WO2023180774A1

WO2023180774A1 - A system and method for the preparation of ground surface treatments for autonomous agricultural spraying machines

Info

Publication number: WO2023180774A1
Application number: PCT/GB2023/050767
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anthony David George Rhoades; Samuel Paul CORNISH-EVANS; Lewis CASSIDY
Original assignee: Micropply Limited
Priority date: 2022-03-25
Filing date: 2023-03-24
Publication date: 2023-09-28

Abstract

Apparatus suitable for use in an autonomous or semi-autonomous agricultural spraying machine, the apparatus comprising: a first receptacle comprising a first ground surface treatment substance, the first receptacle fluidly connected to a first dispenser; a second receptacle comprising a second ground surface treatment substance, the second receptacle fluidly connected to a second dispenser; an output fluidly connected to the first and second dispensers; a controller unit, the controller unit able to take as an input, information about a required characteristic of a ground surface treatment product; wherein the controller unit is operable to calculate the quantities of the first ground surface treatment substance and the second ground surface treatment substance required to form the ground surface treatment product, and is operable to control the first and second dispensers to output the required quantities of the first ground surface treatment substance and the second ground surface treatment substance. Thus, the autonomous dispensing machine is able to dispense a wide variety of ground surface treatments with customizable characteristics in a just in time manner, in any quantity required, removing the need to dispense into or using a pre- determined or pre-mixed ground surface treatment product.

