Fruit Detection and Yield Mass Estimation from a UAV Based RGB Dense Cloud for an Apple Orchard

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

  • Marius Hobart
  • Michael Pflanz
  • Nikos Tsoulias
  • Cornelia Weltzien
  • Mia Kopetzky
  • Michael Schirrmann

Precise photogrammetric mapping of preharvest conditions in an apple orchard can help determine the exact position and volume of single apple fruits. This can help estimate upcoming yields and prevent losses through spatially precise cultivation measures. These parameters also are the basis for effective storage management decisions, post-harvest. These spatial orchard characteristics can be determined by low-cost drone technology with a consumer grade red-green-blue (RGB) sensor. Flights were conducted in a specified setting to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the orchard imagery. Two different altitudes of 7.5 m and 10 m were tested to estimate the optimum performance. A multi-seasonal field campaign was conducted on an apple orchard in Brandenburg, Germany. The test site consisted of an area of 0.5 ha with 1334 trees, including the varieties ‘Gala’ and ‘Jonaprince’. Four rows of trees were tested each season, consisting of 14 blocks with eight trees each. Ripe apples were detected by their color and structure from a photogrammetrically created three-dimensional point cloud with an automatic algorithm. The detection included the position, number, volume and mass of apples for all blocks over the orchard. Results show that the identification of ripe apple fruit is possible in RGB point clouds. Model coefficients of determination ranged from 0.41 for data captured at an altitude of 7.5 m for 2018 to 0.40 and 0.53 for data from a 10 m altitude, for 2018 and 2020, respectively. Model performance was weaker for the last captured tree rows because data coverage was lower. The model underestimated the number of apples per block, which is reasonable, as leaves cover some of the fruits. However, a good relationship to the yield mass per block was found when the estimated apple volume per block was combined with a mean apple density per variety. Overall, coefficients of determination of 0.56 (for the 7.5 m altitude flight) and 0.76 (for the 10 m flights) were achieved. Therefore, we conclude that mapping at an altitude of 10 m performs better than 7.5 m, in the context of low-altitude UAV flights for the estimation of ripe apple parameters directly from 3D RGB dense point clouds.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer60
ZeitschriftDrones
Jahrgang9
Ausgabenummer1
Anzahl der Seiten19
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 16.01.2025

Bibliographische Notiz

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 by the authors.

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Publikationen

  1. The role of supervisor support for dealing with customer verbal aggression. Differences between ethnic minority and ethnic majority workers
  2. Harmonization in the World Values Survey
  3. Negotiating boundaries through reality shows
  4. Improving efficiency in budgeting
  5. where paintings live
  6. Where Paintings Live
  7. Towards an Extended Enterprise Architecture Meta-Model for Big Data
  8. Repeated sampling detects gene flow in a flightless ground beetle in a fragmented landscape
  9. Das AGG in der Beratungspraxis
  10. Fostering pre-service teachers’ knowledge of ‘teaching games for understanding’ via video-based vs. text-based teaching examples
  11. Warm, lively, rough?
  12. Innovative approaches in mathematical modeling
  13. From railroad imperialism to neoliberal reprimarization: Lessons from regime-shifts in the Global Soybean Complex
  14. Translation
  15. Action theory
  16. More than Yield
  17. What can be learnt from the brazilian cerrado?
  18. No need for new natural gas pipelines and LNG terminalsin Europe
  19. Effects of Y Additions on the Microstructures and Mechanical Behaviours of as Cast Mg–xY–0.5Zr Alloys
  20. Risk Aversion and Sorting into Public Sector Employment
  21. Light treatment of a complex problem
  22. Towards 3D Process Simulation for In Situ Hybridization of Fiber-Metal-Laminates (FML)
  23. Power centres
  24. Digital Workplace Transformation Triggers a Shift in the HR Identity
  25. On the Power of an Open Scientific Approach to Actions
  26. A Performance Motivator in one Country, A Non-Motivator in Another?
  27. Fishing for interpretation
  28. The causal effects of exports on firm size and labor productivity: first evidence from a matching approach
  29. Development and Implementation of Technical Interventions to Motivate Young Females for STEM Studies