FR3141601A1 - System and method for controlling a distribution circuit of a product for the treatment of a space comprising plants, distribution machine comprising such a system - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for controlling a distribution circuit of a product for the treatment of a space comprising plants, the distribution circuit supplies a plurality of spray nozzles mounted on a spray boom moving in the space, each a spray nozzle being configured to spray a product under pressure. The system comprises: * a detection module acquiring data on the space, * a processing module identifying at least one zone to be treated located in the space * a determination module determining a treatment index of plants located in said at least one area to be treated, * a control module determining a dose instruction of product to be sprayed on the area to be treated, said dose instruction of product to be sprayed corresponding to a quantity of product to be sprayed gradually adjusted by said module order according to said processing index. Figure for abstract: figure 1

Description

System and method for controlling a distribution circuit of a product for treating a space comprising plants, distribution machine comprising such a system FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system, a method for controlling a distribution circuit of a product for the treatment of a space comprising plants and to a distribution machine comprising such a system and to a machine equipped with such a system.

More specifically, such systems, processes and equipment find application in the field of agriculture or in the treatment of uncultivated areas. Such distribution circuits are particularly suitable for distributing phytosanitary products aimed at controlling the growth of plants.

TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

Agricultural crops and some non-cultivated areas require regular maintenance in order to optimize their production or regulate weed pressure. In particular, fertilization, weed control, deficiency control, or disease or pest control treatments are necessary in order to optimize the production yield of these crops.

Modern cultivation techniques tend to reduce inputs and treatments; to this end, they offer different methods to deal with these problems.

Prophylactic measures — the aim of which is to reduce as much as possible the number of weeds present on an agricultural plot that compete with the crop — are widely used in the technical itineraries of large-scale crops and market garden crops. The following methods are recommended for this purpose:

– crop rotation was one of the first methods theorized at the beginning of the 20th century, described in the document “Clyde E. Leighty, “Soils and Men”, USDA Yearbook of Agriculture (1938)”, consisting of an alternation of autumn and spring crops, in order to break certain biological cycles of weeds;

– plowing helps reduce the number of weeds in the crop by burying their seeds;

– false seeding, as described in “Sieglinde S. Snapp et al., “Evaluating Cover Crops for Benefits, Costs and Performance within Cropping System,” Agronomy Journal 97 (2005): 322–332,” reduces weed numbers in the crop by elevating fast-emerging weeds and then destroying them before sowing the crop.

The following curative measures - the aim of which is to prevent weeds from emerging in the crop and having an impact on its yield - are recommended for this purpose:

– chemical weed control, as described in the document “Arvalis, “Spraying in large-scale crops: the keys to success” (2013)”, helps prevent weeds from emerging in the crop. Phytosanitary products dedicated to chemical weed control are suitable: either for pre-emergence treatment to prevent the germination of weeds present in the seed stage, or for post-emergence treatment to destroy weeds that have emerged in the crop. Chemical weed control is either selective, to treat a type of weed, or non-selective, to destroy all the plants present in the plot at the time of treatment. Repeated use of the same chemical group of weedkillers leads to the development of weed resistance, as well as phytotoxicity that has an impact on crop yield. Chemical weedkillers are applied to the plot using a sprayer;

– mechanical weeding in pre-emergence or post-emergence, allows to destroy either the weed seedlings or the weeds at a more advanced stage. This weeding process improves the structure of the soil and also disrupts the cycle of certain pests. The tools used for mechanical weeding are tine harrows or rotary hoes for complete weeding or tine cultivators for inter-row or under-row treatment;

– alternative methods are developed, as described in the document “Pesticide Action Network Europe, “Alternative methods in weed management to the use of glyphosate and other herbicide”, 2018” with, in particular, the treatment of weeds by injection of an electric current — consisting of destroying each emerging weed by bursting the biological cells, causing evaporation of the water contained in them — or the treatment of weeds by laser or hot water under high pressure — consisting of destroying each emerging weed by a caloric input (heating) sufficient to destroy the biological cells of the weed.

