Journal
SENSORS
Volume 20, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/s20030787
Keywords
minirhizotron; root imaging; plant phenotyping; multispectral imaging
Funding
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) under the Plant Phenotyping and Imaging Research Centre (P2IRC) program at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS)
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A minirhizotron is an in situ root imaging system that captures components of root system architecture dynamics over time. Commercial minirhizotrons are expensive, limited to white-light imaging, and often need human intervention. The implementation of a minirhizotron needs to be low cost, automated, and customizable to be effective and widely adopted. We present a newly designed root imaging system called SoilCam that addresses the above mentioned limitations. The imaging system is multi-modal, i.e., it supports both conventional white-light and multispectral imaging, with fully automated operations for long-term in-situ monitoring using wireless control and access. The system is capable of taking 360 degrees images covering the entire area surrounding the tube. The image sensor can be customized depending on the spectral imaging requirements. The maximum achievable image quality of the system is 8 MP (Mega Pixel)/picture, which is equivalent to a 2500 DPI (dots per inch) image resolution. The length of time in the field can be extended with a rechargeable battery and solar panel connectivity. Offline image-processing software, with several image enhancement algorithms to eliminate motion blur and geometric distortion and to reconstruct the 360 degrees panoramic view, is also presented. The system is tested in the field by imaging canola roots to show the performance advantages over commercial systems.
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