Crop Strength Data Acquisition Device

A long standing problem for corn, wheat, barley and canola plants is lodging. Severe wind and rain causes bending of crop stems, making them difficult to harvest and therefore limiting yield. Predicting plant strength allows agronomists and industry partners to breed more resilient seeds for providing food, fuel and fiber to the world’s growing population.

=Problem Definition=

Background
As of Fall 2018, Dr. Robertson's team has three crop strength measurement devices. Each device records similar data, allowing one control unit to be used for each device topology. Industry partners are currently using the devices to characterize their crops. In return, they provide valuable data back to the University for further research.

Deliverables
Each device costs about $1300 and requires about 5 hours to construct. The goal of team crop top is to reduce unit cost and time to produce while adding functionality.

Specifications
The following systems must meet or exceed functionality of the prototype.
 * Graphical user interface displayed on a screen
 * Precision analog to digital converter (ADC) for load cell measurements
 * Motor controller for linear actuator
 * Rotary Encoder for rotation speed measurement
 * Positioning system for location logging
 * Accelerometer for motion detection
 * Temperature sensor
 * Humidity sensor

The following systems will be added to the product.
 * Barcode scanning for fast crop identification
 * Video capture for new devices
 * Touch display

=Design=

include:

 * Schematic
 * PCB
 * Populated PCB
 * Final product

=Members=

=Additional Documentation= Team Crop Top Github