FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is included within the agricultural sector, and in particular it relates to the systems to prevent environmental impact and pests in crops.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

According to the World Bank, a fundamental source of financial and technical assistance for developing countries throughout the world, agricultural development is one of the most effective instruments for ending extreme poverty, promoting shared prosperity and feeding a population expected to reach 9000 million inhabitants by 2050. The growth in the agricultural sector is between two and four times more effective than that of other sectors to increase the revenue of the poorest people. It is something important for the 78 % of the poor people who live in rural areas in the world and who mainly depend on their agricultural production to survive. Farming is also crucial for economic growth, since it represents a third of the gross domestic product (GDP) and three quarters of jobs in African countries situated to the south of the Sahara.

In recent years, various regions in the world are being affected by the attack of pests and diseases in crops, causing considerable loss in agricultural production. According to general statistical data, since statistical data are lacking in specific places, numerous American countries have decreased levels of agricultural production, product of the attacks of pests and disease which in some way or another are presented as adversities that affect productivity. An example of this is recorded in Panama in 2013 where pests such as berry borer and coffee rusts caused losses of 45% in 20000 hectares sown, declaring a phytosanitary emergency.

The lack of information about the effects produced by the environmental impacts, prevention measures and implementation of technologies about the infestations are others of the problems faced by farmers, as technological alternatives are outside their reach, which limits the availability of information, keeping the agricultural community incommunicado about the different infestations present in the crops. The agricultural community, therefore, has the need to increase the quantity and quality of knowledge about pests that affect crops and to constantly monitor the production areas to give solutions to the various situations more efficiently.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a collaborative platform based on a system capable of providing alerts, to help prevent the impact of pests on crops. In particular, it is based on a tool that manages the collective knowledge for the identification, prevention, control and eradication of pests, allowing the user to access and share techniques, methods, technologies, studies and research which impact economic, ecological, agrochemical handling and health aspects associated to agricultural activities.

The present invention relates to a pest alert system in crops based on the continuous monitoring of crop quality, with the aim of helping users optimize their production through a series of alerts about possible threats or existence of pests, and providing detailed information on how to control and eradicate these infestations. The system of the present invention is a collaborative network where users can have access to information and statistics of the affected regions, by means of graphic complements and friendly interface, to thus take the necessary prevention measures.

The main objective of the present invention is to manage the collective knowledge about pests which may affect crops by means of a platform that uses emerging technologies and emits alerts that are sent through different communication media in accordance with specific criteria such as region, crop, severity and others.

The present invention also fulfils the following objectives:

Decrease the environmental and economic impact caused by the incorrect use and excess of agrochemicals due to lack of information and techniques on pest prevention, control and eradication measures.

Provide statistical data in specific places within the plantations in order to perform research in pro of the agricultural development of a specific region.

Use of a web app that can be used for monitoring environmental variables.

Promoting the exchange of experiences, ideas, knowledge, among others socially integrating common stakeholders. Contributing to improving the health and productivity of crops, the decrease in pest handling costs, conservation of the environment and strengthening food security of countries or regions.

In order to achieve these objectives, a platform is provided composed of multiple sources of information which has the capacity of notifying users on possible infestations, acting as a preventive tool that aids the producer to implement the recommended measures and/or techniques according to the pest, field conditions and infestation level.

A first aspect of the present invention relates to a pest alert system in crops, comprising an information sources system responsible for obtaining information regarding the state of the crops and an alert generation system, which in turn comprises a data processing unit, an artificial intelligence algorithm and an alert emission unit. The data processing unit is configured to process the information received by the information sources system, and the artificial intelligence algorithm is configured to verify compliance with alert conditions established in one or several rules for the appearance of pests. The alert emission unit responsible for emitting alerts when said alert conditions are fulfilled.

The artificial intelligence algorithm is preferably configured to perform an intelligent data analysis process and a comparison of parameters using rule databases to verify compliance with the alert conditions. The artificial intelligence algorithm may be configured to, by means of automatic learning, perform an automatic adjustment of parameters.

The system may comprise a storage system formed by one or several system databases for the storage of the information processed and analysed by the alert generation system.