Recommended methods of treating deficiencies and diseases or controlling pests are mainly based on chemical treatments.

Treatments, whether chemical, mechanical or alternative, are carried out by a machine, generally attached to a motorized vehicle which moves through the crop.

These treatments are traditionally broad and do not take into account the presence or absence of weeds, pests, deficiencies or diseases and treat the entire agricultural plot in a uniform manner. This method of control, which is not very precise, leads to overuse of plant protection products when the treatment is chemical, or a reduced work flow rate when the treatment is mechanical or alternative.

In this context, the localized application of phytosanitary products seems an interesting alternative allowing the surface area actually treated to be reduced to the useful surface area.

The doctoral thesis “Image segmentation for weed localization. Application to the creation of a vision system for specific spraying in real time”, Jérémie Bossu, University of Burgundy/CNRS 5158, December 4, 2007, describes an experimental spreading control device comprising a camera mounted on an agricultural machine, a central unit for detection and calculation of the optimal spraying time, taking into account the position of the plants in the images acquired by the camera.

Document WO2012/032245, “Control system for agricultural spreading”, describes a spreading control system comprising a set of spreading nozzles, means for mapping plants to be treated using, in one embodiment, cameras, and means for controlling the spreading according to the mapping data produced. This control system requires a first pass of the system in the agricultural plot in order to produce a map of this agricultural plot used in a second pass for the application of the treatment.

WO2012/122988, “Spray boom for selectively spraying a weedkiller composition on dicotyledons”, describes a method for distinguishing a category of weeds from other weeds in order to selectively treat the weeds concerned by the detection. This method uses a stereoscopic camera to distinguish the weeds, and does not allow weeds of the same family, for example dicotyledons, to be distinguished at early stages. Similarly, this method is not suitable for detecting foliar symptoms of deficiencies or diseases.

Document US2018/0240228, “Selective plant detection and treatment using green luminance photometric machine vision scan with real time chromaticity operations and image parameter floors for low processing load”, describes a method for detecting plants in an image and targeting them in a treatment. This method is not suitable for selective detection of weed families, nor for detecting foliar symptoms of deficiencies or diseases, nor for modulating a treatment product according to a health status.

Furthermore, document FR1873313, “Hyperspectral acquisition detection module”, describes a direct detection hyperspectral acquisition device capable of detecting the signature of shape, texture and spectral reflectance of a weed, or of foliar symptoms of deficiencies or diseases, in a crop. This device is suitable for discerning weeds at early stages, including weeds of the same family. Similarly, this device is suitable for detecting foliar symptoms of deficiencies or diseases. Document FR1901202, “Hyperspectral detection module by sensor fusion”, describes an alternative direct detection method capable of detecting the presence of weeds, or foliar symptoms of deficiencies or diseases in a crop image. Document FR1905916 takes up and completes the two previous documents.

Documents WO2018142371A1, WO2018141995A1 and WO2018154490A1 describe methods and systems for selectively treating plants in cultivated areas or railway areas. Such systems comprise a spray boom moved by a tractor and equipped with a series of spray nozzles as well as several cameras capturing images of the plot while the tractor is moving and one or more processing units capable of controlling the nozzles in real time based on the detections made in the captured images. The treatment applied, however, remains an all-or-nothing treatment.

By “all or nothing” treatment, we mean that the commands applied to the nozzles are binary between a minimum dose (equal to zero, i.e. the nozzle does not open) and a maximum dose (i.e. the nozzle opens completely). These minimum and maximum doses are predefined and are not adjusted during treatment. There is no modulation of the quantity of product applied between these two alternatives.

Document FR3121013 describes a similar system integrating the application of a base dose on a treatment circuit and an all-or-nothing treatment on the plants targeted by a second treatment circuit.

Document FR1908086, in the name of the applicant, “Agricultural treatment control device”, describes a spray control system comprising a set of weed detectors or leaf symptoms of deficiencies or diseases collaboratively deciding which treatment organ is to be activated when the target plant is within range of the treatment organ.

