SoilCam: A Fully Automated Minirhizotron using Multispectral Imaging for Root Activity Monitoring

Sensors

Gazi Rahman¹  Rakibul Chowdhury¹  Hanif Sohag¹  Anh Dinh¹  KhanA. Wahid¹  Melissa Arcand²  Sally Vail³ 

[1] Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, SK, S7N 5A9, Canada;Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, SK, S7N 5A8, Canada;Research Scientist, Saskatoon Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, SK S7N 0X2, Canada;

关键词: minirhizotron;    root imaging;    plant phenotyping;    multispectral imaging;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s20030787

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

A minirhizotron is an in situ root imaging system that captures components of root system architecture dynamics over time. Commercial minirhizotrons are expensive, limited to white-light imaging, and often need human intervention. The implementation of a minirhizotron needs to be low cost, automated, and customizable to be effective and widely adopted. We present a newly designed root imaging system called SoilCam that addresses the above mentioned limitations. The imaging system is multi-modal, i.e., it supports both conventional white-light and multispectral imaging, with fully automated operations for long-term in-situ monitoring using wireless control and access. The system is capable of taking 360° images covering the entire area surrounding the tube. The image sensor can be customized depending on the spectral imaging requirements. The maximum achievable image quality of the system is 8 MP (Mega Pixel)/picture, which is equivalent to a 2500 DPI (dots per inch) image resolution. The length of time in the field can be extended with a rechargeable battery and solar panel connectivity. Offline image-processing software, with several image enhancement algorithms to eliminate motion blur and geometric distortion and to reconstruct the 360° panoramic view, is also presented. The system is tested in the field by imaging canola roots to show the performance advantages over commercial systems.

【 授权许可】

Unknown