EP3544418A1

EP3544418A1 - Method and device for treating grounds and weed killing device

Info

Publication number: EP3544418A1
Application number: EP17835796.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Matthias Eberius; Sergio DE ANDRADE COUTINHO FILHO; Dirk Vandenhirtz
Original assignee: Zasso GmbH
Current assignee: Zasso GmbH
Priority date: 2016-11-28
Filing date: 2017-11-28
Publication date: 2019-10-02
Also published as: CA3046400A1; DE112017006004A5; WO2018095451A1; US20200383313A1; WO2018095451A8; AU2017366641A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method in which data relating to the weed growth is repeatedly determined whilst weeds are killed on grounds using high voltage and optionally other techniques, a prognosis relating to the weed growth is calculated therefrom using a computer, and at least one parameter for a future treatment is calculated and is used for optimizing the treatment.

Description

Method and device for the care of soil surfaces and weed killing device

[01] The invention relates to a method and a device for the care of soil surfaces and a weed killing device, in particular a weed control device. Since one can not destroy the entire plant population usually completely, but only under control, weed control device is the more exact designation.

[02] In particular, cities and communities have less and less money to clear weeds in the cities. At the same time, the tightening of environmental legislation means that virtually no longer-acting herbicides will be available, as there is an absolute ban on spraying hard surfaces (eg traffic areas) and it is difficult to obtain exemptions.

[03] For the reasons mentioned above, more and more cities are moving from the often purely theoretical theory of zero tolerance for weeds in the public sector to systematic levels of decoction. Different guidelines are defined for different areas in order to determine how much spontaneous vegetation in number and size is to be planned in a certain area. Only when crossing the Leitbildgrenzen should be intervened. However, this acceptance of plant growth leads to several problems to be solved, so that safety questions can be answered clearly, the preservation of the planned state is economically efficient and the number of citizens' complaints can be systematically kept within limits.

[04] The same questions arise in the area of integrated management on agricultural and non-agricultural land, such as For example, in traffic and commercial areas or in viticulture and orchards, where spontaneous vegetation a gradual competition for water and

Confirmation copy | Nutrients for the desired plants and a disease risk or z. B. may constitute an access barrier or accident risk. It has been found that the demands placed on the processing of traffic areas in the city are very similar to those required for the processing of vineyards and orchards. Weeds need to be processed regularly - but not all weeds need to be removed. It is necessary to comply with the mission statement limits smart. This results in the following problems:

[05] All areas potentially affected by weeds must be efficiently recorded so that they can be usefully cultivated. Each area must best be assigned a specific care classification without complex local appointments. Since the logistics planning for the care must be created only targeted and no longer in stock with the zero tolerance goal, a change from appointment (inspection / inspection every x weeks) to demand orientation is necessary, so that the nursing goals are kept. [06] The need for weed management is heavily dependent on weather and local growth conditions. However, these can also be in a city or z. As a more profiled mountain area because of a variety of influencing factors vary greatly and are therefore much worse predictable by larger precipitation or temperature measurements than in area agriculture. [07] On the basis of real observations, it is virtually impossible to create a meaningful demand plan for the treatment of all urban areas, as they would have to be permanently monitored. The need for multi-day advance planning and the naturally limited number of caregivers and care vehicles makes it extremely difficult to schedule care plans. In addition, the division of urban areas into different care zones leads to an increasing segmentation of care requirements, which makes route planning on the basis of simple habit practically impossible. [08] Another serious, if not the most important, new biological dynamics arises from the different levels of acceptance of more or higher weeds. Since many weeds are allowed to grow higher / longer undisturbed in many places and in the case of open soil this should not be moved as far as possible, they have better chances to save energy reserves in root organs. This does not change even if occasionally the leaves are removed superficially by mechanical or thermal methods. Rebuilding can be faster due to energy reserves, and the rate of growth is much more dependent on temperature and humidity. Therefore, the rate of recovery depends much more on the individual plants and their history (when and how often treated with which methods), depending on whether and to what extent the plants had the opportunity to store energy in the long term.

The previous scheme from the age of chemical crop protection, in which almost every treated and mostly small plant was dead after treatment, and then always a completely new seed growth process began, is replaced by an inhomogeneous management of existing plants. The use of different mechanical and physical removal processes with different duration of action makes a prediction in root weeds in addition difficult because z. For example, electrical removal techniques can severely attack the storage roots while mechanical and thermal surface treatments leave the roots intact.