Localized spraying, varying the spray flow rate as the agricultural machine moves forward, makes it possible to drastically reduce, by between 30% and 90%, the quantity of phytosanitary products applied to the crop. In this type of principle of application of the phytosanitary product, the spray nozzles are fully open above the plant to be treated, the weed to be destroyed when a herbicide — selective or not — is used, the diseased crop plant when using a curative treatment molecule, but fully closed on the rest of the crop.

As an extension to this principle of application of phytosanitary products, the spray nozzles can be modulated in order to apply only a portion of the set dose. The applications of this localized and modulated spraying allow a treatment finely adapted to the targeted problem. For example, a supply of nitrogen produced can be modulated according to the level of nitrogen stress of the plant.

In the latter case, a device for modulating the dose according to a given command is fitted to the spray nozzles. For example, the “PWM” nozzles of the TeeJet Dynajet and Raven Hawkeye modulation systems can be used. These systems can be controlled by means of a setpoint ranging from 0% to 100%, in order to modulate the dose applied to the target plant. The nozzle solenoid control duty cycle is controlled by the controller in order to take into account the requested setpoint.

The document “Caroline Desbourdes and Benjamin Perriot, “Pulsation nozzles, another way in precision spraying”, Perspectives agricoles, No. 445 (2017)”, describes the main advances in piloting nozzle solenoids in pulse width modulation mode (often referred to by the English acronym “PWM” for “Pulse Width Modulation”) on all the nozzles of the spray boom in order to modulate the dose applied by the entire boom on the crop. The conclusions of this document indicate that the dosage is not completely mastered.

The present invention thus aims to enable treatment of the agricultural plot, which is sized on the scale of the portions of the plot actually requiring treatment, by ensuring that the correct dose of treatment product is applied to the targeted surface based on an estimate of the crop's needs correlated with the health status of the targeted surface.

Thus, the invention relates to a computerized system for controlling a distribution circuit of a product for treating a space comprising plants, the distribution circuit being adapted to supply a plurality of spray nozzles mounted on a spray boom moving in the space, each spray nozzle being configured to spray a product under pressure, the system comprising:

* at least one detection module configured to acquire data on space,

* a digital processing module configured to analyze the data acquired by the detection module, the analysis comprising the identification of at least one area to be treated located in the space,

* a determination module configured to determine a treatment index of plants located in said at least one area to be treated,

* a control module configured to determine a dose setpoint of product to be sprayed on the area to be treated, said dose setpoint of product to be sprayed corresponding to a quantity of product to be sprayed gradually adjusted by said control module according to said treatment index, and to send said dose setpoint of product to at least one controllable valve of a spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles,
* said at least one controllable valve configured to control at least one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles as a function of said product dose setpoint.

The present invention also relates to a computerized method for controlling a distribution circuit of a product for treating a space comprising plants, the distribution circuit being adapted to supply a plurality of spray nozzles mounted on a spray boom moving in the space, each spray nozzle being configured to spray a product under pressure, the method comprising:

* the acquisition, by a detection module, of data on space,

* the implementation, by a digital processing module, of the analysis of the data acquired by the detection module, the analysis including the identification of at least one area to be treated located in the space,

* the determination, by a determination module, of a treatment index of plants located in said at least one zone to be treated,

* the determination, by a control module, of a dose instruction of product to be sprayed on the area to be treated, said dose instruction of product to be sprayed corresponding to a quantity of product to be sprayed gradually adjusted by said control module according to said treatment index,

* the transmission, by said control module, of said product dose instruction to at least one controllable valve of a spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles,
* controlling, by said at least one controllable valve, at least one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles as a function of said product dose setpoint.

The present invention also relates to a computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the method according to the invention.

The present invention also relates to a spraying machine comprising a plurality of spray nozzles mounted on a spray boom, the plurality of spray nozzles being supplied by a distribution circuit of a product for treating a space comprising plants, in which the machine moves in said space, and in which the machine is equipped with a system according to the invention.

