIELD

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for estimating a product consumption of an agricultural product for an agricultural field, comprising the steps: providing a target application rate map (10) comprising an application rate distribution of the agricultural product of the agricultural field, wherein the application rate distribution comprises different target areas with predetermined 5 application rates of the agricultural product (S100); providing a route (34, 52) of an agricultural vehicle and/or an application device of the agricultural vehicle through the agricultural field for applying the agricultural product (S200); providing a working width (37, 52) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle; determining application rates of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle at least based on 10 the route (34, 52) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle through the agricultural field (S300); determining the product consumption for the agricultural field based on the determined application rates and the working width (37, 53) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle (S400). 15

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for estimating a product consumption of an agricultural product for an agricultural field, the method comprising: providing a target application rate map (10) comprising an application rate distribution of the agricultural product of the agricultural field, wherein the application rate distribution comprises different target areas with predetermined application rates of the agricultural product (S100); providing a route (34, 52) of an agricultural vehicle and/or an application device of the agricultural vehicle through the agricultural field for applying the agricultural product (S200); providing a working width (37, 52) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle; determining application rates of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle at least based on the route (34, 52) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle through the agricultural field (S300); and determining the product consumption for the agricultural field based on the determined application rates and the working width (37, 53) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle (S400).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining the application rates comprises determining a position of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle in the target application rate map (10).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining the product consumption comprises determining a sub-area (21, 38, 39, 40, 51) with a sub-area application rate based on the working width (37, 53) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle and an intersection (35, 36) of the route (34, 52) with a target area border (33) of a target area.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining the product consumption of the agricultural field comprises a summation of the product consumption for the sub-area (21, 38, 39, 40, 51)s, wherein the product consumption for the sub-areas (21, 38, 39, 40, 51) is determined by multiplying the area of the sub-area (21, 38, 39, 40, 51) and the sub-area application rate.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining a formulation and/or mixture of the agricultural product based on the product consumption for the agricultural field.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the target application rate map (10) is based on performance/yield zones of the agricultural field.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the route (34, 52) is based on a tramline of the agricultural vehicle and the working width (37, 53) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of identifying area overlaps (50) when applying the agricultural product based on the route (34, 52) and the working width (37, 53) and removing the area overlaps (50) when estimating the product consumption for the agricultural field.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the application rate is provided by a spray rate for applying a fluid and/or a scattering rate for applying solid.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor of a user device or a server, cause the processor to perform the method according to claim 1.

11. (canceled)

12. A user device comprising a programmable controller configured to perform the method according to claim 1.

13. Use of the determined product consumption according to claim 1 for controlling a controller unit of a loading or filling station for the agricultural product when filling the agricultural product into the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle.

14. Use of a target application rate map (10), routes (34, 52) of an agricultural vehicle and/or an application device of the agricultural vehicle through an agricultural field in a method according to claim 1.

15. System for estimating a product consumption of an agricultural product for an agricultural field, the system comprising: a first receiving unit configured to receive a target application rate map (10) comprising an application rate distribution of the agricultural product of the agricultural field, wherein the application rate distribution comprises different target areas with a specific application rate limited by one application rate border (33); a second receiving unit configured to receive a route (34, 52) of an agricultural vehicle and/or an application device of the agricultural vehicle through the agricultural field for applying the agricultural product; a third receiving unit configured to receive a working width (37, 52) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle; a first determining unit configured to determine application rates of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle at least based on the route of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle through the agricultural field and the working width (37, 53) of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle; and a second determining unit configured to determine the product consumption for the agricultural field based on the determined application rates.

16. A method for applying a product on an agricultural field, the method comprising: providing a determined product consumption of an agricultural product for an agricultural field according to a method according to claim 1; controlling a controller unit of a loading or filling station for the agricultural product based on the determined product consumption when filling the agricultural product into an agricultural vehicle; and applying the agricultural product onto the agricultural field.

