An aerial phytobiopsy system: Design, evaluation, and lessons learned

Early plant disease detection and treatment could dramatically increase crop yield. However, even experts cannot visually distinguish various diseases with certainty, limiting image based diagnosis. In this paper, we present a novel small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) for phytobiopsy. This platform can remove a leaf section with visual symptoms and transport it to a lab for precise disease analysis. We present the design of a gripper and an arm mechanism, and we discuss best practices for using the system. Results are presented from extensive experimental evaluation of the gripper assembly and 21 indoor manual flight trials, demonstrating efficacy. Our sUAS utilizes its inherent mobility and range to solve a pressing agricultural problem, improving food production and disease detection capabilities. A short video of our system can be found at https://goo.gl/xomYUO .