Advantageously, an area to be treated is an area of space comprising plants requiring the spraying of a product. For example, such an area to be treated may comprise plants whose development is to be controlled by the spraying of a product. In particular, a product promoting growth may be sprayed for underdeveloped plants, or on the contrary a product stopping the growth of plants, or even eradicating certain plants, may be sprayed.

By “gradually” it is meant that the quantity of product to be sprayed is within a range defined by a minimum product dose and a maximum product dose and may take any value within this range, the quantity of product being determined to be sufficient and necessary for the expected result. Thus, if it is determined that a quantity less than the maximum dose is necessary and sufficient to obtain the expected result on the area to be treated, this quantity will be transmitted to the spray nozzle control valves, and not the maximum quantity.

Thus, unlike the prior art which only allows sending an opening (maximum dose)/closing (minimum dose equal to zero) command to the spray nozzles, the system according to the invention allows gradually adjusting the quantity of product to be sprayed according to the treatment index determined by the analysis of data from the space in which the boom moves. This allows, on the one hand, to precisely modulate the quantity of product to be sprayed so that the expected effects are achieved while saving the total quantity of product since if the area to be treated does not require spraying the maximum dose, the nozzle will be controlled to inject only the necessary and sufficient dose.

Depending on different aspects, it is possible to foresee one and/or the other of the characteristics below taken alone or in combination.

According to one embodiment, the control module is further configured to gradually adjust the dose setting based on a movement of each spray nozzle in the space comprising the area to be treated.

“Movement” means the speed and direction in which the spray nozzles are moving, and possibly their orientation. This configuration is particularly advantageous since it allows for the different speeds of the spray nozzles to be taken into account when they make a turn. Indeed, the spray boom can be large so that the difference between the speeds of the nozzles at the smallest curvature of the turn and the nozzles at the largest curvature of the turn can be significant.

According to one embodiment, the position of the spray nozzles can also be taken into account in order to apply the product to the targeted area to be treated.

In one embodiment, the detection module is configured to acquire data about the space repetitively as the spray boom moves through the space and wherein the digital processing module is configured to repetitively analyze said data repetitively acquired by the detection module, and wherein the determination module is configured to repetitively determine the treatment index, such that the control module is configured to repetitively determine the product dose setpoint and to repetitively transmit to said at least one controllable valve said product dose setpoint.

Advantageously, the acquisition of data, their analysis and the determination of a treatment index are carried out in real time or with a latency time that still allows the dose instruction to be sent to the spray nozzles before or when said spray nozzles are within range of the dose to be treated. This therefore allows the system to determine the areas to be treated and to spray the dose of product as the boom moves, so that it is not necessary for the boom to pass through the space a second time to apply the product. This therefore results in savings in time and resources.

According to one embodiment, the digital processing module is configured to determine a treatment index per spray nozzle and in which the control module is configured to gradually adjust said quantity of product to be sprayed for each of the spray nozzles, independently.

In particular, the product dose setting to be sprayed is adjusted according to the position of each of the spray nozzles relative to the area to be treated. Thus, if certain nozzles are positioned relative to an area to be treated requiring more or less product than another area to be treated, each spray nozzle on the spray boom can receive a different product dose setting from the other spray nozzles. This therefore saves more product to be sprayed.

According to one embodiment, the digital processing module is configured to determine a processing index per nozzle section and wherein the control module is configured to gradually adjust said quantity of product for each spray nozzle section, independently.

A “spray nozzle section” is understood to mean sets of adjacent spray nozzles, i.e. at least two adjacent spray nozzles. Each spray nozzle section receives the same dose setpoint. This configuration is particularly advantageous when nozzle-to-nozzle control is not possible. This may be the case when the configuration does not allow nozzle-to-nozzle control.

According to one embodiment, the treatment index is chosen from one and/or the other of:

- an estimate of the plant biomass in the area to be treated,

- an estimate of nitrogen stress of plants in the area to be treated,

- an estimate of the rate of infestation by weeds in the area to be treated.

