Search Results (7)

In response to the situation in the Huanghuai region, where corn fertilization and pesticide application primarily rely on manual methods such as hand broadcasting fertilizer and using manual backpack sprayers, resulting in low levels of mechanization, this study designed an electric integrated work vehicle in line with the trend of developing new energy. The vehicle is powered by six 12 V, 100 Ah lead-acid batteries and integrates the functions of fertilization and pesticide spraying. It can achieve precise hole-fertilization, applying fertilizer to a depth of 100 to 150 mm near the roots of corn, and can also perform multi-row pesticide spraying. The vehicle’s electronic control system is divided into two functional areas: 220 V and 24 V. The walking system uses a 220 V, 2 kW AC servo motor, which is driven by converting the voltage of the 72 V battery group into a 220 V sine wave AC through an inverter, and the motor speed can be adjusted. The working width is adjusted by two fixed electric cylinders at the top of the rear wheel frame. The user can preset the width through the control panel, and during operation, the electric cylinders can be automatically controlled to the optimal working width via a whisker-type limit switch. Analysis using ADAMS software shows that when the vehicle speed is 2, 3, and 5 km per hour, the opening angles of the duckbill controller are 66°, 58°, and 48°, respectively, indicating that the higher the speed, the smaller the opening angle. This shortens the fertilization interval time and makes the fertilization spacing more stable. The maximum opening angle of the adjacent duckbill is 25°, indicating that the fertilization amount remains stable. When the vehicle is moving in reverse, the duckbill always remains closed, and at different speeds, the opening angle change curve of the duckbill controller is smooth and regular. This vehicle significantly improves the efficiency and precision of corn planting. However, improvements are still needed in battery technology, control system optimization, and the high cost of electric agricultural machinery to promote the widespread application of agricultural mechanization. Full article

Backpack computers require powerful, intelligent computing capabilities for field wearables while taking energy consumption into careful consideration. A recommended solution for this demand is the CPU + NPU-based SoC. In many wearable intelligence applications, the Fourier Transform is an essential, computationally intensive preprocessing task. However, due to the unique structure of the NPU, the conventional Fourier Transform algorithms cannot be applied directly to it. This paper proposes two NPU-accelerated Fourier Transform algorithms that leverage the unique hardware structure of the NPU and provides three implementations of those algorithms, namely MM-2DFT, MV-2FFTm, and MV-2FFTv. Then, we benchmarked the speed and energy efficiency of our algorithms for the gray image edge filtering task on the Huawei Atlas200I-DK-A2 development kits against the Cooley-Tukey algorithm running on CPU and GPU platforms. The experiment results reveal MM-2DFT outperforms OpenCL-based FFT on NVIDIA Tegra X2 GPU for small input sizes, with a 4- to 8-time speedup. As the input image resolution exceeds 2048, MV-2FFTv approaches GPU computation speed. Additionally, two scenarios were tested and analyzed for energy efficiency, revealing that cube units of the NPU are more energy efficient. The vector and CPU units are better suited for sparse matrix multiplication and small-scale inputs, respectively. Full article

Forest inventory has been relying on labor-intensive manual measurements. Using remote sensing modalities for forest inventory has gained increasing attention in the last few decades. However, tools for deriving accurate tree-level metrics are limited. This paper investigates the feasibility of using LiDAR units onboard uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and Backpack mobile mapping systems (MMSs) equipped with an integrated Global Navigation Satellite System/Inertial Navigation System (GNSS/INS) to provide high-quality point clouds for accurate, fine-resolution forest inventory. To improve the quality of the acquired point clouds, a system-driven strategy for mounting parameters estimation and trajectory enhancement using terrain patches and tree trunks is proposed. By minimizing observed discrepancies among conjugate features captured at different timestamps from multiple tracks by single/multiple systems, while considering the absolute and relative positional/rotational information provided by the GNSS/INS trajectory, system calibration parameters and trajectory information can be refined. Furthermore, some forest inventory metrics, such as tree trunk radius and orientation, are derived in the process. To evaluate the performance of the proposed strategy, three UAV and two Backpack datasets covering young and mature plantations were used in this study. Through sequential system calibration and trajectory enhancement, the spatial accuracy of the UAV point clouds improved from 20 cm to 5 cm. For the Backpack datasets, when the initial trajectory was of reasonable quality, conducting trajectory enhancement significantly improved the relative alignment of the point cloud from 30 cm to 3 cm, and an absolute accuracy at the 10 cm level can be achieved. For a lower-quality trajectory, the initial 1 m misalignment of the Backpack point cloud was reduced to 6 cm through trajectory enhancement. However, to derive products with accurate absolute accuracy, UAV point cloud is required as a reference in the trajectory enhancement process of the Backpack dataset. Full article

