Automatic plant pest detection and recognition using k-means clustering algorithm and correspondence filters

Plant pest recognition and detection is vital for food security, quality of life and a stable agricultural economy. This research demonstrates the combination of the k-means clustering algorithm and the correspondence filter to achieve pest detection and recognition. The detection of the dataset is achieved by partitioning the data space into Voronoi cells, which tends to find clusters of comparable spatial extents, thereby separating the objects (pests) from the background (pest habitat). The detection is established by extracting the variant distinctive attributes between the pest and its habitat (leaf, stem) and using the correspondence filter to identify the plant pests to obtain correlation peak values for different datasets. This work further establishes that the recognition probability from the pest image is directly proportional to the height of the output signal and inversely proportional to the viewing angles, which further confirmed that the recognition of plant pests is a function of their position and viewing angle. It is encouraging to note that the correspondence filter can achieve rotational invariance of pests up to angles of 360 degrees, which proves the effectiveness of the algorithm for the detection and recognition of plant pests

Experimental design and construction of an enhanced solar battery charger

A Solar Battery Charger circuit is designed, built and tested. It acts as a control circuit to monitor and regulate the process of charging several batteries ranging from 4 volts to 12 volts, using a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel as the input source for the battery charging process. The circuit is economical and can be easily constructed from discrete electronic components. The circuit operation is based on matching the solar panel terminal load voltage to the input terminal of the charging circuit and the appropriate number of battery cell units to be charged to the output circuit through the use of a current limited voltage regulator, allowing fast charging while limiting heat build-up and gassing and a rotary switch for easy selection of the appropriate voltage depending on the solar light intensity. Experimental results indicate that there is an increase of the overall charging current when fully charging an empty: mobile phone battery and a 6v rechargeable lamp for 4 hours using direct charging between 10.00am to 4.00pm. The success of this device will bridge the gap of power failure that often occur within the hours of the day between 10.00am to 4.00pm, especially in rural communities