Several types of treatment indices can therefore be determined. These different treatment indices are chosen to optimize the yield related to product spraying. Indeed, these treatment indices are sufficient to accurately determine the dose instruction of product to be sprayed which will allow the desired result to be obtained on the area to be treated (growth or eradication of plants, for example).

According to one embodiment, the control module is configured to determine said dose instruction to be sprayed as a function of the treatment index and is included in an interval defined by a minimum dose and a maximum dose.

According to one embodiment, the control module is configured to determine said dose instruction of product to be sprayed by discretizing said quantity of product into at least two values as a function of the treatment index and a minimum dose and a maximum dose.

Several configurations are therefore possible to determine the dose instruction based on the treatment index.

Embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, briefly described below:

schematically represents a control system for a distribution circuit of a product mounted on a machine comprising a spraying tool,

schematically represents the structural elements of the system of the .

In the drawings, like references designate identical or similar objects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There illustrates a spraying tool 1 on a machine 1. The spraying tool 1 comprises a spray boom and a plurality of spray nozzles 3 mounted on the spray boom.

In one configuration, the spray nozzles may be adapted to be independently controlled in dose modulation. Thus, each nozzle of the plurality may be controlled independently of all others.

In another configuration, nozzle sections, i.e., sets of multiple adjacent spray nozzles, are adapted to be controlled independently of other nozzle sections and/or other spray nozzles.

The plurality of spray nozzles 3 are installed on the spray tool 1 which is supplied with a product to be sprayed under pressure.

The spraying tool 1 is either integrated into a machine (E), or towed by a machine, or carried by a machine. The latter may be, in particular, an agricultural tractor, an agricultural self-propelled vehicle, a quad, or a robot for treating agricultural plots, or even a road vehicle, or a rail vehicle in particular for treating uncultivated areas.

At the level of the plurality of spray nozzles 3, the spraying of the product to be sprayed is controlled by a plurality of control valves 6 mounted between the supply line for the product to be sprayed under pressure and the respective nozzle, so as to be able to selectively open each control valve 6 independently of the others, at any desired time, and thus allow the corresponding nozzle to spray the product to be sprayed under pressure.

According to a variant, each of the control valves 6 installed between the supply line for the product to be sprayed under pressure, and the spray nozzles 3 is controlled by pulse width modulation (PWM for “Pulse Width Modulation” in English terminology), available on the market, which allows control of the flow rate applied by the spray nozzle, and therefore of the dose applied per unit of surface on the area to be sprayed 5. This variant finds an advantageous application in allowing adjustment of the dose applied per unit of surface on the surface to be sprayed 5.

According to another variant, the control valves 6 are installed between the pressurized spray product supply line and a spray nozzle section 3, making it possible to control the spraying of all the spray nozzles 3 of a nozzle section simultaneously.

This variant finds an advantageous application in order to reduce the installation cost of the complete system by reducing the number of valves.

The boom (R) carrying the spraying tool 1, or alternatively the machine (E), is equipped with at least one computerized system comprising a detection module 2 whose orientation is adapted to the acquisition of data from the space in which the spraying tool moves.

Advantageously, the data is acquired in the direction of advancement of the spraying tool.

Advantageously, data acquisition is performed repeatedly as the spraying tool advances.

In one configuration, the acquired data are images and the detection module is a camera. According to alternative embodiments, the data may be point clouds, acquired by a Lidar, or radio waves acquired by a Radar.

These examples are not exhaustive.

The system further comprises a digital processing module 8 capable of analyzing the data acquired by the detection module 2, a determination module 7 capable of determining a treatment index on the basis of the analysis carried out by the digital processing module and a control module 9 capable of determining a dose instruction from the treatment index determined by the determination module 7.

More precisely, the digital processing module 8 is capable of identifying areas to be treated in space from the data acquired by the at least one detection module 2.