The information sources system may comprise a field-data collection module to obtain reference data on the state of the crops. Said field-data collection module may comprise a plurality of sensors for the in situ capture of data on the crops, and may be configured to obtaining information of the crops from satellite devices or of weather stations. The information sources system may also comprise data capture devices (such as unmanned vehicles, image capture devices and portable devices) and external databases, such as web services.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to a method of pest alert in crops, comprising the obtainment of information regarding the state of the crops; processing the information received to check, applying an artificial intelligence algorithm, the compliance with the conditions established in one or several rules for the appearance of pests; and emit alerts when said conditions are fulfilled.

The method comprises performing, by means of the artificial intelligence algorithm, an intelligent data analysis process and a comparison of parameters using rule databases to verify compliance with the alert conditions. The method may also comprise performing an automatic adjustment of parameters by means of an automatic learning implemented by the artificial intelligence algorithm. The method may comprise storage of the information processed and analysed using a relational database engine, MySQL server.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

A series of drawings are very briefly described below which help to better understand the invention and which are expressly related to an embodiment of said invention which is presented as a non-limiting example thereof. Figure 1 shows a general diagram of the early alert system of pests in crops.

Figures 2A, 2B and 2C illustrate, respectively, a diagram of the field-data collection module, data capture devices and external databases which form part of the information sources system.

Figure 3 shows a diagram with the components of the alert generation system. Figure 4 shows a diagram with the components of the system database. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system capable of supplying alerts in the agricultural sector to mitigate impacts produced by pests on crops. To do this, it uses a storage system, an alert generation system and a data input and output system which indicate to the user the probability of there being pests in a certain region. Figure 1 shows a diagram of the system to prevent the impact of pests on crops according to the present invention. The system comprises an information sources system 10, an alert generation system 20 and a storage system 30.

The information sources system 10 comprises a field-data collection module 1 which allows the obtainment of reference data. Data capture devices 2 and external databases 3 can also be used as sources of information. The data from information sources can also be handled and processed by the community of experts 4 and by users 5.

The information sources system 10 sends information regarding the state of the crops to the alert generation system 20. In particular, said relevant information is supplied to a data processing unit 6. Once the information has been conveniently processed, an artificial intelligence algorithm 7 is responsible for performing the intelligent analysis of the data processed, sending in turn said data analysed to an alert emission unit 8. All the information processed and analysed is finally stored in a system database 9 which forms part of the storage system 30, and is distributed to the users 5 and experts 4 for its review.

Figure 2A shows a diagram of the field-data collection module 1 , which comprises sensors 1a for data capture in the crops in situ (e.g. moisture, temperature), microcontroller 1 b, portable storage module 1 c, which guarantee data reliability. The field-data collection module 1 can also use information collected by satellite devices 1 d and weather stations 1e (e.g. geolocation data, weather forecasts, etc.).

Figure 2B illustrates the data capture devices 2, which may include, among others, unmanned vehicles 2a, known as UAVs, image capture devices 2b and portable devices 2c, such as, for example, smartphones. A diagram of the external databases 3 is represented in figure 2C. For the processing of data obtainment from the external databases 3 it is possible to use web services 3a and emerging technologies.

All the data capture components shown in figures 2A to 2C allow that the early alert system obtains a more robust database, in this way automating the early alert system. Figure 3 shows a diagram of the process executed in the alert generation system 20. In the data processing unit 6 it studies the information received by the information sources system 10 by means of the data analysis 600, and it classifies the relevant information by means of data cleansing 602.

An artificial intelligence algorithm 7 is responsible for performing an intelligent data analysis process 700, followed by a series of steps using rule databases which give rise to the comparison of parameters 702 and, by means of automatic learning, it achieves the automatic adjustment of parameters 704.

If the alert conditions established in rules for the appearance of pests are complied with, the alert emission unit 8 performs the emission of alerts 800. The rules for the appearance of pests may be reported by the users 5 or by the community of experts 4, or may be generated automatically in the automatic parameter adjustment process 7c.

Figure 4 shows the storage of information in the system database 9, which uses a relational database engine, MySQL server 9a. The data communication of the alert generation system 20 with the system database 9 is performed by means of a Persistence Framework 9b.