Design and field evaluation of a ground robot for high-throughput phenotyping of energy sorghum
Name
11119_2018_Article_9601.pdf
Size
3.09 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
6c02c67cde5c50fe0631e8ffd8864519
Author(s)
Young, Sierra N
Peschel, Joshua M
Kayacan, Erkan
Date Issued
September 2018
Journal
Precision Agriculture
Publisher
Springer US
Citation
Young, Sierra N., Erkan Kayacan, and Joshua M. Peschel. “Design and Field Evaluation of a Ground Robot for High-Throughput Phenotyping of Energy Sorghum.” Precision Agriculture (September 15, 2018).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
This article describes the design and field evaluation of a low-cost, high-throughput phenotyping robot for energy sorghum for use in biofuel production. High-throughput phenotyping approaches have been used in isolated growth chambers or greenhouses, but there is a growing need for field-based, precision agriculture techniques to measure large quantities of plants at high spatial and temporal resolutions throughout a growing season. A low-cost, tracked mobile robot was developed to collect phenotypic data for individual plants and tested on two separate energy sorghum fields in Central Illinois during summer 2016. Stereo imaging techniques determined plant height, and a depth sensor measured stem width near the base of the plant. A data capture rate of 0.4 ha, bi-weekly, was demonstrated for platform robustness consistent with various environmental conditions and crop yield modeling needs, and formative human–robot interaction observations were made during the field trials to address usability. This work is of interest to researchers and practitioners advancing the field of plant breeding because it demonstrates a new phenotyping platform that can measure individual plant architecture traits accurately (absolute measurement error at 15% for plant height and 13% for stem width) over large areas at a sub-daily frequency; furthermore, the design of this platform can be extended for phenotyping applications in maize or other agricultural row crops.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-018-9601-6