The use of new (like) substructures and joint fillings of hard surfaces and various types of soil can significantly affect the recovery, without the logistical weed removal has a reasonable opportunity to recognize these factors all and appropriate without special technical solutions. [1 1] The quality criteria for acceptable weed levels must be translated into a technically / sensorially evaluable language and regulation. This is the only way to ensure that the cleaning and measuring vehicles measure usable quantitative information. Only in this way can it be determined that the cleaning took place at a time that was within specification or too late weed control. This is absolutely necessary for the quality assurance of the specified weed management goals.

[12] Since thermal and mechanical processes have proved to be only partially suitable solutions for weed management in many cases, and many areas have become overgrown due to a lack of care (plants have accumulated large underground energy stores), it is very important to find a non-chemical process which also has a massive effect on root weeds in hard surface areas and on traffic areas.

[13] The resulting object is achieved by a method having the features of patent claim 1. Advantageous developments are the subject of the dependent claims. The solution system consists of a number of individual features that individually and in combination of several features achieve the goal described. With significantly reduced care costs in a differentiated care landscape, this leads to a state-of-the-art care condition even under changing weather conditions and evolving measures of differentiated management of spontaneous vegetation.

[14] Soil areas are different soil areas in the agricultural and non-agricultural sector that are treated with weed-killing equipment. During the shutdown or during the treatment, data about the weed growth can be recorded by various devices and forwarded to a computer in order to be used there for the self-learning optimization and updating of a prognosis. [15] These are particularly factors influencing the growth of weeds in the area of the floor areas, which can be recorded with the aid of various devices and loaded into a computer and stored in the computer. This allows soil information and weed to be destroyed from the computer to the weed control or weed control device to select and optimize the weed control inputs and methods. The calculator makes it possible to create a weed development forecast and to create a plan for the future treatment of the soil surfaces. [16] In particular, if data on the weed killing process itself is forwarded to a computer during shutdown, this data may be used to quantify and classify the current and forecast for the local and temporal soil or weed conditions, billing for equipment and treatment costs , the control of robotic control equipment or the system control are used.

[17] An advantageous device has at least one of the following elements:

- a GIS-based database with dynamic predictive capability of weed development,

- Efficiently used sensor systems that deliver data without additional effort during weed control,

- highly efficient weed management devices for the electrophysical control of weeds with pulsating, high-frequency high voltage, which carry the necessary basic equipment of the sensors and also provide site-specific process data. [18] The device and the method are suitable for the management of areas, in particular of public traffic areas but also of private transport. areas, parks, cemeteries, infrastructure areas and buildings, roofed roofs, recreational areas, nature and landscape conservation areas, permanent crops such as wine and orchards etc.

[19] The database may be algorithmically capable of predicting weed growth from newly acquired and historical data, thereby assessing both the actual state at a time when the areas are not yet busy and a usable course for the next days and weeks to predict. In particular, the database can be supplied with real weed data in particular by the electrophysical weed control units, which leads to a continuous increase in the predictability even for areas that are currently neither achieved with sensor technology nor processed by electrophysical methods (self-learning systems). On this database, the use of large-scale equipment, as well as the use of all other unkautmanagement measures can be planned logistically. The other devices are any type of equipment for cleaning, monitoring and weed removal from carried small device on radgebundene but personally-controlled devices to complete vehicles with drivers but also autonomously moving units regardless of the treatment methods used there and their (not necessarily existing) sensors. The determined sensor and process data but also the input data (type, method, etc.) of the networked or not only for the detection of the work area sensors, in combination with known weather conditions (and weather forecasts) and one by physical / biological or pure empirical growth models are used as part of the process. As a result, the forecasting model can estimate or simulate the current state of growth of spontaneous vegetation for individual areas without further measurement, and also predict the future for a limited period of time. By comparing the simulation model with the planned Nursing state and the availability of nurses and nursing technology can then be created a dynamic self-learning work tool for logistical control, which supports the responsible fleet manager efficiently in decision-making and route planning. Where high voltage is not applicable, especially in the field of fences, metal covers, etc., it is also independent of the aforementioned features of the method advantageous if the waste heat of a vehicle drive or a device for generating high voltage (exhaust, cooling water , Process heat) is used to produce hot water or steam. The object underlying the invention is also achieved by using a device which has a high-voltage device for the weed killing for weakening and destroying the weeds and moreover further device for weed control or for weed removal from a worn area. [24] The other device may serve for treatment with chemical agents or be a mechanical device. It is advantageous as a further device, a device that uses the waste heat such as exhaust gas, cooling water or process heat of a vehicle drive or a device for generating high voltage for generating hot water or steam to combat weeds. For example, from sweeping machines, walking street cleaning forces, flying objects, transport and delivery vehicles but also manually guided small vehicles or worn sensor systems such as mobile phones whose primary task is not to destroy weeds to use data, it is proposed that Localized and time-dated data on the weed vegetation are determined and forwarded to the computer to different weed killing devices or mobile systems. This makes it possible to provide further data even with such sensor or input devices. [26] A GIS system, powered by measurement data from weed control units and other equipment, uses empirical and model-based algorithms to make an actual state estimation and prognosis for weed development, comparing it to given weed management goals, and accordingly proposing optimized control logistics.

