Does the M3M kit include an RTK module?

Yes, the M3M kit includes an RTK module.

 

What is the maximum number of acres that can be flown on one flight?

When flown at 400 feet, the drone can cover just under 500 acres per flight.

 

What are the benefits of multispectral imaging compared to RGB imaging?

In plant breeding and traits analysis, multispectral imaging offers significant advantages over RGB imaging. It captures data beyond the visible spectrum, including additional wavelengths such as near infrared and infrared. This expansion broadens the range of detectable phenomena, allowing for the assessment of biochemical and biophysical properties not discernible to the naked eye. RGB sensors, operating within the visible spectrum, capture imagery in the red, green, and blue wavelengths, mimicking human vision. While this facilitates straightforward interpretation of images, it limits the depth of information that can be extracted.

 

Are both the RGB and MS cameras mechanical shutter?

Yes, both the RGB and MS cameras have a mechanical shutter, which is preferred for mapping purposes.

 

What bands make up the multispectral camera on the DJI Mavic 3M?

The multispectral camera includes four bands: Red (R), Green (G), Red Edge (RE), and Near-infrared (NIR)

 

Does the M3M require multispectral calibration before flying?

Yes, multispectral calibration using the provided panel is mandatory at the beginning and at the end of each flight. It allows you to adjust the multispectral sensor to the exact lighting conditions and reflectance parameters of your crop, ensuring that you capture precise multispectral data that translates the reality of your field. Using the multispectral calibration panel ensures accurate and consistent measurements of plant traits across different time points, for a consistent and repeatable analysis through the season.

  • Standardization of Measurements: Multispectral calibration panels provide a set of known reference values for spectral reflectance or radiance. By imaging these panels alongside plants, you can calibrate their imaging systems to ensure consistent measurements across different devices and experiments. This standardization is crucial for comparing data collected from various sources or over time.

 

  • Quality Control: By including multispectral calibration panels in imaging setups, you can monitor the performance and stability of your imaging equipment. Any deviation in measurements from the known reference values of the calibration panel may indicate issues with the imaging system that need to be addressed, such as sensor drift or lighting inconsistencies.

 

  • Normalization of Data: Phenotyping often involves comparing spectral or radiometric measurements between different samples or experiments. Multispectral calibration panels provide a baseline against which these measurements can be normalized, allowing for more accurate comparisons of plant traits across different conditions or genotypes.

 

  • Correction of Atmospheric Effects: Multispectral calibration panels can also be used to correct for atmospheric effects, such as changes in ambient lighting or scattering, which may affect the accuracy of spectral measurements. By calibrating imaging systems using known reference values, researchers can account for these effects and obtain more reliable data.

Overall, multispectral calibration panels play a critical role in ensuring the accuracy, reliability, and comparability of phenotypic data obtained from imaging systems, thereby facilitating more robust analysis and interpretation of plant traits for various research purposes.

 

Does Hiphen only work with the Mavic 3M or are other drone devices supported?

Hiphen is sensor agnostic and supports a broad range of sensors and drone devices, including all DJI models (such as the Matrice 300) and others. For more information about that please reach out to one of our experts using the contact form: https://www.hiphen-plant.com/contact/

 

What is Cloverfield®?

Cloverfield® is Hiphen’s in-house phenotyping data platform, designed to assist researchers in scaling up plant assessments with repeatability, precision, and consistency. With Cloverfield, your phenotyping data comes to life within an intuitive interface, helping you to make the best decisions for your trials during the season. It offers a user-friendly interface to upload data, monitor campaign progress, analyze traits with analytics, and more. Head to the “What we do” tab to discover more about Cloverfield®.

 

What crops does Hiphen support?

Hiphen has extensive experience in processing data on a wide range of crops, ranging from arable crops like wheat, barley, OSR, maize, sunflower, sorghum to vegetable crops like potato, tomato, lettuce, sugar beet, and fruits like strawberry, orchards, and grape. Hiphen also have experience with special crops like cotton, peas, sugar cane, onion, watermelon, hemp, and flowers.

To learn more please reach out to one of our experts: https://www.hiphen-plant.com/contact/

 

Which traits (agronomic indicators) can Hiphen provide?