An area to be treated may for example be defined as comprising target plants whose growth is to be controlled. Growth may be controlled by promoting their growth, by spraying a growth-promoting product, such as a nitrogen fertilizer, or by preventing their growth, or even eradicating them, by spraying a suitable product, such as a herbicide. The area to be treated may also be a crop on which the application of the product is ideally related to the biomass of the crop in the area to be treated. For example, foliar protection products, such as fungicides, may be applied advantageously depending on the biomass of the crop to be protected.

The determination of the processing index by the determination module 7 can be carried out for example by vignetting an image and applying a set of convolution functions, non-linear functions, or matrix calculations on each of the thumbnails using weight matrices determined by a machine learning process, making it possible to determine a processing index for each of the thumbnails. The vignetting operation is, in this example, applied so as to obtain at least one processing index for each spray nozzle 3.

In the event that several treatment indices are obtained for an area to be treated covered by a single spray nozzle 3, a moving average function applied to all of the treatment indices obtained for the area covered by said spray nozzle 3 would make it possible to obtain a single treatment index making it possible to determine the dose instruction to be applied by said spray nozzle 3. Alternatively, any other mathematical function other than the moving average could be used in order to obtain a single treatment index per spray nozzle from all of the treatment indices corresponding to the area to be treated by said nozzle.

Similarly, in the case where several treatment indices are obtained for an area to be treated covered by a spray nozzle section 3, a moving average function applied to all of the treatment indices obtained for the area covered by said spray nozzle section 3 would make it possible to obtain a single treatment index making it possible to determine the dose instruction to be applied by said spray nozzle section 3. Alternatively, any other mathematical function other than the average could be used in order to obtain a single treatment index per spray nozzle section from all of the treatment indices corresponding to the area to be treated of said spray nozzle section.

Document FR1908086, in the name of the applicant, describes such a technique.

In the event that the acquired data are images, said images are defined herein in the broad sense of their definition and may be obtained by various means, in particular by the following means:

– The image used by the detection module 2 can be obtained by a CMOS RGB sensor;

– The image used by the detection module 2 can be obtained by an infrared sensor, in particular in the wavelength range 600 nm to 1000 nm;

– The image and its associated processing by the detection module 2 can be obtained by a CTIS (Computed Tomography Imaging System) optical assembly, as described in particular in document WO2020127422A1;

– The image and its associated processing by the detection module 2 can be obtained by sensor fusion, for example, RGB and/or infrared, in particular in the wavelength range 600 nm to 1000 nm, and/or CTIS (Computed Tomography Imaging System), as described in particular in documents FR3091380A1, and WO2020182840A1 in the name of the applicant.

Alternatively, the detection module 2 may use several images obtained from several acquisition means, as described in one of the documents FR3093614A1, FR3110743A1 and WO2020182840A1 in the name of the applicant. For example, the detection module 2 may use an image obtained by an RGB sensor and another image obtained by an infrared sensor; in this example, the processing applied by said digital processing module will apply to both images so that the determination module 7 determines a processing index.

The processing index can also be calculated repetitively by the determination module 7, as the data is acquired by the detection module 2 and the data is analyzed by the digital processing module 8.

The treatment index determined by the determination module 7 is used by the spray control module 9 in order to send a dose instruction to at least one controllable valve associated with at least one spray nozzle. The doses applied per unit area of the spray nozzles 3 can therefore be controlled independently of each other.

More specifically, the dose to be sprayed on the area to be treated is determined by taking into account the kinematics of the spraying tool, and more particularly its movement, i.e. its speed and direction. For this purpose, the determination module 7 sends to the spraying control device 9 the data enabling the latter to determine the dose instruction to be applied, including in particular the treatment index, on each of the spraying nozzles 2 as well as the time of application of these doses, depending on the movement of the spraying tool. Document FR1873313, in the name of the applicant, describes such a configuration.

According to one variant, the dose instruction is transmitted and applied by nozzle sections, where a nozzle section comprises at least two adjacent nozzles controlled together. In this variant, the dose to be applied to the plurality of spray nozzles 3 of the nozzle section is an average or a mathematical function of the doses to be applied to each of the spray nozzles of the assembly consisting of the plurality of spray nozzles. This variant finds an advantageous application when said spraying tool 1 is not adapted to be controlled nozzle by nozzle, but by nozzle section.

