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 The system uses advanced machine vision algorithms that can
differentiate between healthy and diseased crops, and then apply a
droplet only to the crops that need it.
"This targeted dispense technology has the potential to dramatically
reduce the amount of pesticides and herbicides that we apply to
crops today; potentially by up to 99 percent. It does this by
selectively targeting only weeds and infestations in a whole field,
so that healthy crop and soil doesn't have pesticide applied to it.
Through that we can massively reduce both cost and environmental
impact," said Niall Mottram, head of agrifood product development at
developers Cambridge Consultants.
Mottram says eventually a larger version of the device could be
mounted onto the side of a farm vehicle, with multiple nozzles
shooting targeted droplets as it drives through a field of crops.
To demonstrate its potential, a single nozzle system is mounted over
a conveyor belt. Cards with pictures of green 'healthy' leaves on
one side and 'diseased' orange leaves on the other side are dropped
at random onto the conveyor belt, with the laser-guided nozzle
adjusting to shoot a droplet onto the orange leaves, while ignoring
the green leaves.
 The system uses mostly readily-available hardware, including a
Playstation camera and dispensing technology from ink-jet printers,
but Mottram says it's their programming that gives it the precision
to hit an object while moving.
"Being able to hit a moving target is challenging. And hitting a
moving target that varies in appearance is even more so. So being
able to differentiate from color and shape, and then being able to
calculate how quickly you're moving and therefore at what point you
should dispense so that you hit your target; that requires some
pretty sophisticated algorithms," Mottram told Reuters.
The camera looks ahead at the crop and uses shape, size and color to
identify targets. These are tracked as the vehicle approaches, with
the data then relayed to the dispensing system which aims the
nozzle. The droplet travels at five meters per second, and takes one
tenth of a second to hit the target. Cambridge Consultants say the
system can successfully hit small targets from a height of 50cm (20
inches), even when the farm vehicle is moving at speeds of more than
25mph (40kph).
Targeting specific leaves or pests means the amount of chemicals
dispensed is vastly reduced, with drift and run-off into the
environment practically eliminated, said Mottram. It could prove
particularly efficacious with high-value crops, he added.
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"This technology won't be suitable for all crops; indeed in a field
where there's a very high density of pests it's probably more
appropriate to use existing spray nozzle technology. But where you
have a high-value crop, let's say something like strawberries, and
you need to very selectively pick off the weeds or the infestation,
this technology is very applicable because you're able to very
carefully move through the field and pick off those targets that you
specifically want to hit."
The current popular class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or
neonics, are sold by agrichemical companies to boost yields of
staple crops but are also deployed widely on annual and perennial
plants used in lawns and gardens. Over the last few years evidence
has mounted that links the use of neonics to widespread die-offs of
honey bees needed to pollinate crops. There are also fears the
insecticides are harming other pollinators.
Incoming changes to laws governing the use of these chemicals means
farmers may soon have to switch to using natural insecticides; known
as 'biologicals'. While these are far more costly, Mottram says
their targeted spray system could be the answer.
"This technology enables the next generation of 'agri-chemicals' to
be used. So a lot of existing chemicals are perhaps coming to the
point where they're going to be banned. The next generation, they're
typically called 'biologicals', they're very much more expensive
than the chemicals used today. This technology, however, might be an
enabler for them. So you have something that's a little bit more
targeted and a little bit more environmentally friendly that can do
the same jobs as a lot of the more harmful chemicals do today,"
Mottram said.
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