Page Comparison

**Preparing the day before**

1. Charge flash battery

2. Charge Amiga batteries

3. Prepare supplies

   1. Color checkers (x2)

   2. Measuring tape

   3. Small step ladder

Supplies

BB V3.1 - SVCam NC, TX	BBV 3.0 - Sony Camera MD
Power:  Charged flash battery  BB camera power cable  4 charged Amiga Lithium Ion Batteries  4 Battery Keys	Power:  Charged flash battery  Charged camera battery  4 Amiga Lithium Ion Batteries  4 Battery Keys
Flash:  Godox AD1200 Pro (charged flash bulb & flash box)	Flash:  _______ Flash
USB:  Ethernet cable	USB:  Fan setup for camera if applicable
Color Checker	Color Checker
UI Cover	UI Cover
Measuring Tape	Measuring Tape
Other: Small Step Ladder Grease Gun	Other: Small Step Ladder Grease Gun

1. Camera/Flash Setup

Attach SVCam

Section here about connecting the SVCam before the bbot is turned on. Include a “important” info panel because this is a very important step. There’s a risk of burning the camera if it’s connected after the bbot is already turned on.

Ask Maria for more images of the completely assembled SVCam setup (including flash).

Configure SVCam

1. Check focus

2. check aperture

3. check camera height are correct (see table)

   1. For height - check that the distance from the lens to the top of the pot in correct (see table)

Setup the flash

1. physically attaching

2. plugging in the cables

3. making sure the flash settings are correct (see table)

4. Need to clarify Maria about:

   1. how the flash is powered and

   2. about the order of operations for attaching the camera and flash

Test SVCam

1. take some images, make sure the camera is functioning properly and no errors appear on the Bbot interface

2. BBot Setup

• Slides into internal track as it is easy to miss.

• When turning from “Unlocked” to “Off”, gentle pressure must be applied towards the battery.

• A peg will push out of the underside of the battery, entering a hole in the metal panel of the Amiga.

• Boot up will commence.

• When choosing a starting place, make sure the camera is above the first row.

• Pausing the BBot during batch collection to adjust alignment is okay.

1. The light on the joystick will be orange or blue. When on, the BBot can control itself (Y-axis), but the joystick will be unresponsive.

2. To use the joystick, turn this off.

Section here having to do with inputting bbot setting (refer to table)

3. Check Camera and Flash Settings

Make sure that the camera settings match what is listed in the camera settings table

1. Check aperture is correct

1. Check that the focus is correct

2. Check the flash power

3. Check height of the lens from the potting soil surface using a measuring tape

4. Place the

1. color checker in frame of the starting position

2. Open the BBot app on the BBot interface and press the “take image” button to take a test image.

Camera and Flash Settings Table

1. To avoid the Amiga/BBot frame being in the images, we start the camera at a position further in the X-axis, away from its right/leftmost position, which I am referring to as “0”. To get the camera into proper position, move the camera to the “0” position so that it is at its standard starting place, and then move it whatever distance your site species in the table below (the “x-axis starting” column).

2. If you are changing your species map (or need to replace it, as sometimes it will clear itself when restarting the app or BBot), use the “Species Map” tab to build it. Use the information in the table corresponding to your site to build the species map. At the moment, what you select for the “species” itself does not matter (we do not use that metadata and there are limited options). Just make sure to select a species from the list. If you leave it as “none”, BBot will not take images there. After making your settings, click add rows and your map will appear on the right side of the screen. If it looks good to you, then press “Save.” If you do not press save, then the map will not appear in the “Traversal” tab and you will have to rebuild it.

Check and Adjust BBot App Settings

BenchBot App Programmed Settings Table

4. Weed Potting Area

Discard non-target weeds or plants with overlapping leaves by uprooting, shaking off soil, and placing into a bucket or bag. Do not leave removed weeds or plants on pots or on the landscape fabric. Anything green will be detected, therefore everything that should not be imaged must be removed.

