Preharvest Monitoring of Biomass Production - Engineering and Science of Biomass Feedstock Production and Provision - page 74

Miscanthus biomass yield prediction for 2012

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Fig. 4.12 Miscanthus biomass yield prediction

4.8 R ound R eference D ata C ollection

4.8.1 Ground Truth Data Collection and Instrumentation

To acquire the close proximity crop data of the biomass energy crop, a ground truth
data collection vehicle was built as shown in Fig. 4.13 . The ground truth data col-
lection vehicle, called a gantry, was a mobile crop monitoring and data collection
platform. It was originally developed for close proximity monitoring of Miscanthus,
which is a perennial energy crop that can grow up to 3-4 m high, as well as other
plants. In order to fi t the height of the crops, the gantry was designed as 3 m in
length, 3 m in width, and 3 m in height with height adjustable to 4 m. The designs
of the four independent leglike driving modules gave gantry the features of
four-wheel independent drive (4WD) and four-wheel independent steering (4WS).
The 4WD-4WS vehicle was more fl exible to drive into the dense plant plot.
The gantry was equipped with a 6.5-kW heavy-duty gasoline generator
(Champion Power), which provided 60 Hz 120 V AC, and powers the whole vehi-
cle, including the driving system, control system, and sensors. Each of the leg was
equipped with a DC motor for driving and a high torque stepper for steering. The
total driving power of the vehicle was about 3 kW, and the gantry was designed to
move as fast as 2 km/h in the fi eld [ 32 ].