Description

A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE PREPARATION OF GROUND SURFACE TREATMENTS FOR AUTONOMOUS AGRICULTURAL SPRAYING MACHINES The present invention provides methods and autonomous agricultural spraying and the deposition machine, where pesticides, herbicides and the like, are mixed just in time in the quantities, and concentrations with the accuracy and precision desired. Specifically, it relates to the inline mixing of agricultural materials in quantities and concentrations to prevent spray drift, increase accuracy, and decrease manual methods, and the like. Spraying crops is a process which has been in use for decades, with little technological advancement. Crop spraying is the process of spraying insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, and other preventative treatments onto crops. Previously known in agricultural services as ‘crop dusting,’ the process is used to cover large areas of crops and protect them from local bugs and pests. Crop spraying is typically carried out with very large machinery on an industrial scale. The process is simple yet time-consuming with high quantities of man hours used to move, manufacture, spray crops and calculate amounts needed to spray crops. The accuracy of how much crop spray material is used requires significant planning and a large degree of know-how from the worker. Traditionally, the process had been applied using planes, that would spread the pesticide over the crop spraying is used to deter pests causing damage to crops. However, Spray drift and inversion drift can move crop treatments away from a spray target and cause unintended yet significant crop damage. Spray drift and spray inversion can cause crop damage ranging from mild symptoms to total crop loss. It's usually easier to trace spray drift as crop damage is the greatest close to the spray source and reduces further away from the source. However, in contrast, inversion drift has the potential to cause a significant financial impact to sensitive crops across an entire region; it usually can't be traced as it's often an accumulation of many spray sources and there can also be a large distance between crop damage and the source of the spray. A root cause of both these issues is applying too much crop treatment to a ground surface. Modern methods and solutions now include using quad bikes, boom sprayers and even drones, to more accurately disperse the treatment without affecting surrounding homes and wildlife, which is now a primary concern and is being more regulated by local legislation. Indeed, one approach to automating crop management is found in US20060213167A1 in which an agricultural robot system and method of harvesting, pruning, culling, weeding, measuring, and managing of agricultural crops is discussed. This system uses autonomous and semi-autonomous robot(s) comprising machine-vision using cameras that identify and locate the fruit on each tree, points on a vine to prune, etc., or may be utilized in measuring agricultural parameters or aid in managing agricultural resources. Another approach is found in CN111587872A, wherein a robot for spraying pesticide in the field of agricultural robots comprises a frame, a control mechanism, an information acquisition mechanism, and a pesticide spraying mechanism which are arranged on the frame; the information acquisition mechanism comprises a plurality of sensors configured to independently spray pesticide for vine crops and dwarf plants, identify weeds in the field, remove weeds and identify the disaster situation of crops and spray pesticide according to the situation. However, such systems demand specialist control, are slow to operate and do not spray or mix crop treatment. Spraying grass with herbicides and other chemical treatments used in a sports stadium, playing surfaces and the like is also common and mostly uses manual methods. Such a system gives improvements in the amount of wastage paint applied to a ground surface, a reduction in the labour cost, and less run-off into the surrounding areas. It is desirable to make an autonomous or semiautonomous apparatus agricultural spraying and deposition machine, where pesticides and the like, are mixed just in time in the quantities, concentrations and with the accuracy and precision desired. The agricultural spraying and deposition machine deposit materials on the ground, with high accuracy, high precision, and by mixing treatments in operation, as will be explained in more detail below. Specifically, inline mixing of agricultural materials in quantities and concentrations can prevent or at least minimize spray drift, spray inversion, and the like by utilizing just-in-time mixing. SUMMARY In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus suitable for use in an autonomous or semi-autonomous agricultural spraying machine. The apparatus comprises a first receptacle suitable for containing a first ground surface substance, the first receptacle fluidly connected to a first dispenser, a second receptacle suitable for containing a second ground surface substance, the second receptacle fluidly connected to a second dispenser, an output fluidly connected to the first and second dispensers, a controller unit, the controller unit able to take as an input, information about a required characteristic of a ground surface product; wherein the controller unit is operable to calculate the quantities of the first ground surface substance and the second ground surface substance required to form the ground surface product, and is operable to control the first and second dispensers to output, via an output, the required quantities of the first ground surface substance and the second ground surface substance. In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of creating ground surface for use in an autonomous or semi-autonomous agricultural spraying machine. The method comprises taking as an input, information about a characteristic of a ground surface product; calculating the required quantity of a first ground surface substance and the required quantity of a second ground surface substance to form the ground surface product; and controlling a first and second dispensing means to output, via an output, the required quantity of the first ground surface substance and the required quantity of the second ground surface substance to form the ground surface product; wherein in operation the ground surface product is used in an agricultural spraying application. In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an autonomous or semi- autonomous agricultural spraying machine, comprising: navigation means; locomotion means; ground surface deposition apparatus; a first receptacle suitable for containing a first ground surface substance, the first receptacle fluidly connected to a first dispenser; a second receptacle suitable for containing a second ground surface substance, the second receptacle fluidly connected to a second dispenser; an output fluidly connected to the first and second dispensers; and a controller unit, the controller unit able to take as an input, information about a required characteristic of a ground surface product; wherein the controller unit is operable to calculate the quantities of the first ground surface substance and the second ground surface substance required to form the ground surface product and is operable to control the first and second dispensers to output the required quantities of the first ground surface substance and the second ground surface substance, via the output to the ground surface deposition arrangement. In some examples, the method or apparatus further comprises an internal chamber, wherein the internal chamber is fluidly connected between the first and second dispensers and the output. In some examples, according to the first or second aspect, the internal chamber is fluidly sealed. In some examples, according to the first, second or third aspects, the dispensing means comprises a solenoid, hydraulic pump and/or actuator valve. In some examples, according to the first, second or third aspects, the controller can further control the timing of the first and second dispensers to create a mix of the first ground surface substance and the second ground surface substance. In some examples, according to the first, second or third aspects, injected air is used to create a mix of the first ground surface substance and the second ground surface substance. In some examples, the method or apparatus further comprises a mechanical mixer unit. In some examples, according to the first, second or third aspects, the first and/or second receptacles comprise a flexible bag, the flexible bag provided with an airtight valve outlet sealed to the flexible bag and wherein the flexible bag is housed within a substantially rigid frame within the autonomous or semi-autonomous dispensing machine. In some examples, the method or apparatus further comprises one or more cleaning fluid supply conduits, wherein the one or more cleaning fluid supply conduits are opening in the one or more dispenser heads at a cleaning fluid inlet in the internal chamber. In some examples, the method or apparatus further comprises a choice of multiple ground surface products and entry via an input. In some examples, according to the first, second or third aspects, the characteristic comprises one or more of concentration, viscosity, LD50 value, solubility, and/or quantity. In some examples, according to the first, second or third aspects, either the first ground surface substance and/or the second ground surface substance is one or more of a ground surface, a ground surface concentrate, or a ground surface powder. Thus, the present invention relates to an in-line mixing system for an autonomous agricultural spraying machine, which can not only dispense water or the base solvent when required but can also water down the base crop and/or natural surface treatments to the right concentration for the spray required (i.e., unique to the crop and/or natural surface being treated), as well as produce different types of natural surface treatments where the natural surface requires. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 – is a schematic diagram of front view of an exemplary autonomous agricultural spraying machine of the present invention; Figure 2 – illustrates a cut-away rear view of the autonomous agricultural spraying machine of Figure 1; Figures 3a & 3b are illustrations of a planar view of the autonomous agricultural spraying machine of Figure 1; Figure 4 is an illustration of a rear view of the autonomous agricultural spraying machine of Figure 1 connected to a cloud network; Figure 5 - is a schematic diagram of primary crop treatment packaging comprising a flexible bag with a hose which may be used in the autonomous agricultural spraying machine of Figure 1 of the present invention; Figures 6a and 6b – are schematic diagrams illustrating a natural surface treatment creation apparatus, as can be used in the autonomous agricultural spraying machine of Figures 1 to 5 of the present invention; Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vortex/swirl mixing chamber which may be used with the embodiment of Figure 6 of the present invention; Figure 8 – is a process flow diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a natural surface treatment processing method of the present invention; Figure 9 – is a process flow diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a natural surface treatment processing method of the present invention; and Figure 10 – is a flow diagram illustrating an output comparison method, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The present techniques will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Parts of the autonomous spraying machine are not necessarily to scale and may just be representative of components of the spray machine, or other described entities. DETAILED DESCRIPTION As explained above, crop spraying is used to deter pests from causing damage to crops. Crop spraying is used as part of an agricultural service offering to protect crops from local pets and bugs, which are likely to destroy, eat and infest crops if left untreated. Crop spraying and/or manual ground surface treatments, can provide the application of the pesticide or fertiliser and can provide a highly economical option, to prevent loss of product. Protection from pests can differ depending on climate, geological locations, and overall environment. Farming services aim to utilise crop spraying to prevent the infestation of pests and diseases. By utilising crop protection products, such as herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, farmers can prevent the growth and spread of weed species and diseases that can afflict crops as well as harmful bugs and insects. The location of the farm will affect the types of agricultural services required, including the types of crop protection products that are required. To determine the types of products needed to maintain levels of pests and disease, farmers must be able to understand how and why individual pesticides work, and which crop spraying chemical is most appropriate. Modes of action are the terms used to differentiate how certain products work and relate to the classification of the chemical. Understanding these will mean that the user can utilise crop protection effectively, however, if a user was unsure of the types of crop spraying required, they would conventionally require a consultation with an agricultural service provider. The present disclosure can mitigate that need. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view of an exemplary autonomous agricultural spray machine, comprising a natural surface treatment mixing system of the present invention. There is shown an autonomous agricultural spray machine 10 comprising a case 12 held securely by a chassis (not shown) supporting the ground wheel arrangement 24 (a, b, c, d) with a deposition head 60 on a traverse guide 62. The autonomous agricultural spray machine 10 has wheels 24 (a, b, c, d, with only a and c shown in Figure 1) for movement, a navigation module 38 and may comprise a laser 40. The navigation module 38 can include a Global Positioning Device, computer vision, or a laser 40, for navigation on a ground surface to be marked. In some examples, the autonomous ground deposition machine 10 carries out triangulation/trilateration using the laser 40 for positioning, along with reflectors (not shown), as described in the Applicant’s prior applications. In some examples, in conjunction with algorithms such as simultaneous, learning and mapping algorithms (SLAM), computer vision is used to identify, map, and navigate the ground surface. In operation, the autonomous ground deposition machine 10 may be in constant communication with a positioning device and may also reposition itself based on communication from a Global Positioning Device. The size of the ground wheel arrangement is configurable based on the surface to be treated, at certain stages of the crop and/or grass growth, or the like. For example, if crops are recently planted and an early growth treatment, such as fertiliser, is being applied – then the arrangement shown in FIG.1 is likely suitable as the deposition head (as shown in FIG.3) is close to the ground. If, for example, grass is being treated for insecticides, then a large wheel arrangement, to raise the deposition head off the ground would be more appropriate. However, as will be described in FIG.3, the deposition head does have a z-axis adjustment, to raise and lower to provide an appropriate height for natural surface treatment deposition on the ground or crop surface. In Figure 2, there is illustrated an autonomous agricultural spray robot or spray machine 10 comprising an outer case 12 cut away to reveal an array of primary packaging in the form of reservoirs 5a, 5b, 5c & 5d. The reservoirs 5a-d may contain different colours of marking materials, i.e. chemicals, fertiliser, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, concentrates, lime, nitrates, or other natural surface treatments. When depositing/spraying materials to treat crops, the materials may be deposited in sweeps to generate small adjacent dots (i.e. each dot comes from a single nozzle of a nozzle array – see Fig 3). Each reservoir 5a, 5b, 5c & 5d is supported on a weight-measuring plate 14a, 16a, 18a and 19a connected to an on-board control system 22, which may comprise communication means such as a transceiver 22a. Each weight-measuring plate 14a, 16a, 18a and 19a is an integral part of a frame 26 capable of holding the reservoir 5 firmly in place. During deposition the weight of the reservoirs 5a, 5b, 5c & 5d will decrease as the crop treatment solution is deposited onto the ground. The weight monitoring plates 14a, 16a, 18a and 19a can measure their change in weight and gather data. For example, the data could be used to alert a user when reservoir 5 needs replacing, because it is nearly empty. Each reservoir is connected to the deposition apparatus (of Figure 6) of the present invention by nozzle output 34. At least one water/solvent tank 20, fluidly connected to reservoirs 5a-d, is shown which may be used to dilute the treatment concentrates held in reservoirs 5 to create various concentrations required for the specific crop and/or natural surface treatment. The on-board computer 22, utilises an improved ground surface treatment mixing system, as described with reference to Figures 8, 9 & 10 of the present invention. This improved ground surface treatment mixing system enables concentrations of treatment to be created from an infinitesimal quantity to pure concentrate, to be produced from an input comprising data about the concentrate and crops. As can be seen in Figures 3a & 3b, the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 comprises the case 12 held securely by a chassis supporting the ground wheel arrangement 24 with a deposition head 60 on a traverse guide 62, the traverse guide 62 permitting movement of the deposition head 60 beyond the width W of the ground wheel arrangement 24, along the length of the deposition width 68. As shown in FIGS 3a & 3b the deposition width W is marginally wider than the width W wheel arrangement 24, however, this is an exemplary case and often, for agricultural purposes, the deposition width 68 is many times wider than the width W of the ground wheel arrangement. A nozzle array 42 may be attached to the deposition head 60. The nozzles in array 42 may be fixed and the deposition head 60 moveable. The deposition head 60, via the traverse guide 62, may be moveable along the length of a deposition width 68, which is the area the deposition head 60 is capable of deposition on the crop/ground surface. The deposition head 60 may also be movable vertically (i.e., in a z-direction) based on the size of the cone of deposition required, for example, the deposition head 60 can be moved up and down depending on the density of deposition required (i.e., volume per unit area). The ground wheel arrangement 24 comprises wheels 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d to steer the autonomous agricultural spray machine 10 along a path to affect the spraying/treatment of the crops/ground surface, and this may be under the control of a deposition file that can be loaded into an on-board control system, such as may be contained in a control system 22. The traverse guide 62 is fixed in relation to the ground wheel arrangement 24, so that it deposits one line of treatment along the deposition width 68. The ground wheel