Stability in time of major and important objectives is vital and can be achieved by 3D scanners which follow changes in time with construction, respective of the natural or artificial hydrotechnical dams and the obtaining of 3D data in real time with the possibility of evaluating and making quick decisions. This scientific paper approaches a research topic of great importance and actuality in the field of Civil Engineering, Hydrotechnics, and Geomatics using the 3D scanning technologies for the hydrotechnical arrangements (Topolovăţu Mic, Coșteiu and Sânmartinu Maghiar) and hydroameliorative (Cruceni Pumping Station). In Romania, data collection was carried out for the first time using the mobile scanning technology (MMS), “Backpack” type, namely, Leica Pegasus Backpack. Data collection using terrestrial laser scanning technology (Terrestrial Laser Scanning) was carried out with the Leica C10 equipment. The processing of point clouds was carried out using the Inertial Explorer program, and the processing of point clouds was carried out with the Cyclone program. The collection of ground checkpoints used for checking, correcting, and analyzing point clouds was carried out using the GPS Leica GS08 equipment. Compared with traditional methods using classical measuring instruments, precise data was obtained (with an error of 2–4 cm) through 3D laser scanning technology in a short time and with multiple possibilities of processing and visualizing point clouds. Full article

The miniaturization and usability of radiation detectors make it increasingly possible to use mobile instruments to detect and monitor gamma radiations. Here, a Bluetooth-based mobile detection system for integrated interaction in a backpack was designed and implemented to smart equipment for the detection of radioactive cesium on contaminated soil. The radiation measurement system was demonstrated in the form of a backpack using a quantum dot (QD)-loaded plastic scintillator manufactured and prepared directly in this study, and it can be measured by a person in the wireless framework of integrated interaction. The QD-loaded plastic scintillator was measured after setting the distance from the contaminated soil to 20, 50, and 100 mm. As a result, the detection efficiency of the commercial plastic scintillator (EJ-200) was calculated to be 11.81% and that of the QD-loaded plastic scintillator was 15.22%, which proved the higher detection efficiency performance than the commercial plastic scintillator. The measurement result was transmitted to a personal computer using Bluetooth as a portable system. In the future, this wireless system design could be expanded as a wireless communication system equipped with a global positioning system to detect and measure radioactively contaminated environments. Full article

In this study, a backpack-mounted 3D mobile scanning system and a fixed-wing drone (UAV) have been used to register terrain data on the same space. The study area is part of the ancient underground cellars in the Duero Basin. The aim of this work is to characterise the state of the roofs of these wine cellars by obtaining digital surface models (DSM) using the previously mentioned systems to detect any possible cases of collapse, using four geomatic products obtained with these systems. The results obtained from the process offer sufficient quality to generate valid DSMs in the study area or in a similar area. One limitation of the DSMs generated by backpack MMS is that the outcome depends on the distance of the points to the axis of the track and on the irregularities in the terrain. Specific parameters have been studied, such as the measuring distance from the scanning point in the laser scanner, the angle of incidence with regard to the ground, the surface vegetation, and any irregularities in the terrain. The registration speed and the high definition of the terrain offered by these systems produce a model that can be used to select the correct conservation priorities for this unique space. Full article

Satellite remote sensing has been used effectively to estimate flood inundation extents in large river basins. In the case of flash floods in mountainous catchments, however, it is difficult to use remote sensing information. To compensate for this situation, detailed rainfall–runoff and flood inundation models have been utilized. Regardless of the recent technological advances in simulations, there has been a significant lack of data for validating such models, particularly with respect to local flood inundation depths. To estimate flood inundation depths, this study proposes using a backpack-mounted mobile mapping system (MMS) for post-flood surveys. Our case study in Northern Kyushu Island, which was affected by devastating flash floods in July 2017, suggests that the MMS can be used to estimate the inundation depth with an accuracy of 0.14 m. Furthermore, the landform change due to deposition of sediments could be estimated by the MMS survey. By taking into consideration the change of topography, the rainfall–runoff–inundation (RRI) model could reasonably reproduce the flood inundation compared with the MMS measurements. Overall, this study demonstrates the effective application of the MMS and RRI model for flash flood analysis in mountainous river catchments. Full article