Case_Study_1_plant_height_corn_Raw_Image_Data_3_of_10

Case_Study_1_plant_height_corn_Raw_Image_Data_3_of_1

Generalization of the integration of teams and responsibilities in the TAMU-UAS project.

<p>Field researchers are end users and primarily involved in experimental design and ground-truthing data. Aerospace and mechanical engineers, and ecosystem scientists are primarily involved in raw UAS data collection. Geospatial scientists serve as a clearinghouse for the UAS data and also perform mosaicking—the stitching together of many small images to build one ortho-rectified and radiometrically seamless large image. Agricultural engineers are the nexus of the project, turning the UAS data into actionable results for the end users. The administration team provides and manages funds, facilitates meetings, and coordinates communications and initiatives.</p

NDVI map generated from multispectral data collected with the Sentek sensor onboard the Anaconda fixed wing UAV platform.

<p>NDVI map generated from multispectral data collected with the Sentek sensor onboard the Anaconda fixed wing UAV platform.</p

Comparison of different types of UAV platforms.

<p>Comparison of different types of UAV platforms.</p

Sensors carried by the UAVs used in this study.

<p>(A) Sentek GEMS multispectral camera carried by the Anaconda fixed-wing UAV. (B) Nikon J3 digital camera (left) and modified multispectral camera (right) carried by the Lancaster fixed-wing UAV. (C) DJI P3-005 4K camera carried by the X88 octocopter.</p

Relationship between flight and sensor parameters used to determine optimal flight and sensor configurations before flights (use Anaconda fixed-wing and Sentek multispectral camera as an example here).

<p>(A) GSD and flying altitude AGL under a fixed sensor FOV (26.31° vertically). (B) Image overlap and UAV ground speed under a fixed flying altitude (120 m) and a fixed sensor frame rate (1.4 s/frame).</p

Scale of the field breeding and agronomic research programs at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research’s Brazos Bottom research farm in College Station, summer 2015.

<p>Scale of the field breeding and agronomic research programs at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research’s Brazos Bottom research farm in College Station, summer 2015.</p

Experiment site—Brazos Bottom research farm.

<p>It was divided into route-packs (eight larger polygons in yellow) to be covered efficiently across different PI’s fields during an individual flight by fixed-wing UAVs. An individual flight of the multi-rotor UAV was based on a single field from a single researcher marked by smaller black polygons in the figure.</p

Specifications and configurations of the three UAVs used in this study.

<p>Specifications and configurations of the three UAVs used in this study.</p

Results of soil and plant interaction study.

<p>(A) Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) map thresholded to remove bare soil. (B) Apparent electrical conductivity (EC_a) map of the soil. (C) Correlation between NDVI and seed cotton yield at late growth stage. (D) Correlation between thresholded NDVI and seed cotton yield.</p