arrangement 24 then advances, moving the whole autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 forward for it to then deposit another line. The deposition equipment (i.e., nozzle array 42, deposition head 60, traverse guide 62) trails behind the wheel arrangement of the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 such that treatment is picked up by the ground wheel arrange 24. In Figure 4, the system controller 22 may be in communication with the cloud 100, the edge 102, such as remote resource, which may be a tablet, smartphone or laptop when the present techniques are applied. The edge 102 may be a tablet controlled by a user or operator. Specifically, there is also shown a navigation module 38 (also shown in Figure 1), which is coupled to a system controller 22, which is in communication, via transceiver 22a, with a cloud network 100, and an edge device 102, which may be a tablet, smartphone or laptop when the present techniques are applied. The edge device 102 may be a tablet controlled by a user, such as a farmer or a groundsman located on-site responsible for treatments to the ground surface of, for example, a farm or sports stadium. In some examples, system controller 22 may include processing circuitry, control circuitry, and storage (e.g., RAM, ROM, hard disk, a removable disk, etc.) System controller 22 may include an input/output, I/O, path. The I/O path may provide device information, or other data, over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other content and data to control circuitry, which includes processing circuitry and storage. Control circuitry may be used to send and receive commands, requests, signals (digital and analogue), and other suitable data using I/O path. I/O path is connected to control circuitry (and specifically processing circuitry) to one or more communications paths. As referred to herein, the phrase "electronic storage device" or "storage device" should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, or firmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives, solid-state devices, quantum storage devices, or any other suitable fixed or removable storage devices, and/or any combination of the same. Non- volatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). In the present example, it will be appreciated that the cloud 100 may comprise any suitable data processing device or embedded system which can be accessed from another platform such as a remote computer, content aggregator or cloud platform which receives data posted by the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10. As referred to herein, processing circuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may include a multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or any suitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some examples, processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separate processors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same type of processing units (e.g. two Intel Core i7 processors) or multiple different processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Core i7 processor). In some examples, or the system controller 22 or cloud 100 executes/provides instructions for the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10. In the present example, the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 is configured to connect with cloud 100 or the edge device 102 to push data thereto, as well as receive data. It will be appreciated that the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 may connect to the cloud 100 or the edge 102, e.g. via the internet, using one or more nodes/routers in a network e.g. a mesh network. The connection may be one or more networks including the Internet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 3G, 4G, 5G or LTE network), mesh network, peer-to-peer network, cable network, cable reception (e.g., coaxial), microwave link, DSL reception, cable internet reception, fibre reception, over-the- air infrastructure or other types of communications network or combinations of communications networks. The autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 may be coupled to a secondary communication network (e.g., Bluetooth, Near Field Communication, service provider proprietary networks, or wired connection) to push data thereto, as well as receive data. Paths may separately or together include one or more communications paths, such as a satellite path, a fibre-optic path, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications, free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths. In the present example, it will be appreciated that the cloud 100 may comprise any suitable data processing device or embedded system which can be accessed from another platform such as a remote computer, content aggregator or cloud platform which receives data posted by the surface treatment dispensing machines of the present invention. A user wishing to access the data at the cloud 100 or edge 102 may do so subject to user privileges and subscription services using a client device 106 such as smartphone or tablet. In an illustrative example, the user may connect to cloud 100 or edge device 102 using a browser on the client device 106, whereby, for example, whereby clicking a link in the browser will cause the client device 106 to fetch the data from the cloud 100 or edge 102, which in the present example is a web-application 108. As best seen in Figure 5 of the present invention, an autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 is shown which can mix and if needed, dilute, a required quantity of natural surface treatment or treatments on demand. Wherein the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 comprises a reservoir 5a, which further comprises a flexible material bag 28 and which is adapted to store a crop treatment concentrate or material 500. In the present embodiment, the crop treatment concentrate/material 500 may comprise a concentrates, or a mix of chemicals, that may need to be diluted and/or mixed with further chemicals to activate them precisely at the point of deposition, for example. The autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 of the present invention mixes the crop treatment material 500 with a solvent, such as water 502, or a further chemical, flowing through the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 to form a crop treatment suitable for application to a ground surface. In some examples, the autonomous agricultural spraying machine 10 mixes the crop treatment or material 500 in a first in-line mixer unit 35, prior to depositing the mixed crop treatment. The reservoirs 5a comprise the flexible treatment bag 28 connected to the first in-line mixer unit 35, via a hose 36. The first in-line mixer unit 35 is optional, in some examples, the mixing occurs only in second mixer unit 300, as will be described in more detail below. The flexible treatment bag 28 may contain different crop treatment materials, i.e. water, herbicides, pesticides, and/or other crop treatment materials in many forms such as soluble powders, liquids or concentrates. The flexible treatment bag 28 here contains the treatment material (M) suitable for depositing a lime material on the ground, though in general, it may contain any material for deposition, for example, a herbicide, pesticide, insecticide, crop treatment, fertiliser, fertilizer, plant growth aid, water, or the like, provided that a compatible hose 36, mixer 35 and nozzle arrays 42 are attached. The hose 36 is further connected to a control means 44a-b, such as a solenoid and/or solenoid valve, fluidly connected to a tank 20 containing water used to flush the hose 36 and nozzles 42 of Figure 3 and using the embodiment of Figure 6, is able to dilute the crop treatment material or other ground deposition material, by suitable mixing. The control means 44b, fluidly connected to tank 20 containing water, is operable to flush hoses, such as hoses 36 and 52. In some examples, control means 22 can increase or decrease the concentration of the crop treatment by controlling the control means 44a-b to provide various levels of material 500 and water (or indeed any other solvent) from tank 20. Thereafter, the water and material 500 mix in the first mixing unit 35, second mixing unit 300, swirl chamber 160, or a combination thereof. The reservoirs 5a comprising the flexible treatment bags 20 are connected to a nozzle array 42, after the second mixer unit 300 (the mixer unit of Figure 7). Each flexible treatment bag 20 of the reservoirs 5a, 5b, 5c & 5d is fluidly connected to the second helical mixer unit 50, after the first in-line mixer unit 35, via secondary hose 52. Ultimately, the components are all fluidly connected to the nozzle array 42. Here the nozzle array 42 acts as the means to deposit the material for deposition. Any such suitable nozzle, nozzle array or means to deposit the material, depending on the actual material to be deposited, may be used. It will be appreciated that if using more than one deposition material in a single mixer unit of any of the embodiments from Figures 3 to 7 included, the internal chambers and fluid outlets of the mixer units and/or related pipework needs to be cleaned after each dispensing operation to avoid mixing of deposition material from a previous dispensing operation with those of a succeeding operation. Such purging and cleaning operations are discussed in other co-pending applications by the Applicant. Figures 6a and 6b – are schematic diagrams of a surface treatment material dispensing and mixing apparatus, as can be used in the autonomous ground deposition machine of Figures 1 to 5 of the present invention. There is shown a second mixer unit 300 with an outer casing 310 and internal chamber 