[27] All vehicles used for maintenance are at least equipped with GPS and feed the data, when, where and with which methods the spontaneous vegetation was removed as weeds automatically or after manual initialization into the GIS system. [28] Manual cleaning can also be entered manually in method, time period and area extent, unless this is done automatically by the devices. In particular, a partially or fully automated communication transmission and localization of the equipment via mobile communications applications is part of the process. For this purpose, weed-cleaning machines are equipped with mobile radio units or interfaces to commercial mobile telephone units that are equipped with a data filter to comply with labor and data protection regulations in order to only record and forward data that is legally permissible.

[29] The vehicles used for the electrophysical weed removal preferably have a sensor system that specifically targets the state of spontaneous vegetation before removal. The actual values thus determined are the basis for the fact that model calculations involving weather and location data (for example, shading model, temperature day model or purely empirical growth factors) are constantly adapted to reality and the predictive certainty of the self-learning system is increased.

[30] The vehicles used are preferably but not exclusively the treatment vehicles that undergo electrophysical treatment allow the plants. But other larger z. B. mechanical or thermal treatment units may be equipped with sensors or process-based information loggers. Also not primary weed-removing devices such as sweepers or delivery and service vehicles, in particular electrically powered vehicles, can be sensibly equipped with sensors.

[31] The sensor can u.a. but not exclusively consist of the following types of sensors: green detection, fluorescence measurements, height profile determination, photographic images for species identification, image recordings to document special circumstances, active multicolor sensors for determining spectral ratios, multi and hyperspectral cameras, etc ..

[32] The vehicles used also forward the information of the treatment methods used to the GIS system in a spatially resolved manner, so that this can be another influencing factor for the prognosis algorithm.

[33] The processing system can be extended from hard floors to green areas and other non-agricultural and agricultural areas with similar management characteristics that need to be managed (cemeteries, meadows, borders, plantations, etc.).

[34] Employees and potentially interested citizens may be equipped with mobile phone-based classification systems with GPS tracking for easier data collection, who can immediately estimate on-site compliance with the levels of care, or provide assistance with a visual assessment of compliance and the result document.

[35] Local climate models can be optimized by installing small-scale weather stations on pedal-driven or preferably electric delivery vehicles, eg newspaper packages and letters. Also buses and police vehicles in the patrol service and possibly also sweepers and other vehicles of the city operations can contribute to an improvement in the data situation through meteorological data acquisition systems. Here, too, the determined data on air humidity, light intensity, precipitation etc. are always made available to the GIS system in combination with GPS data on the roadside and serve to improve the model. [36] Where appropriate and necessary, additional data may be provided by existing geodetic or commercial landscape and urban models (including eg Google Maps, Open Streetview and analogue options), cyber-overflights, satellites or sensors based on other missiles to detect areas, surface temperatures, Casting shadows and comparing weed growth to be incorporated into the database.

[37] The criteria used in the requirement catalogs of weed management can be made algorithmically comprehensible. For this purpose, imaging sensor technology is used, which consists of a height scan and simultaneous green and preferably fluorescence evaluation of the image, if more preferably a line scan. The line scans or the narrow image strips are assigned to exactly one area in the database by GPS localization. These data also represent the basis of the growth model and are extrapolated to the total area to be regulated.

[38] Special attention is given to the tracking of invasive and problematic plants that can not be controlled in one operation and / or whose visibility is limited during control checks. In addition to prognostic data for recovery, control areas can also be defined here, via which every employee who plans or comes to the vicinity of the areas during transit is informed about the necessity of the check either by work order or by online insertion. To quickly locate the bodies they are localized by the respective control by GPS. They can also be mirrored into the real image by enhanced reality to the controller via monitor (vehicle-bound or mobile (possibly mobile phone)) (augmented reality, "pokemon function"). then be localized during a check or post-treatment, their condition is registered (manual / automatic) and further actions are suggested.

