Field Scanalyzer
AUTOMATED OUTDOOR PHENOTYPING
The Field Scanalyzer Gantry System is a 3-axis sensor-to-plant phenotyping system. The design and construction bases on an industrial portal crane system. The x-axis is guided along a rail system underpinned by concrete piles driven into the ground so as to allow natural drainage and no impediments as traditional concrete footings may act as flow barriers. In x-direction, length is only limited by the cabling requirements; one of our customer installations reaches 500 m length. The y axis is orthogonal to the rails and bears the lifting unit for the container with the sensing equipment. In y-direction customised width, e.g. 10 m, 20 m or 30 m is possible to span over a given growth area. The z axis serves to lift up and down the container with the sensor equipment.
This setup will allow a precise movement of all 3 axes throughout the year. The sensor box can reach each point of the measuring area in pre-defined schedules with repeatable high precision in the sub-centimetre range.
The system carries a sensor box for phenotyping sensors and environmental sensors. Any of the camera system will be housed in a separate weather sealed housing and mounted on a flexible and adjustable platform within the imaging box. The total payload of the camera box can reach up to 500 kg allowing full flexibility for future adjustments and expansions of the sensor platform. The weather shielding of the sensor box protects the electronic equipment during harsh weather. This comprises a roller door at the down facing side of the platform to fully protect the sensors while not in use.
Having environmental sensors on board, the Field Scanalyzer records climatic data during all phenotypic measurements so that users find phenotype and environment data linked in the database.
The Field Scanalyzer Sensor Box can harbour the following sensor systems:
| Field Scanalyzer Sensor to Plant - sensor options | |
|---|---|
| Visible-light (VIS) Camera Module | Size, count, colour, morphology, texture, movement |
| Near infrared (NIR) Camera Module | Reflectance in the water band at 1450 nm |
| Chlorophyll Fluorescence Kinetics Module | Fluorescence induction imaging, chlorophyll status and activity |
| Hyperspectral Imaging Module | Spectrally resolved reflectance |
| Multispectral Imaging Module | Reflectance at a series of distinct wavelengths |
| Infrared (IR) Camera Module | Thermal radiation in the range of 7500 - 13000 nm |
| 3D Laser Scanning Module | 3D point cloud, height and angle |
| Sensors for weather and environmental conditions | Temperature, light, air humidity, CO2 |
LemnaTec Product Matrix
LemnaTec offers imaging and image processing technologies for several applications that suit for low to high throughput in laboratory, greenhouse or outdoor environments. Technologies are adapted to various sample types and can be combined with automation. All imaging systems are combined with dedicated image processing software, including user-programmable functions and machine learning.
References
Sadeghi-Tehran P, Sabermanesh K, Virlet N, Hawkesford MJ (2017) Automated Method to Determine Two Critical Growth Stages of Wheat: Heading and Flowering. Front. Plant Sci. 8:252. http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2017.00252/full
Sadeghi-Tehran P, Virlet N, Sabermanesh K, Hawkesford MJ (2017) Multi-feature machine learning model for automatic segmentation of green fractional vegetation cover for high-throughput field phenotyping. Plant methods 13:422
Virlet N, Sabermanesh K, Sadeghi-Tehran P, Hawkesford MJ (2017) Field Scanalyzer: An automated robotic field phenotyping platform for detailed crop monitoring. Functional Plant Biology 44:143