330, into which crop treatment, or crop treatment materials, are injected via dispenser heads (320 a, b, c). Gravity-fed systems may also be used to input the materials. The materials may be dispensed or injected in sequential order, for example clockwise or counter-clockwise, which would cause a swirl motion and this sequence would be controlled by the system controller 22 of Figure 2. Additional injected air or water under pressure may also be used to create an additional, or larger, swirl motion enough to further mix the injected materials. Alternatively, a further mixing chemicals and/or water may be injected in sequence to dilute the materials, or for other suspension reasons and thus being added at the same time and in the required amount, may also cause a mix to occur. The ratios of which being precisely calculated using the methods described in Figure 9. It should be clear to someone skilled in the art that there need to be enough dispenser heads (320 a, b, c), one each for crop or natural ground surface treatment material, or substance to be dispensed, as well as one for the water and/or chemical cleaning (330). The results are output via nozzle 340 to a deposition head 60 comprising nozzles array 42 (as described in Figures 1 to 5). Water and/or other suitable chemicals may also be used after the dispensing sequence, in order to clean the internal chamber 310 and be exited by a separate flush output 350, when used for cleaning. As it might not be desirable for the resulting chemicals to go into the deposition head. Each dispenser head (320 a, b, c) is controlled by a solenoid or other control means (not shown), all of which may be controlled by the system controller 22 of Figures 2, for example, or via separate processing means. The second mixer unit 300 can be used for crop treatments, powder, concentrate, surface treatment material dispensing and mixing, for example. In some examples, the second mixer unit 300 is fluidly connected to swirl chamber 160 of Figure 7 for example if further mixing is required, shown by marker “A”. Figure 7 – is a schematic diagram of a vortex/swirl mixing chamber which may be used with the embodiment of Figure 6 of the present invention. Swirl chamber 160 is disposed downstream of second mixer unit 300, as shown by marker “A”. Figure 7 comprises a swirl chamber 160, with four air inlets 162, 163, 164, 165 offset on the side of the swirl chamber 160, which in operation to create a tornado effect. A fifth air inlet 167 at the top of the swirl chamber 160, drawers air down to create a Venturi effect at the lower end. In some examples, the second mixer unit 300 may be bypassed, and the crop or surface treatment materials are mixed directly in the swirl chamber 160. For example, powder crop treatment, or crop treatment liquid concentrate or material may be injected via separate hydraulic lines 169 into the main chamber 160 and is mixed by the air in the vortex and output by a nozzle output valve 168. Crop treatment powders of typically small size tend to ‘stick together’ to form clumps or agglomerates. These must be broken down into separate particles that must then be wetted by water, solvents, or other additives to stop them from sticking together again. This is the process of dispersion. High-speed mixers are used for combining materials and dispersing most pigments. Thus, if crop treatment powder or materials are being used, then improved performance may be obtained by using an atomiser on each input 169 in order to atomise the crop treatment powders so that it mixes properly and doesn’t stick or attach to the sides of the swirl chamber 160. The inner lining of the swirl chamber 161 could also be made from non-stick material, such as PTFE, so that the crop treatment material doesn’t stick to the inside of the swirl chamber 160. Chamber 160 itself could be made from metal or another type of plastic, whichever suits the scale and application of the vortex mixer. The air inputs 162, 163, 164, 165 are pressurised. If the crop treatment material or powder needs mixing further, the air inlets 162, 163, 164, 165 could also take in pressurised water, solvents, binders, further non-inert chemicals or stabilisers, or an already mixed pressurised crop treatment, depending on the application. In some applications, powders need to be added slowly to a portion of the liquid crop treatment components, with the mixer running, so there is a need to accurately enable the control of the crop treatment flow rate. By controlling the flow rate, the system can control the ratios and amounts of the dilution and/or mixing very easily and accurately. It should be clear to those skilled in the art, that many means can be used to control the flow of the dispensing system as shown in Figures 3 to 5, such as a solenoid, hydraulic pumps and/or actuator valves. Any combination of said devices can be used to dispense a mixture of chemicals, such as solvents, binders and stabilisers, non-inert materials and water, or other fluids for the correct mixing application. Ground treatments may also be used, such as fertilisers. Fertiliser is critical to the development of crops and healthy yields. It introduces a natural or artificial substance into the soil with the aim to improve or enhance its natural fertility. The fertiliser also reintroduces chemicals lost in the soil by previous crop yields. Traditional fertiliser is often made up of manure and composts, but modern chemical fertiliser is created to include at least one of the following three elements, which are critical to the development of crops: Nitrogen – created from synthetic ammonia and often distributed as a gas, in water solutions or converted to ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate and ammonium phosphate in salt form. Phosphorus – these fertilisers include calcium phosphate, derived from rock or bones and sourced by treating calcium with sulfuric and phosphoric acid. Potassium – these types of fertilisers are mined from potash deposits and contain multiple nutrients, from the three core groups. Ground treatments, which are usually in powder concentrate form, can be heavily diluted to improve their flow. Watering the crop treatment down reduces the density of the powder/concentrate in the crop treatment so, when the crop treatment mixes, it may not produce the exact concentration on the first-time use, so a feedback loop, as described below with reference to Figure 10 below might need to be deployed. It will be appreciated that if using more than one chemical treatment material in a single mixer unit of any of the embodiments from Figures 3 to 6 included, the internal chambers and fluid outlets of the mixer units and/or related pipework may need to be cleaned after each dispensing operation to avoid mixing of concentrate (e.g., treatment) from a previous dispensing operation with those of a succeeding operation. Such purging and cleaning operations are discussed in other co-pending applications by the Applicant. It should be clear to someone skilled in the art that there are various mechanical options for mixing the required quantities of crop or natural surface treatment material required, depending upon the application. It will also be appreciated that first mixing unit 35, second mixing unit 300 and swirl chamber 160 all incorporate the same basic concept of calculating the required quantity of a first crop treatment substance and the required quantity of a second crop treatment substance to form a crop treatment product and controlling a first and second dispensing means to output the required quantity of the first crop treatment substance and the required quantity of the second crop treatment substance to form the crop treatment product. In particular, the crop treatment product may be used in an agricultural or ground surface spraying application. Figure 8 is a process flow diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a crop treatment processing method of the present invention. The steps of the process flow in Figure 8 shall herein be described. Process Start: Step 1: Obtain Required Output treatment values, volume and finish of crop treatment required Via a system controller 22, such as that described in Figure 2, an input can be obtained, which describes the characteristics, such as concentration of a crop treatment or substances to be mixed, as well as the consistency, such as viscosity or solubility (see Step 5 below). For example, a system user would simply be asked via an input (such as a keypad or a touch- capable display screen), the volume, type (such as type of herbicide) and type of crop treatment to be mixed (i.e., concentration, pre-sowing, post-harvest, and the like). The user may provide a manufacturer reference, which is handled in Step 2 following. Step 2. Convert Required Output treatment values to Machine values (optional step) In crop treatment mixing and/or deposition apparatus, a dilution will likely be required. Many dilution modalities are used in the art, for example, use using mass per unit volume or molar mass per unit volume. Many equations are known for calculating concentrations. Step 3: Determine the volume and finish of crop treatment required Many chemical and/or powder elements are provided to be used as a single crop treatment. The present application allows for the mixing and application of a plurality of treatments at the same time (using various nozzles in the nozzle array 42). However, the exact chemicals and treatments will need to be known to determine compatibility. For example, some crop treatments will be water-based, others may have a different solvent base, and others will be in powder, resin, or other form, solvents are also used that act as a ‘carrier’ for the concentrate – such as inorganic, organic compounds, or water. Various additives are