17. A system for applying a product on an agricultural field, comprising: a providing unit for providing a determined product consumption of an agricultural product for an agricultural field according to a method according to claim 1; a controlling unit for controlling a loading or filling station for the agricultural product based on the determined product consumption when filling the agricultural product into an agricultural vehicle; and an agricultural vehicle for applying the agricultural product onto the agricultural field.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In the following, the invention is described exemplarily with reference to the enclosed figure, in which

[0024] FIG. 1 is a target application rate map according to the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 2 is an application rate map corresponding to FIG. 1 as applied;

[0026] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the method according to the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the method according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the method according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 6 illustrates an example embodiment of a system for applying an agricultural product onto an agricultural field; and

[0030] FIG. 7 illustrates an example data exchange in a system according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

[0031] FIG. 1 is a target application rate map 10 according to the present disclosure. The target application rate map 10 relates to an agricultural field to be followed and treated by an agricultural vehicle and/or an agricultural device. The target application rate map 10 comprises different target areas 11 and predetermined application rates illustrated in a greyscale metric 12. The target areas 11 show unequally shapes and sizes and further comprise different predetermined application rates. The target application rate map 12 serves an agricultural vehicle and/or an application device as input for applying an agricultural product.

[0032] FIG. 2 is an application rate map 20 corresponding to FIG. 1 as applied. The application rate map 20 shows in comparison to the target application rate map 10 another application rate distribution. The shape and size of the sub areas 21 differ from the target areas 11 and therefore the applied application rates. This results in a deviation of the ideal product consumption and the real product consumption as applied.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the method according to the present disclosure. In a first step S100 a target application rate map comprising an application rate distribution of the agricultural product of the agricultural field is provided, wherein the application rate distribution comprises different target areas with predetermined application rates of the agricultural product. The target application map may be provided from a commercial provider or a government facility. In the next step S200 a route of an agricultural vehicle through the agricultural field for applying the agricultural product is provided. The may be provided from another planning software or from a user via an interface. In step S300 application rates of the agricultural vehicle and/or an application device of the agricultural vehicle are determined at least based on the route of the agricultural vehicle through the agricultural field. The application rate is determined by matching the position along the route of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle with target application rate map. The position along the route in the agricultural field reveals the application rate in the target application rate map. The position may be the center of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle. In step S400 the product consumption for the agricultural field is determined based on the determined application rates and a working width of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device. The determining of the product consumption further comprises determining a sub-area with a sub-area application rate based on the working width of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device and an intersection of the route with a target area border of a target area. The sub-area with one sub-area application rate is created by multiplying a specific length of the route and the working width, wherein the specific length is limited by an intersection of the route and an application rate border. By multiplying the area of the sub-area and the sub-area application rate the product consumption of the sub-area is determined. By summation of the product consumptions of the sub-areas the product consumption of the agricultural field is determined.

[0034] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the method according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. An area 30 comprises two different target areas 31 and 32 with two predetermined application rates (i.e. 168 L/ha and 216 L/ha). The target areas 31, 32 are separated from each other target area border 33. The route 34 of the agricultural vehicle intersects the target areas in two points 35, 36. The intersections 35, 36 create with the applications width 37 of the agricultural vehicle the sub-areas 38, 39, 40 with the corresponding sub-area application rates. These sub-areas represent the areas with the application rate applied by the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device of the agricultural vehicle.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the method according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. In contrast to FIG. 4 an area overlap 50 occurs in the sub-area 51. The area overlap is caused by a route 52 parallel running to a first part of the route and further running to the left in the bottom and the corresponding working width 53 of the agricultural vehicle and/or application device of the agricultural vehicle. The agricultural vehicle and/or the application device are provided with a section control, which detects area overlaps and adjusts the working width of the agricultural vehicle and/or the application device in order to remove the area overlap 50 from the application treatment. In case such section control is provided the method disclosed above also removes the area overlap in the estimating of the product consumption for the agricultural field.

[0036] The system in FIG. 6 shows an exemplary distributed system including an agricultural vehicle 102 (e.g. a sprayer), which has been loaded/filled with the agricultural product according to the determined product consumption for the agricultural field, one or more ground station(s) 110, one or more user device(s) 108, and a cloud environment 100. The agricultural vehicle 102 may be a manned or unmanned vehicle which can be controlled autonomously by onboard computers, remotely by a person or partially remotely e.g. by way of initial operation data. The agricultural vehicle 102 may transmit data signals collected from various onboard sensors and actors mounted to the agricultural vehicle 102. Such data may include current movement data such as current speed, battery or fuel level, position, weather or wind speed, field data including treatment operation data such as treatment type, treatment location or treatment mode, monitoring operation data such as field condition data or location data, and/or operation data, such as initial operation data, updated operation data or current operation data. The agricultural vehicle 102 may directly or indirectly send data signals, such as field data or operation data, to the cloud environment 100, the ground station(s) 110 or other agricultural vehicles (not shown). The agricultural vehicle 102 may directly or indirectly receive data signals, such as field data or operation data, from cloud environment 100, the ground station(s) 110 or other agricultural vehicles.

