Potential of Ultra-High-Resolution UAV Images with Centimeter GNSS Positioning for Plant Scale Crop Monitoring

Abstract

To implement agricultural practices that are more respectful of the environment, precision agriculture methods for monitoring crop heterogeneity are becoming more and more spatially detailed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of Ultra-High-Resolution UAV images with centimeter GNSS positioning for plant-scale monitoring. A Dji Phantom 4 RTK UAV with a 20 MPixel RGB camera was used, flying at an altitude of 25 m (0.7 cm resolution). This study was conducted on an experimental plot sown with maize. A centimeter-precision Trimble Geo7x GNSS receiver was used for the field measurements. After evaluating the precision of the UAV’s RTK antenna in static mode on the ground, the positions of 17 artificial targets and 70 maize plants were measured during a series of flights in different RTK modes. Agisoft Metashape software was used. The error in position of the UAV RTK antenna in static mode on the ground was less than one centimeter, in terms of both planimetry and elevation. The horizontal position error measured in flight on the 17 targets was less than 1.5 cm, while it was 2.9 cm in terms of elevation. Finally, according to the RTK modes, at least 81% of the corn plants were localized to within 5 cm of their position, and 95% to within 10 cm.