The treatment index is determined proportionally to the biomass of the target plants. For example, the treatment index is a standardized value per unit area proportional to the estimated biomass of one or more families or one or more plant species. This achievement finds an advantageous application in the application of phytosanitary products with a foliar effect, for example a contact herbicide, or a fungicide which will be dosed proportionally to the leaf volume present.

According to one variant, the treatment index is a standardized value per unit area proportional to the nitrogen stress of the target plants. This variant finds an advantageous application in the application of nitrogen produced in an agricultural plot in particular.

According to another variant, the treatment index is a standardized value per unit area proportional to an infestation rate of target plants. For example, the treatment index is a value proportional to the biomass rate of one or more plant families over the total biomass rate in the area concerned. This achievement finds an advantageous application in particular in the herbicide treatment of weeds in a grass crop for example.

According to one embodiment, the dose of phytosanitary product calculated and to be applied to each of the nozzles is a dose depending on the treatment index between a minimum dose and a maximum dose calculated according to the formula:

dose = f(idx * (Dmax – Dmin)) + Dmin,

where dose is the dose to be applied to the nozzle per unit area, idx corresponds to the treatment index, Dmax corresponds to the maximum dose to be applied per unit area, Dmin, the minimum dose, potentially equal to 0, to be applied per unit area and f a recommendation function for transforming a treatment index into a dose to be applied, this function taking into account the effects of the product to be sprayed on the target plants. This embodiment finds an advantageous application by applying a dose of plant protection product taking into account the biochemical threshold effects that the product to be sprayed may have on the target plants.

The function f is potentially a linear function, allowing the application of a dose proportional to the treatment index between the minimum dose Dmin and the maximum dose Dmax.

According to one variant, the calculated product dose to be applied to each of the spray nozzles 3 is discretized into at least two dose levels according to the formula:

discretized_dose = nblevels * rounded(dose / nblevels),

where discretized_dose is the dose used for nozzle control, nbniveaux is the number of dose levels, greater than 1, that we want to use, and dose is the dose calculated by one of the two previous variants.

The calculated dose, discretized or not depending on the chosen implementation variant, is transmitted to the spray control device 9 in order to be applied to the control valve 6 of the spray nozzle 3 concerned by the treatment index used for the calculation of the calculated dose.

In the configurations described above, the dose setpoint is gradually adjusted. Thus, the dose setpoint of the product to be sprayed is not binary, i.e. “all” (the maximum dose) or “nothing” (the minimum dose equal to zero), but can instead take any value within the interval defined by the maximum dose and the minimum dose. The dose setpoint is calculated to be necessary and sufficient for the desired result, i.e. the growth or stopping of growth, or even the eradication, of the target plants in the area to be treated.

The present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described and shown in this document, and those skilled in the art will be able to make numerous variations and modifications thereto. In particular:

– The spray nozzles 3 can operate in different directions and/or with different spray geometries;

– The spray nozzles 3 located near the ends of the boom (R) may be special to meet current standards, and may be automatically cut off by one of the machine’s devices, particularly when the machine (E) is moving near watercourses.

– The proportionally controlled control valves 6 can be produced with any suitable technology, being integrated into the spray nozzles 3, or being separate from them;

– The determination of the treatment index can be carried out with any appropriate technology allowing it to be determined for at least each of the nozzles or plurality of nozzles;

– The configuration of the invention can be adapted to vertical spraying, by means of a spraying tool 1 arranged vertically in order to apply a product to be sprayed on a trellised canopy, in particular in the cultivation of vines or trellised arboriculture.

The present invention applies in agriculture as well as in any field where it may be necessary to treat plants, in particular in the treatment of urban areas, in the field of transport, urban planning or the treatment of sports lawns.

The methods described above may be implemented by one or more processors of a computer or programmable machine that executes a computer program.

The present invention also relates to a machine, in particular an agricultural spraying machine, equipped with a device according to one of the preceding variants.

