PRE2019 4 Group2

Leighton van Gellecom, Hilde van Esch, Timon Heuwekemeijer, Karla Gloudemans, Tom van Leeuwen

Article 1. Subject: combat of unwanted plants using detection by deep learning

The combat against unwanted potato plants is an intensive and boring task for farmers, which they would gladly leave to robots. Until now this was impossible, since the robots could not distinguish between the potato and beetroot plants. Using deep learning, this has now succeeded with a 96% success rate. A robot was developed which drives on the land and makes pictures, which are sent to a KPN-cloud through 5G. The pictures are then analysed by the deep learning algorithm, and the result is sent back to the robot. This deep learning algorithm was constructed with a dataset of about 5500 labelled pictures of potato and sugar beet plants to train the system. Next, the robot combats the plants that have been detected as the unwanted potato plants using a spraying unit, which is instructed by the system. This development is already a big step forward, but the fault rate is still too large for the system to be put into practice.

Booij, J., Nieuwenhuizen, A., van Boheemen, K., de Vissr, C., Veldhuisen, B., Vroegop, A., ... Ruigrok, T. (2020). 5G Fieldlab Rural Drenthe: duurzame en autonome onkruidbestrijding. (Rapport / Stichting Wageningen Research, Wageningen Plant Research, Business unit Agrosysteemkunde; No. WPR). Wageningen: Stichting Wageningen Research, Wageningen Plant Research, Business unit Agrosysteemkunde. https://doi.org/10.18174/517141

Article 2. Subject: detection of plant disease using deep learning

Potato blackleg is a bacterial disease that can occur in potato plants that causes decay of the plant, and may spread to neighbouring plants if the diseased plant is not taken away. So far, only systems have been devised that were able to detect the disease after harvesting the plants. In this research, a system was created that had a 95% precision rate in detection of healthy and diseased potato plants. This system consisted of a deep learning algorithm, which used a neural network trained by a dataset of 532 labelled images. There is a downside to the system, however, since it was devised, and trained, to detect plants that were separate and do not overlap. In most scenarios, this is not the case. Further developments need to be made to be able to use the system in all scenarios. In addition, it proved to be difficult to gain enough labelled images of the plants.

Afonso, M. V., Blok, P. M., Polder, G., van der Wolf, J. M., & Kamp, J. A. L. M. (2019). Blackleg Detection in Potato Plants using Convolutional Neural Networks. Paper presented at 6th IFAC Conference on Sensing, Control and Automation Technologies for Agriculture, AgriControl 2019, Sydney, Australia.

(Working on the following articles:)

a. Precisietechnologie Tuinbouw: PPS Autonoom onkruid verwijderen Eindrapportage

b. Automatisch onkruid bestrijden PPL-094