The fight against invasive plant species, the report and complaint communication with citizens and employees, can be documented, apart from facilities on the control equipment in particular with mobile phone-based apps. Here too, the possibility according to the invention of preparing the data in such a way that the areas determined during the initial recording (eg in the case of complaints) can be easily found again by means of virtual augmented reality.

[40] In the following we illustrate the invention with reference to the drawings and described. It shows

1 shows schematically a device for weed killing with a vehicle,

2 shows schematically a device for weed killing with sensors and

GPS,

FIG. 3 shows a vehicle with a hybrid concept while driving,

4 shows a vehicle with a hybrid concept in weed killing operation and

Figure 5, the use of data from different sources.

FIG. 1 shows how the weed killing with fixed grinding applicators 1, 2, which can also be designed as brushes, can be provided on a vehicle 3. Robotically movable grinding or brush applicators 4, as applicators of a high voltage generating device (not shown) are arranged in the embodiment of the rear of the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle 3 hot water nozzles 5 arranged to use the vehicle 3 as a hybrid system. Via a cable 6 a deductible small systems 7 is connected to the vehicle 3. The small system 7 can also be autonomous, robotic or hand-guided. It has sliding contacts 8, 9 and floats on an air cushion, grinds or rolls on wheels 10, 11. The small system 7 can also be equipped with a rechargeable battery in order to be able to be used independently of the vehicle. The carrier vehicle 1 shown here may be, for example, a tractor, a truck, a pick-up, a small load vehicle, a quad, an autonomous vehicle or a hand-held unit.

FIG. 2 shows how with a sensor system 21 the height and the extent of plants 22 can be determined locally by means of a GPS system 23. At the same time, data on the nature of the ground, that is, the ground surface 24, ground clearances and the tire guide 25 can be determined. The sensor provides actual data that can be compared with historical data obtained via a transceiver unit 26. The transceiver unit 26 is in wireless communication with a database 27 to feed current data into the database 27 and retrieve historical data. This can applicators 28, spray nozzles 29, robotics units 30 and possibly also the power supply 31, and z. B. also the steering are optimally controlled. Another sensor is used to determine the path state 32. The plant data are used in the database 27 for comparison and for a prognosis of the growth model. The sensors 33, 34 can also sit on hand-held small appliances 35 and vehicle carrier-based (fixed or robotic connected) small appliances (not shown). The vehicle 36 may be equipped with sensors without weeding alone.

[43] In the vehicle 40 shown in FIG. 3, the wheels 41 are optionally electrically driven. The energy 44 therefor is provided as a current through a motor / generator combination 42, 43 or a fuel cell (not shown). In slow use, much of the energy 45 goes into weed control. with the sliding contacts 46 and the hot water nozzle 47. In pure driving the energy 44 is mainly in the traction motors.

FIG. 5 shows diagrammatically how, in the case of a vehicle 50, the waste heat of the vehicle drive 51 (built-in engine, electrically or hydraulically coupled internal combustion engine, possibly also a fuel cell as a replacement for the engine and generator), which also generally supplies the generator 52, is used for the heating of entrained water 53 in one or two stages with a heat exchanger 54 for cooling water and a heat exchanger 55 for exhaust gas and the hot water from the tanks 56 and 57, in particular where electrical control is not possible by means of nozzles 58th can be used to combat weeds or unwanted organisms or even just to clean a surface. The use of the nozzles 58 is carried out in particular on metal-containing manhole covers and gutter covers, hard to reach places, such as fences and steel pylons. The application takes place with a spray unit with nozzles 58 attached to the vehicle 50 or with a hand-guided lance or other robotic devices (not shown).

FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically how data currently being recorded by means of sensors 66, 67 and those from previous weed treatments 62, 63 which have been stored in database 64 of computer 70 and transmitted to the system via the interface , are used for the system control and parameterization of the system. In this case, the different applicator systems 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 shown in FIG. 1 can parameterize an alternative weed control system 5, 73 and thus enable efficient and targeted use.