Hiphen’s trait glossary is composed of 70+ agronomic indicators that are organized within 5 main categories to meet the evolving needs of crop researchers. These categories of traits are processed from a mix of data sources including RGB, multispectral, LiDAR (3D) and thermal data.

  • Biomass Proxy: Offering traits that help to accurately select or eliminate plots based on their productivity.
  • Canopy Development: Focusing on plants' capacity to handle its environment.
  • Trial Quality: Assessing the quality and performance of crop trials.
  • Plant Stress: Analyzing crop's photosynthetic activity and its resilience to biotic or abiotic stress.
  • Harvest Index & Quality: Evaluating yield potential and harvest quality.

These trait categories have been carefully curated to cater to the unique needs of agronomic researchers, providing you with a more precise and comprehensive understanding of phenotypic measures available off-the-shelf for your crops.

In addition, at Hiphen we define a trait as "A measurable characteristic of the plant or canopy. It is the result of combining raw data obtained from sensors such as cameras, lidar, spectrometers, etc., with an analytical method for interpretation. This process serves as the means to transform raw sensor data into meaningful metrics for agronomists." Alexis Comar, PhD – CEO & Founder of Hiphen.

 

When to fly?

Each project is different, and so is each trial. To provide you with the best experience and research-grade results, Hiphen provides you with a tailored flight protocol for each flight date, considering the traits that you wish to get, the BBCH scale of your crops, the equipment (drone + sensor) that you are using and the size of your field. In the end you get a precise checklist to follow for each flight to capture the highest quality of data.

 

How long does it take to get results in Cloverfield®?

The time to get results in Cloverfield® depends on the traits and crop. However, upon request, Hiphen can process data and deliver results within 5 days.

 

What are ground control points (GCPs) and how to use them?

GCPs are markers that are placed around and within the trial site during the drone flight. Ideally, their positions are georeferenced by an RTK base station. GCPs help to increase the chances of success during image stitching. In addition, they ensure that the plot maps don’t need to be shifted from one flight date to another. To compute robust height and biovolume traits, georeferenced GCPs are highly recommended.

 

Why are GCPs necessary for plant height measurements?

Ground Control Points (GCPs) are essential for height measurements as they provide accurate reference coordinates to align and correct remote sensing data, ensuring precision and reliability. They help georeference data, correct errors, validate accuracy, integrate with other geospatial data, and enhance Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), supporting accurate 3D terrain models and a wide range of applications. We highly recommend using georeferenced GCPs for height measurements to avoid bowl effects of the generated 3D point cloud.

Here is our technical guide about plant height measurements to speed up breeding cycles: https://www.hiphen-plant.com/plant-height-trait-assessment-unlocking-biomass-to-speed-up-breeding-cycles/

 

Can I use a drone to georeference GCPs?

Yes, this is possible with an RTK drone, e.g. the M3M. An RTK drone is a type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver that utilizes RTK technology for precise positioning and navigation. RTK technology enhances the accuracy of the drone’s GPS (Global Positioning System) by correcting errors caused by atmospheric interference and signal delays.

 

How to calibrate my multispectral images?

To compute vegetation indices, such as NDVI, no calibration is required. However, to compute more interesting traits such as leaf area index or chlorophyll content of your crop, a calibration panel + bare soil zone is needed. Hiphen can provide the calibration panel, but we can also work with Micasense calibration panels.

 

Can you provide wheat head density from drone images?

Yes, Hiphen computes wheat head density from drone images. However, specific requirements apply to assure high image quality. We are happy to advise you!

 

What is the RTK mode and why do I activate it on my drone?

RTK is a technology used to record the Geo positioning of autonomous vehicles (such as drones or

rovers) on earth's surface with a centimetric precision. Many drone models are now equipped with RTK technology by default, unlike legacy equipment which was only able to record metric-level accuracy. RTK is a satellite positioning technology that corrects the geo-referencing of your drone imagery to ensure centimeter-level accuracy, and that helps getting data processing results faster.

Here is our technical guide about RTK technology for phenotyping: https://www.hiphen-plant.com/real-time-kinematic-rtk-to-access-centimeter-level-accuracy-for-plant-traits-assessment/