Plant Imaging Using Artificial Intelligence

SAPHI designed and developed an AI plant imaging system to assist in the monitoring and tracking of crop yield performance

Plant imaging AI camera

Who Is Our Client?

Triffid BioScience provides specialised agricultural solutions. Their products & services benefit licenced companies and research institutes in multiple countries and encompass all aspects of planning, design, operations and genetics. They are accredited by IP Australia to consult on Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR).

What Was The Problem?

The core problem at the heart of this project was the difficulty in measuring plant growth. Traits such as height, width and the rate of growth are indicators of how a crop is performing.

Current methods for tracking plant growth is tedious at best. When Triffid reached out to SAPHI they were having to manually measure plants using rulers or cutting and weighing the plants. Photos would then be taken using a smart phone which resulted in variable lighting and positioning, making it impossible to maintain image consistency. Finally, these images would then need to be manually uploaded to specific online storage folders.

What Was The Solution?

SAPHI designed and implemented a plant imaging camera system with a custom AI module to train the AI models required in the next development phase. The system consisted of multiple cameras that would take pictures of the plants from multiple angles.

The system would use fixed lighting to ensure the images are consistent regardless of their environment. The controller was developed to name the images based on QR coding and cataloguing them automatically into cloud storage. These images are then used for analysing the performance of each plant.

What Were The Outcomes?

  • Significant reduction in manual labour
  • Improved crop yields
  • Elimination of false reporting
  • Elimination of misidentification

What Skills Did SAPHI Use To Implement The Solution?

The tech stack and experience required for the solar energy dashboard included a broad range of skills from our team of computer, electrical and software engineers, including:

    • Automatic QR code detection
    • Auto upload to google drive & usb stick
    • Backlighting control
    • Python
    • Relay integration
    • Real-time clock

What Support Did SAPHI Offer After Completion?

SAPHI provides customised packages to support the full system development life cycle and implementation of upgrades to support the evolving needs of our clients and their customers.

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