[46] More specifically, FIG. 6 shows data from various sources such as drones 60, mobile phone sensors 61, mobile processing devices 62, delivery vehicles (not shown), satellites (not shown), other road cleaning vehicles 63, etc., and weed data , Weather and microclimate are written into a database 64, so that the routes of weed control vehicles 65 to plan or locally control weed control vehicles. For this, based on the data collected in the database 64, a growth prognosis can be calculated. It can also be seen from the figure how the availability of terrain data 66 and weed data 67 from past voyages and other sources can be incorporated into the database to allow autonomously operating robotic systems to operate much faster and more effectively, including the database-based terrain model and weed forecasting than would be possible if the sensors of the weed control vehicle 65 had to scan all areas first and then initiate the processing. FIG. 6 thus shows a method for cultivating soil surfaces 68, in which data 69 for weeding are repeatedly determined at a later time, a prognosis for weed growth is calculated therefrom by means of a computer 70 and from this at least one parameter 71 for a future treatment is calculated , It is possible for the data 69 to be determined during the care. It is advantageous if a self-learning optimization method is used for the calculation of the parameter 71 for the future treatment. The computer 70 should have a Geoinformationssystem 72 with time reference for this purpose.

[48] Thus, different weed killing devices 62, 63 and 74 or mobile systems 60, 61 may determine localized and time -dated data 69 about weed growth and forward it to the computer 70.

[49] The availability of carers and weed killers as well as weather data and light information on the area of the floor to be cared for can also be entered into the computer 70, which can then be used for work planning.

[50] It is advantageous if values for the weed growth via the data 69 on the weed condition are obtained before it is treated with a weed killing apparatus. and later presented on-site via electronic systems such as screens, overlays, VR glasses (not shown), etc.

[51] The weed killing device 62, 63, 74 may be moved manually or with a vehicle 3. It can transmit data wirelessly or by cable to a mobile system 61, in particular a mobile telephone, which forwards the data to the computer 70.

[52] The bottom surface 68 may be treated with different weed killers 62, 63, 74, and the at least one parameter 71, which may also be a prognosis, may be spatially localized to the display of a mobile camera system such as a camera. B. a mobile phone are superimposed.

For generating hot water or steam 73, as shown in FIG. 5, the waste heat of a vehicle drive 51 may be used or the waste heat of a high-voltage generating means (exhaust gas, cooling water, process heat) may be used to supply hot water or steam for tillage use. [54] The weed killing device 74 has a weed vegetation detection sensor system 21, 33, 34 and an interface 76 for wirelessly or wirelessly passing data 69 to a computer 70. The computer 70 has an interface 76 for forwarding the data 69 or billed data to a mobile system 61, in particular a mobile telephone. For weed killing, it has a high voltage device 75 for weakening and destroying the weeds and, moreover, it has at least one other device such as the nozzles 47 for generating steam 73 for weed control or weed removal from a worn area.

Claims

claims

1. A method for the care of soil surfaces (24) with a weed killing device (62, 63, 74), in which at different times data (69) for weed growth are determined, with a calculator (70) from a prognosis for weed vegetation is calculated and from it at least one parameter (71) is calculated for future treatment.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the data (69) are determined during the care.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that data from other sources, such as in particular of other vehicles or other sensor-carrying systems are added independently of the care.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that for the calculation of the parameter (71) for the future treatment, a self-learning optimization method is used.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the computer (70) has a geographic information system (72) with time reference.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that by different Weedingvemichtungs devices (62, 63, 74) or mobile systems (60, 61) localized and time -dated data on the weed vegetation and forwarded to the computer (70).

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the waste heat of a vehicle drive (51) or a device for generating supply of high voltage to produce hot water or steam (73) is used.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the computer (70) and the availability of nurses and weed killing devices (62, 63, 74) are entered, which can then be used for work planning.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the computer (70) weather data and light information to the area to be maintained floor surfaces (68) are entered.

A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the weed vegetation data (69) includes values of the weed state prior to its treatment with a weed killer (62, 63, 74) and later on via electronic systems such as screens, overlays, VR Eyeglasses etc. are shown on site.

1 1. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the weed killing device (62, 63, 74) is moved manually or with a vehicle (3).

12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the weed killing device (62, 63, 74) transmits wireless or wired data to a mobile system (61), which forwards the data to the computer (70).

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottom surface (68) with different weed killing devices (62, 63, 74) is treated and the at least one parameter (71), which may also be a prognosis spatially localized the display a mobile camera system such. B. a mobile phone is superimposed.

14. A weed killing device (62, 63, 74), in particular for use in a method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a sensor system (21, 33, 34) for detecting the weed vegetation and an interface (76), to pass wirelessly or wired data (69) to a computer (70)

15. weed killing apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the computer (70) has an interface to pass the data (69) or billed data to a mobile system (61), in particular a mobile phone.

16 weed killing apparatus, in particular according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that it has a high voltage means (75) for weed killing for weakening and destroying the weeds and also has at least one further device (73) for weed control or weed removal from a worn area.