INSECT ELIMINATION SYSTEM AND USE THEREOF

Abstract

An insect elimination system eliminates a flying insect in an airspace. The system comprises: a camera configured to provide image data representative of at least part of the airspace; an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, comprising a propeller to propel the UAV through the airspace; and a controller, the controller being connected to the camera to receive the image data, and being connected to the UAV to provide control data to the UAV. The controller is configured to: monitor the image data received from the camera, for an image of an insect; and in case an image of an insect has been found in the image data: derive from the image data a position of the insect in the airspace; and guide the UAV, using the derived position of the insect in the airspace, to hit the insect by the propeller.

Claims

1. An insect elimination system for eliminating a flying insect in an airspace, comprising: a camera configured to provide image data representative of at least part of the airspace; azo unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, comprising a propeller to propel the UAV through the airspace; and a controller, the controller being connected via an image data connection to the camera to receive the image data, and being connected via a control data connection to the UAV to provide control data to the UAV, the controller being configured to: monitor the image data received from the camera, for an image of an insect; and in case an image of an insect has been found in the image data: derive from the image data a position of the insect in the airspace; and guide the UAV via the control data connection, using the derived position of the insect in the airspace, to hit the insect by the propeller.

2. The insect elimination system according to claim 1, wherein the controller further is configured to derive from the image data, an elimination start position of the UAV iii the airspace, the elimination start position being below the derived position of the insect; guide the UAV to navigate to the elimination start position in the airspace, and propel the UAV upwardly from the elimination start position to the derived position of the insect.

3. The insect elimination system according to claim 1, wherein the camera is attached to the UAV.

4. The insect elimination system according to claim 3, wherein a field of view of the camera is vertically oriented upwards, wherein the controller is further configured to derive an elimination start position from a horizontal path calculated on the basis of the location of the image of the insect in the image data and a centre of the image data, and wherein the controller is configured to guide the UAV to navigate to the elimination start position by controlling the UAV to move according to the horizontal path.

5. The insect elimination system according to claim 1, wherein the camera is positioned at a stationary location.

6. The insect elimination system according to claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to: derive a position of the UAV in the airspace from the image data.

7. The insect elimination system according to claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to determine an image size and an image position of the UAV in the image data; and derive the position of the UAV in the airspace from the image size and the image position.

8. The insect elimination system according to claim 7, wherein the UAV comprises recognition markers, such as LED's, and wherein the controller is configured to determine the image size of the UAV from the distance between the recognition markers.

9. The insect elimination system according to claim 7, wherein the controller is further configured to determine an image size and an image position of the insect in the image data, and derive the position of the insect in the airspace from the image size and image position in the image data.

10. The insect elimination system according to claim 5, wherein the camera comprises a stereoscopic camera, and the image data comprise stereoscopic image data, and wherein the controller is configured to derive the position of the UAV and the insect in the airspace from the stereoscopic image data.

11. The insect elimination system according to claim 5, wherein the stationary location comprises a charging station configured to charge the UAV.

12. The insect elimination system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to recognize the insect in the image data on the basis of at least one criterion from a size criterion, a shape criterion, a speed criterion and a colour criterion.

13. The insect elimination system according claim 1, wherein a sensitivity wavelength band of the camera extends into an infrared wavelength band.

14. The method of using the insect elimination system according to claim 1 for insect repelling.

15. The method according to claim 21, comprising operating the system in an agricultural or horticultural area.

16. (canceled)

17. The method according to claim 21, comprising operating the system in a room, such as a bedroom.

18. The method according to claim 14 to reduce spreading of a disease via insects.

19. The method according to claim 14 for insecticide free insect repelling.

20. The method according to claim 14 to improve sleep quality.

21. The method of claim 14, comprising operating the insect elimination system in the vicinity of insects.

Description

[0043] Further advantages, effects and features of the invention will follow from the below description and the appended drawing showing a non-limiting embodiment, wherein:

[0044] FIG. 1 depicts a highly schematic view of an insect elimination system according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0045] FIG. 2 depicts a highly schematic view of an image of a camera of the insect elimination system according to FIG. 1;

[0046] FIG. 3 depicts a highly schematic view of an insect elimination system according to another embodiment of the invention; and

[0047] FIG. 4 depicts a highly schematic view of an image of a camera of the insect elimination system according to FIG. 3.