also used to enhance certain properties such as ease of spraying, drying time, and the like. Dependent on the required finish of crop treatment, the required volume of materials such as solvents and treatments need to be calculated in precise quantities, and their compatibility verified. Step 4: Output values to a spray production machine The output thus may then be utilised to deploy the resulting values using a system controller 22 of Figures 3-7 and onto a valve, or motor control means 44a, 44b, attached to each reservoir 5a, as shown in Figures 3-7 to dispense the required amounts of each element required. They can either be calculated by a controller within the autonomous ground deposition machine, in the cloud, or via user input, as shall be herein described. End of Process In Figure 9, there is shown a method of finding the required concentrations, or amounts of a crop treatment, and the mix they will produce for a given surface or treatment requirement, according to a second embodiment of the present invention. To effectively mix crop treatments, far more so than with traditional mixing of, say, inks, it is very important to consider how the concentrations of crop treatments will be applied to the ground surface and affect specific crops. To counteract this, a process has been created for more accurate mixing of crop treatments for a given surface. Process Start: S1 – Obtain input treatment substance values. The input treatment values may either be directly obtained from a scan of a manufacturer QR code, or the like, or may be obtained by a user inputting the values themselves. For example, the user can input that they want to applying nitrates at 4g/dm^3 with a ground pH of 6.4. S2. Obtain the nearest mix ratio of crop treatments loaded into the machine. This would be implemented using a ‘look up’ table of the concentrate values of the crop treatments loaded into the autonomous agricultural spray machine, the ratios needed for each treatment substance. A lookup can then be performed to find the nearest mix ratio of crop treatments loaded into the autonomous ground deposition machine to result in the requested concentration. S3. Calculate values for mixing. For the concentration input, the ratios of each mix is required. For example, the autonomous agricultural spraying machine may be preloaded with nitrates at a concentrate of 8g/dm^3, so therefore a ration of 1:2 will be required to obtain 4g/dm^3. By way of further example, in practice, herbicides (H), Insecticides (I), and Pesticides (P) may all be deposited simultaneously, with various starting concentrations. Therefore, the user may wish to deposit 1 part herbicide, 2 parts insecticide, and 4 parts pesticide; 1:2:4, for H:I:P. However, each of these products may have a different starting concentration.10 g/dm^3 of H, 5 g/dm^3 of I, 20 g/dm^3 of P, resulting in a different ratio per unit volume to start with; (H*1*10) + (I*2*5) + (P*4*20) / dm^3 = 10H+10I+80P /dm^3. This results in a new set of ratios of concentrations required to make the output desired concentration: 1:2:0.5 for H:I:P respectively. S4. Mix the adjusted calculated ratios. Thereafter, the machine can mix, using the apparatus described herein, to provide the adjusted ratios as calculated above, for the required volume per unit area that the machine is to deposit on the ground surface. End of Process Due to the possible limitations of the crop treatments held in the autonomous ground deposition machine, that in they might not be able to be mixed in any way that could form the precise input requested. Thus, the calculated adjusted value in step 3 might be a “nearest concentration”. Thus this “nearest concentration” could then be displayed to the user to ensure the user is happy with the “nearest concentration”. A user of the autonomous ground deposition machine could then accept or reject the deposition. However, as described previously, infinitesimal steps can be made with concentration adjustments; therefore, this is more likely to be an issue of precision – for example, if the user requests a value too precise, in the order of 5 decimal places, or too small a concentration, in the order of ng/m^3. Figure 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an output verification method, according to an embodiment of the present invention. There is shown the following method steps: Method: S1. Obtain the required input values, type and volume of crop treatment required S2. Transform to the nearest output concentrate value (if required) and display the result to a user. This step could use the methods as described above. S3. Check with the user if they want to proceed, if YES, continue with the following steps. If NO, finish the process. S4. Calculate the required amounts of each crop treatment and/or whether dilution, solvents, or other suitable base materials are required for the specific crop treatment application as input in Step S1. S5. Place (or mechanically move) a catch tank under output nozzles S6. Run the deposition program to dispense the required amounts of each material, according to the embodiments described above S7. Verify crop treatment mixture produced using testing equipment as known in the art. S8. Re-adjust the mix, based on user inputted adjustments (if necessary – optional step) S9. Run real deposition. End of method Thus, in use, a user can input a ratio or concentration value into the autonomous deposition machine for a crop, or natural surface treatment that is required, or via another method, such as uploading a preconfigured setting, for example. In operation, the depositing and mixing systems of the present invention may house two, three, four or more flexible bags, or crop treatment cartridges, containing material for dispensing and/or mixing, the material for dispensing contained within each flexible bag being a crop treatment substance. The crop treatment materials can be powder crop treatments, concentrated crop treatments, resins, or any other formulation of crop treatment materials. The flexible bags may be housed in a substantially rigid frame or using other reservoir means and would be adapted for the crop treatment being mixed. The hoses, valves and mixing solutions, such as solvents, binders, stabilisers or water also being chosen for the specific application. It will be clear to one skilled in the art that many improvements and modifications can be made to the foregoing exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present technique. The robots, systems, and methods described herein can be used to deposit material on multiple different substrates, surfaces, or the ground. For example, these could be, grass, turf, crops, mud, clay, stone, or rock. In further exemplary embodiments, the robots, systems, and methods described herein may be used for crop treatment on a substrate or on the ground. This can be to deposition or treat crop, with crop treatment or direct to the ground. When large quantities of crop treatment are deposited, they are deposited in either adjacent dots or pixels, or a continuous stream so that the optimum coverage is achieved. The robots, systems, and methods described herein offer an improvement to deposition methods for agricultural purposes. These can be deposited more efficiently, quickly and with a higher degree of accuracy than the methods and depositors of the prior art. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that while the foregoing has described what is considered to be the best mode and where appropriate other modes of performing present techniques, the present techniques should not be limited to the specific configurations and methods disclosed in this description of the preferred embodiment. Those skilled in the art will recognise that present techniques have a broad range of applications and that the embodiments may take a wide range of modifications without departing from any inventive concept as defined in the appended claims. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practising the claimed disclosure, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope. This disclosure is made to illustrate the general principles of the systems and processes discussed above and is intended to be illustrative rather than limiting. More generally, the above disclosure is meant to be exemplary and not limiting and the scope of the disclosure is best determined by reference to the appended claims. In other words, only the claims that follow are meant to set bounds as to what the present disclosure includes. While the present disclosure is described with reference to particular example applications, it shall be appreciated that the disclosure is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art would appreciate that the actions of the processes discussed herein may be omitted, modified, combined, and/or rearranged, and any additional actions may be performed without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Any system feature as described herein may also be provided as a method feature and vice versa. As used herein, means plus function features may be expressed alternatively in terms of their corresponding structure. It shall be further appreciated that the systems and/or methods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems and/or methods. Any feature in one aspect may be applied to other aspects, in any appropriate combination. In particular, method aspects may be applied to system aspects, and vice versa. Furthermore, any, some, and/or all features in one aspect can be applied to any, some, and/or all features in any other aspect, in any appropriate combination. It should also be appreciated that particular combinations of the various features described and defined in any aspect can be implemented and/or supplied and/or used independently

