Computer Science and Engineering, Department of

 

ORCID IDs

Detweiler 0000-0002-6369-4009

Elbaum 0000-0001-9592-1352

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2018

Citation

United States patent No. US 9,969,492 B2

Appl. No.: 15/25,441

Comments

United States government work

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be configured for crop height estimation. In some examples, the UAV includes an aerial propulsion system, a laser scanner configured to face downwards while the UAV is in flight, and a control system. The laser scanner is configured to scan through a two-dimensional scan angle and is characterized by a maxi mum range. The control system causes the UAV to fly over an agricultural field and maintain, using the aerial propulsion system and the laser scanner, a distance between the UAV and a top of crops in the agricultural field to within a programmed range of distances based on the maximum range of the laser scanner. The control system determines, using range data from the laser scanner, a crop height from the top of the crops to the ground.

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