- Vertical scanning LiDAR
, GPS and a laptop PC are mounted on a
small tractor
which moves at a constant speed
(c 0.5 m/s) through the orchard. The sequential output from the LiDAR and GPS are recorded
and processed by the PC using
LidarAssistant
software which runs
under Microsoft Windows XP or Vista or 7 operating systems.
- Typically the LiDAR is set-up to scan vertically from -90 to 90 degrees
relative to the horizontal with an angular resolution of 0.5 degrees and a range
resolution of 1 cm. This gives 361 range vector measurements per scan at a rate
of 37.5 scans per second.
- LidarAssistant produces operator feed-back information in the form of a colour rendered
range-map of the tree-row
and this is reduced to a
2-D distribution of interception probability
to represent the tree-row cross-section.
The data is further reduced to the classical summary parameters of tree-row structure
(i.e. height, width and area-density).
- LiDAR measurements are a key input to the development of new
dose adjustment webpages
and other support systems for
efficient dosage of orchard spraying products.
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The system operating in an orchard of low-density pear trees
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