[0037] The cloud environment 100 may facilitate data exchange with and between the agricultural vehicle(s) 102, the ground control station(s) 110, and/or user device(s) 108. The cloud environment 100 may be a server-based distributed computing environment for storing and computing data on multiple cloud servers accessible over the Internet. The cloud environment 100 may be a distributed ledger network that facilitates a distributed immutable database for transactions performed by the agricultural vehicle 102, one or more ground station(s) 110 or one or more user device(s) 108. Ledger network refers to any data communication network comprising at least two network nodes. The network nodes may be configured to a) request the inclusion of data by way of a data block and/or b) verify the requested inclusion of data to the chain and/or c) receiving chain data. In such a distributed architecture, the agricultural vehicle(s) 102, one or more ground station(s) 110, one or more user device(s) 108 can act as nodes storing transaction data in data blocks and participating in a consensus protocol to verify transactions. If the at least two network nodes are in a chain the ledger network may be referred to as a blockchain network. The ledger network 100 may be composed of a blockchain or cryptographically linked list of data blocks created by the nodes. Each data block may contain one or more transactions relating to field data or operation data. Blockchain refers to a continuously extendable set of data provided in a plurality of interconnected data blocks, wherein each data block may comprise a plurality of transaction data. The transaction data may be signed by the owner of the transaction and the interconnection may be provided by chaining using cryptographic means. Chaining is any mechanism to interconnect two data blocks with each other. For example, at least two blocks may be directly interconnected with each other in the blockchain. A hash-function encryption mechanism may be used to chain data blocks in a blockchain and/or to attach a new data block in an existing blockchain. A block may be identified by its cryptographic hash referencing the hash of the preceding block.

[0038] The agricultural vehicle 102 and the ground control station(s) 103 may share data signals with the user device(s) 108 via the cloud environment 100. Communication channels between the nodes and communication channels, between the nodes and the cloud environment 100 may be established through a wireless communication protocol. A cellular network may be established for the agricultural vehicle 102 to ground station 110, other agricultural vehicles to cloud environment 100 or ground station 110 to cloud environment 100 communication. Such cellular network may be based any known network technology such as SM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS/HSPA, LTE technologies using standards like 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G. In a local area of an agricultural field, a wireless local area network (WLAN), e.g. Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), may be established for communication. The cellular network for may be a Flying Ad Hoc Network (FANET).

[0039] FIG. 7 illustrates one possible data flow diagram of an example method for loading/filling an agricultural vehicle with an agricultural product. As a first data message, a determined product consumption of an agricultural product for an agricultural field is send to a controller unit of a loading or filling station for the agricultural product, wherein the product consumption is determined according to a method as described above. This message is used to control the filling/loading of the agricultural vehicle with the agricultural product according to the determined product consumption needed for the respective agricultural field.

[0040] Although illustrative examples of the present disclosure have been described above, in part with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to these examples. Variations to the disclosed examples can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the disclosure, from a study of the drawings, the specification and the appended claims.

[0041] In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The term “comprising” does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim. The word “a” or “an” preceding an elements does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The disclosure can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measured are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measure cannot be used to advantage.

REFERENCE LIST

[0042] 10 target application rate map [0043] 11, 31, 32 target area [0044] 12, 22 greyscale metric [0045] 20 application rate map as applied [0046] 21, 38, 39, 40, 51 sub-area [0047] 30 area [0048] 33 target area border [0049] 34, 52 route [0050] 35, 36 intersection [0051] 37, 53 working width [0052] 50 area overlap [0053] 100 cloud environment [0054] 102 agricultural vehicle (e.g. sprayer) [0055] 108 user device (e.g. laptop, mobile device) [0056] 110 ground station