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Apparatus suitable for use in an autonomous or semi-autonomous ground surface treatment spraying machine, the apparatus comprising: a. a first receptacle suitable for containing a first ground surface treatment substance, the first receptacle fluidly connected to a first dispenser; b. a second receptacle suitable for containing a second ground surface treatment substance, the second receptacle fluidly connected to a second dispenser; c. an output fluidly connected to the first and second dispensers; d. a controller unit, the controller unit able to take as an input, information about a required characteristic of a ground surface treatment product; wherein the controller unit is operable to calculate the quantities of the first ground surface treatment substance and the second ground surface treatment substance required to form the ground surface treatment product, and is operable to control the first and second dispensers to output, via an output, the required quantities of the first ground surface treatment substance and the second ground surface treatment substance.

2. A method of creating a ground surface treatment product for use in an autonomous or semi-autonomous agricultural spraying machine, the ground surface treatment creation method comprising: a. taking as an input, information about a characteristic of a ground surface treatment product; b. calculating the required quantity of a first ground surface treatment substance and the required quantity of a second ground surface treatment substance to form the ground surface treatment product; and c. controlling a first and second dispensing means to output, via an output, the required quantity of the first ground surface treatment substance and the required quantity of the second ground surface treatment substance to form the ground surface treatment product; d. wherein in operation the ground surface treatment product is used in a agricultural spraying application.