1. Remove overlapping target weeds in all pots

2. Remove non-target weeds from pots and landscape fabric

   1. Check inside the pots for non-target weeds

   2. Check and remove weeds growing from underneath the pots

   3. Check for and remove weeds growing on the landscape fabric

Image Added

5. Begin the Batch

1. Place 2 Color Checkers in the potting area. Place one roughly 15cm above the pot surface(use something to prop the color checker on top of), and the other at the height of the pot surface (see below for an example).

Image Added

2. Start BBot collection via the “run” button on the “Traversal” tab

3. Stick around for at least the first two rows to ensure everything is working properly. If the BBot is not rolling forward after a row, then the auto button on the Amiga interface is likely in the wrong state (the joystick light should be blue or orange, not white).

4. Move the color checker, once it will no longer be in anymore images, to a new spot ahead of the BBot. I personally put it at the start of every species. It is good to have the color checker in a batch several times, as lighting conditions do change throughout the day.

5. Every now and then, when BBot reaches the ends of a row, check these outermost photos to make sure the pot is fully in the frame and no Amiga is in frame. If either of these happened, then your camera may not be parallel to the ground, or you may need to adjust BBot’s position with the joystick.

6. Depending on site, you may have to replace the flash battery every once and a while.

   1. At MD, our BBot does not charge the flash as it goes along, so the battery is not gaining any charge. I find that the Battery lasts about 2.5 species normally, so I like to change it out at the end of the second species and the end of the fourth species. Make sure to pause the BBot traversal before doing so, and also when you slip the new battery in, turn the flash on. The flash does not automatically turn on (even if it was still on when your removed the old battery), so you will have to manually turn it on again. Always have your flash batteries charging in case you are ready at any moment.

6. Packing-Up

1. Return BBot to its starting position.

2. Reapply lens cap to camera lens if needed

3. Unplug the camera cable, and screw the USB-port cap back onto the BBot box.

4. Take the camera off the BBot. At the triangle mounting spot, there is a little tab you will need to press in to disengage the mount. When holding that tab in, you will be able to lift the camera/flash out. I like to have one hand dedicated to the tab, and another below the flash, holding it and pushing up.

5. Pack away any accessories you brought out (Color Checker, Tweezers, etc.).

6. Turn off Amiga batteries and unplug them.

7. Bring everything inside, and charge all batteries so that they are ready for the next batch collection.

Troubleshooting

Basic Troubleshooting Tips:

• Check the emergency breaks. Make sure they aren’t active. They should be lifted so that you can see a strip of black below them, indicating the brakes are not on.

• Check wi-fi connection. On the top right corner of the BBot interface. If no signal, Advanced wi-fi settings can be assessed in settings if there is no signal.

• Check Amiga settings. Make sure they are properly set.

• Check camera & flash. Make sure they are turned on and plugged in.

• Reboot the system. Remember to turn off BBot before unplugging camera.

“Missing JPG/RAW” , “Missing JPG” , Image loading indefinitely

It is believed this is caused by an issue with the camera having a proper connection to BBot.

Try to remedy this by:

• Unplugging the camera cable from both ports several times. Try to image after each attempt.

• Dismounting the camera and moving it a little bit. Remove & replace the battery. Doing anything to maybe jostle something back into place.

• Rebooting BBot.

BBot taking images in same spot, unable to move (X & Y axis motors)

• Restart the BBot app. Simply close and reopen.

“No images taken”

In the mini-computer (via piKVM)

While in the mini-computer, execute localhost:5000/image in the address bar. This message is returned:

{“text”: “RAW BMP missing”, “imageTaken”: 0}

on the screen it says “Raw BMP missing”

• Cabling - Step by step

1. Power cable → Camera

2. Data cable → Camera

3. Flash cables and Camera

   1. Power Cable → Camera

   2. Camera → Flash

   3. Data ethernet (from camera) → Power Box

• Check cables. Make sure they are plugged in securely.

• Check Minicomputer. Make sure it is properly communicating with the camera.

Examples of Plant Spacing and Non-Target Weeds

Individual plant spacing

Avoid overlapping plants

, thinning in every instance of overlap. Be liberal when thinning plants.

Individual pot spacing

Do NOT move pots from their location unless otherwise directed to by Matthew Kutugata or others on the Computer Vision team. It is, however, permissible to rotate individual pots to avoid overlapping of plants.

Non-target weeds

Image Added