Monitoring and elimination Drone for greenhouse pests
Use case description
Tomato leaf miner or Tuta absolutais a moth causing important damages to tomato crops. Since this insect is night active, this plague is hard to monitor and mostly it is done by assessing the damage the larvae cause on the leaves and fruits. By the time damage is visible, a population hasalready built up and control measures might be less effective. An early detection of pest presence and a precise monitoring are useful tools to better control tomato leaf miner.
Approach
PATS has developed I-CATCH, a bio-inspired drone system for automated monitoring and mechanical elimination of flying pest insect populations in greenhouses. I-CATCH system consists of a computer vision system able to detect, track and distinguish harmful pest insects with AI-based software. The system controls a small, bat-like drone with fast in-crop manoeuvrability for accurate insect elimination by mid-air collision with the drone’s propellers. Autonomous and 24/7 operability is secured by a charging platform.
Standardization needs or Lessons learned
Testing I-CATCH is time expensive and depending on the season, which makes it difficult to estimate the systems effectiveness. AI-based algorithms for pest detection have proven to work well in intial tests.
Key words
Sector/application
*Greenhouse Horticulture – Fruits and Vegetables