3. An autonomous or semi-autonomous agricultural spraying machine, comprising: a. navigation means; b. locomotion means; c. ground surface treatment deposition apparatus; d. a first receptacle suitable for containing a first ground surface treatment substance, the first receptacle fluidly connected to a first dispenser; e. a second receptacle suitable for containing a second ground surface treatment substance, the second receptacle fluidly connected to a second dispenser; f. an output fluidly connected to the first and second dispensers; and g. a controller unit, the controller unit able to take as an input, information about a required characteristic of a ground surface treatment product; wherein the controller unit is operable to calculate the quantities of the first ground surface treatment substance and the second ground surface treatment substance required to form the ground surface treatment product and is operable to control the first and second dispensers to output the required quantities of the first ground surface treatment substance and the second ground surface treatment substance, via the output to the ground surface treatment deposition arrangement.

4. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising an internal chamber, wherein the internal chamber is fluidly connected between the first and second dispensers and the output.

5. A method or apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the internal chamber is fluidly sealed.

6. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the dispensing means comprises a solenoid, hydraulic pump and/or actuator valve.

7. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the controller can further control the timing of the first and second dispensers to create a mix of the first ground surface treatment substance and the second ground surface treatment substance.

8. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein injected air is used to create a mix of the first ground surface treatment substance and the second ground surface treatment substance.

9. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim further comprising a mechanical mixer unit.

10. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the first and/or second receptacles comprise a flexible bag, the flexible bag provided with an airtight valve outlet sealed to the flexible bag and wherein the flexible bag is housed within a substantially rigid frame within the autonomous or semi-autonomous dispensing machine.

11. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim further comprising one or more cleaning fluid supply conduits, wherein the one or more cleaning fluid supply conduits are opening in the one or more dispenser heads at a cleaning fluid inlet in the internal chamber.

12. A method or apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising a choice of multiple ground surface treatment products and entry via an input.

13. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the characteristic comprises one or more of concentration, viscosity, LD50 value, solubility, and/or quantity.

14. A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein either the first ground surface treatment substance and/or the second ground surface treatment substance is one or more of a ground surface treatment, a ground surface treatment concentrate, or a ground surface treatment powder.