Methods, apparatus, and systems for generating a vegetation control plan

Abstract

Vegetation control plans may be automatically generated using vegetation control information received from a variety of sources. Such vegetation control plans may aid farmers, other vegetation control personnel, and professionals when determining a vegetation control strategy, including treatment, and then guide the implementation of that strategy. Vegetation control plans may include a variety of recommended vegetation control practices and projected outcomes for the implementation of recommended vegetation control management practices.

1 . A system comprising:
 at least one data source;   a plan generator configured to receive input information from the at least one data source, produce a plurality of vegetation control plans based upon the input information, evaluate the plurality of vegetation control plans, and choose a selected control plan from the plurality of vegetation control plans; and   a client device coupled to the plan generator through a communication network, wherein the client device is configured to receive the selected control plan and present it through an interface.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one of the at least one data source is a remote sensor comprising one of an aircraft, vehicle, satellite, and drone. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the remote sensor provides one of moisture levels, rain fall and site conditions. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one of the at least one data source is a database that stores vegetation control information. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the client device is one of a user device and a manager device. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the interface allows a user or a manager to provide treatment information to the plan generator, and wherein the plan generator is further configured to update the selected control plan based upon the treatment information. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one piece of equipment that receives instructions from the plan generator in order to execute the selected control plan. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one piece of equipment provides data to the plan generator, and wherein the plan generator uses the data to generate the plurality of vegetation control plans. 
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a computing platform, vegetation information from at least one data source;   generating, by the computing platform, a plurality of control plans regarding unwanted vegetation in at least one location based upon the vegetation information;   evaluating, by the computing platform, the plurality of control plans;   selecting, by the computing platform, a chosen control plan from the plurality of control plans;   providing, by the computing platform, the chosen control plan to a user interface through a communication network; and   displaying, by the user interface, the chosen control plan.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 determining, by the computing platform, a size and border of a site containing the unwanted vegetation based upon an analysis of the vegetation information.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the vegetation information includes remotely sensed data from at least one of a vehicle, drone, and aircraft relating to the unwanted vegetation, the method further comprising:
 determining, by the computing platform, a status of the unwanted vegetation based upon an analysis of the remotely sensed data.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 generating, by the computing platform, a set of instructions for execution of the chosen control plan; and   providing, by the computing platform, the set of instructions to at least one of a user, a manager, a database, and a data feed.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 providing, by the user interface, input information to the computing platform; and   updating, by the computing platform, the chosen control plan based upon the input information.   
     
     
         14 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a crop plan generator, vegetation information;   producing, by the crop plan generator, a plurality of control strategies based upon the vegetation information;   evaluating, by the crop plan generator, the plurality of control strategies;   choosing, by the crop plan generator, a selected control strategy from the plurality of control strategies;   determining, by the crop plan generator, a potential impact of utilizing a resource to execute the selected control strategy; and   providing, by the crop plan generator, the selected control strategy and the determined impact to a user through a communication network.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the crop plan generator, additional information regarding the selected control strategy from at least one of the user, a database, a data feed, and a remote sensor;   updating, by the crop plan generator, the selected control strategy based upon the additional information; and   providing, by the crop plan generator, an updated version of the selected control strategy to the user through the communication network.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the crop plan generator, additional information regarding vegetation control plans for projects which are adjacent, regional, or relevant to the selected control strategy; and   updating, by the crop plan generator, the selected control strategy based upon the additional information; and   providing, by the crop plan generator, an updated version of the selected control strategy to the user through the communication network.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of control strategies include a logistics plan that provides instructions and options for organizing at least one of resource allocation and resource movement. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the selected control strategy contains measurements including at least one of an efficiency index, an effectiveness index, a time index, and a cost index. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the vegetation information includes at least one of new product data, new research data, new best practices data, and new regulatory data, the method further comprising updating, by the crop plan generator, the selected control strategy as one or more of the new product data, the new research data, the new best practices data, and the new regulatory data is received. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the vegetation information includes one or more of information regarding a planned event, an unplanned event, a contractual requirement, a financial requirement, a plant requirement, a treatment requirement, a resource utilization, local knowledge, resource availability, remotely sensed information, information received via a resource, and information received via a computer-implemented social network.