Claims (10)

Computerized system for controlling a distribution circuit of a product for treating a space comprising plants, the distribution circuit being adapted to supply a plurality of spray nozzles (3) mounted on a spray ramp moving in the space, each spray nozzle (3) being configured to spray a product under pressure, the system comprising:
* at least one detection module (2) configured to acquire data on space,
* a digital processing module (8) configured to analyze the data acquired by the detection module, the analysis comprising the identification of at least one area to be treated located in the space,
* a determination module (7) configured to determine a treatment index of plants located in said at least one area to be treated,
* a control module (9) configured to determine a dose setpoint of product to be sprayed on the area to be treated, said dose setpoint of product to be sprayed corresponding to a quantity of product to be sprayed gradually adjusted by said control module (9) according to said treatment index, and to send said dose setpoint of product to at least one controllable valve,
* said at least one controllable valve configured to control at least one spray nozzle (3) of the plurality of spray nozzles (3) as a function of said product dose setpoint. The system of claim 1, wherein the control module (9) is further configured to gradually adjust the dose setpoint based on a movement of each spray nozzle (3) in the space comprising the area to be treated. System according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the detection module (2) is configured to acquire data on the space repetitively as the spray boom moves in the space, wherein the digital processing module (8) is configured to repetitively analyze said data repetitively acquired by the detection module (2), and wherein the determination module (7) is configured to repetitively determine the treatment index, so that the control module (9) is configured to repetitively determine the product dose setpoint and to repetitively transmit to said at least one controllable valve said product dose setpoint. System according to one of claims 1 to 3, in which the determination module (7) is configured to determine a treatment index per spray nozzle (3) and in which the control module (9) is configured to gradually adjust said quantity of product to be sprayed for each of the spray nozzles (3), independently. System according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which the determination module (7) is configured to determine a treatment index per section of spray nozzles (3) and in which the control module (9) is configured to gradually adjust said quantity of product for each section of spray nozzles (3), independently. System according to one of claims 1 to 5, in which the processing index is chosen from one and/or the other of:
- an estimate of the plant biomass in the area to be treated,
- an estimate of nitrogen stress of plants in the area to be treated,
- an estimate of the rate of infestation by weeds in the area to be treated. System according to one of claims 1 to 6, in which the control module (9) is configured to determine said dose setpoint to be sprayed as a function of the treatment index, said dose setpoint being included in a defined interval between a minimum dose and a maximum dose, and/or in which the control module (9) is configured to determine said dose setpoint of product to be sprayed by discretizing said dose setpoint into at least two values as a function of the treatment index and a minimum dose and a maximum dose. Computerized method for controlling a distribution circuit of a product for treating a space comprising plants, the distribution circuit being adapted to supply a plurality of spray nozzles (3) mounted on a spray ramp moving in the space, each spray nozzle (3) being configured to spray a product under pressure, the method comprising:
* the acquisition, by a detection module (2), of data on space,
* the implementation, by a digital processing module (8), of the analysis of the data acquired by the detection module (2), the analysis comprising the identification of at least one area to be treated located in the space,
* the determination, by a determination module (7), of a treatment index of plants located in said at least one zone to be treated
* the determination, by a control module (9), of a dose instruction of product to be sprayed on the area to be treated, said dose instruction of product to be sprayed corresponding to a quantity of product to be sprayed gradually adjusted by said control module (9) as a function of said treatment index,
* the transmission, by said control module (9), of said product dose instruction to at least one controllable valve of a spray nozzle (3) of the plurality of spray nozzles,
* controlling, by said at least one controllable valve, at least one spray nozzle (3) of the plurality of spray nozzles (3) as a function of said product dose setpoint. A computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the method of claim 8 when the program is executed on a computer. Spraying machine (E) comprising a plurality of spray nozzles (3) mounted on a spray boom, the plurality of spray nozzles (3) being supplied by a distribution circuit of a product for treating a space comprising plants, in which the machine (E) moves in said space, and in which the machine is equipped with a system according to one of claims 1 to 7.