[0048] Throughout the figures, the same or similar items are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0049] FIG. 1 depicts an insect elimination system comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV having propellers PRO which propel the UAV through an airspace ASP. A video camera CAM is provided at the UAV and is directed upwardly. In an alternative embodiment, the camera may be directed in horizontal direction, for example in case of a UAV comprising a propeller that is rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation. In a standby or surveillance position, the UAV is located at the ground while the camera observes the airspace. ASP. Image data from the camera is provided to a controller CON, which is, in the present embodiment, also located in or at the UAV. The controller monitors the image data for the presence of an image of an insect. When an insect INS has been detected, the controller determines a position of the insect in the airspace from the position and/or size of the insect in the image, and activates the UAV to ascend towards the insect. Thereby, approaching the insect from below, the insect is subjected to a suction by the operating propellers, causing the insect to be sucked towards the propellers and eliminated by the fast moving propeller.

[0050] Having eliminated the insect, the image of the flying insect as obtained by the camera will have disappeared, causing the controller to detect that the observed part of the airspace is clear, and causing the controller to guide the UAV back to the standby/surveillance position.

[0051] An image of the upwardly oriented field of view of the camera is schematically depicted in FIG. 2. The camera being directed upwardly, a position of the image of the insect in the camera image is representative of a position of the insect in a horizontal plane, i.e. in the x,y plane. Thus, the controller may derive a required horizontal movement HM of the UAV, in order to get below the insect, from the position of the image of the insect in the camera image. Such navigation may be performed iteratively, as the image moves with the horizontal movement (component) of the UAV, until the image of the insect is at or near a centre CEN of the camera image. Having navigated in the horizontal direction to a position below the insect (also referred to as elimination start position), the controller guides the UAV upwards by increasing propeller power, hence on the one hand approaching the insect and on the other hand increasing suction to suck the insect towards the propeller(s). The vertical distance towards the insect may be estimated by the controller from a size of the image of the insect. The elimination start position may be at any suitable distance below the insect. It will be noted that, when using a camera attached to the UAV and directed in e.g. a horizontal direction or any other direction, the same principle may be used mutatis mutandis. Generally, when the camera attached to the UAV is directed in an camera direction (i.e. a direction of viewing of the camera) the position of the image of the insect in the camera image relative to a centre of the camera image may allow the controller to determine a translation in the plane perpendicular to the camera direction. A size of the image of the insect in the camera image may allow the controller to estimate a distance from the insect. The controller may guide the UAV to navigate to move in the plane perpendicular to the imaging direction to get the image of the insect towards the centre of the camera image, and then to move in the imaging direction towards the insect to hit the insect.

[0052] FIG. 3 depicts a configuration that forms an alternative to the configuration in accordance with FIG. 1. Deviating from the description to FIG. 1, the camera and controller are located at a stationary location at the ground GND. The image data connection IDC between camera and controller may be wired, while the control data connection CDC between the controller and the UAV may be wireless.

[0053] FIG. 4 depicts a camera image of the camera in FIG. 3. Contrary to the camera image of the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiment, the camera may not only image an insect, but also the UAV. Hence, a position of the insect in the airspace as well as a position of the UAV in the airspace may be derived from the camera image. Thereby, the position in the horizontal plane may be derived from the position of the image of insect respectively UAV in the image plane, while the distance may be derived from a size of the image of insect respectively UAV in the image plane. As a size of the UAV is known the controller may derive a distance of the UAV, i.e. a flying height of the UAV from the size of the UAV image as captured by the camera. Use may be made of markers on the UAV, such as visible or IR LEDs at a known distance, enabling the controller to derive the distance to the UAV from the distance between the markers as seen in the camera image. A horizontal movement HM component for movement of the UAV in the airspace may be derived by the controller from the relative positions in the image plane of the camera image. A vertical component may be derived from the size estimations as described above. Both may be performed iteratively, thereby determining the positions of the UAV and insect as described above. Likewise as described with reference to FIG. 2, the controller may first guide the UAV in a horizontal plane, so as to arrive at a position below the insect, being the elimination start position and then move upwardly on the basis of the determined distance.

[0054] In either embodiment, the insect may be recognized using any suitable combination of size, speed, shape, and colour. Thus, an insect may be recognized by the controller as a small, moving object in the airspace exhibiting a correlation to a reference image of an insect and a colour in a colour band.

[0055] The insect elimination system may for example be employed to eliminate insects in agriculture, to eliminate insects in horticulture, such as in a greenhouse, to eliminate insects in a room, such as a bedroom, to reduce spreading of a disease via insects or for insecticide free insect repelling.