Systems and methods for deactivating plant material outside of a growing region

Abstract

A system for deactivating plant material outside of a growing region to prevent propagation of designated plant material outside of the growing region includes an imaging sensor configured to remotely detect plant material outside of the growing region, a vehicle including a sampling implement configured to collect a sample of plant material, a plant sensor configured to analyze the sample of plant material, a deactivation device configured to deactivate plant material, and a controller configured to direct the vehicle to the plant material detected by the imaging sensor, cause the sampling implement to collect the sample from the detected plant material, cause the plant sensor to analyze the sample, and, when the sample is determined to be designated for deactivation, cause the deactivation device to deactivate the detected plant material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for deactivating plant material outside of a growing region to prevent propagation of designated plant material outside of the growing region, comprising:
 an imaging sensor configured to remotely detect plant material outside of the growing region;   a vehicle including a sampling implement configured to collect a sample of the plant material;   a plant sensor configured to analyze the sample of the plant material;   a deactivation implement configured to deactivate the sample of the plant material; and   a controller configured to direct the vehicle to the sample of the plant material detected by the imaging sensor, cause the sampling implement to collect the sample of the plant material, cause the plant sensor to analyze the sample of the plant material, and cause the deactivation implement to deactivate the sample of the plant material in response to determining that the sample of the plant material is designated for deactivation.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plant material comprises at least one of a plant, a reproductive component of a plant, or a transgenic plant material. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the deactivation implement is configured to physically destroy the sample of the plant material. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the deactivation implement is configured to physically collect and remove the sample of the plant material. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the deactivation implement is separate from the vehicle. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the deactivation implement is mounted to the vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging sensor is configured to detect plant material responsive to nonvisible light. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the imaging sensor is configured to detect plant material responsive to visible light. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a display configured to display data related to the sensor.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a communication device configured to transfer data to a remote device.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a mapping device, wherein the controller is further configured to receive data from the mapping device and plot the growing region.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plant sensor comprises a biosensor. 
     
     
         13 . A system for deactivating a plant material outside of a growing region, comprising:
 an imaging sensor configured to detect the plant material;   a vehicle including a sampling implement for collecting a sample of the plant material;   a plant sensor configured to analyze the sample of the plant material;   a deactivation implement configured to deactivate the sample of the plant material; and   a controller operatively coupled to the deactivation implement and configured to direct the vehicle to the sample of the plant material detected by the imaging sensor, cause the sampling implement to collect the sample of the plant material, cause the plant sensor to analyze the sample of the plant material, determine if the sample of the plant material is designated for deactivation, and cause the deactivation implement to deactivate the sample of the plant material in response to determining that the sample of the plant material is designated for deactivation.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the deactivation implement is configured to physically destroy the sample of the plant material. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the deactivation implement is configured to physically collect and remove the sample of the plant material. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a communication device configured to transfer data received from at least one of the plant sensor or the imaging sensor to a remote device.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a mapping device, wherein the controller is further configured to receive data from the mapping device and plot the growing region.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the plant sensor comprises a biosensor. 
     
     
         19 . A system for deactivating a plant material outside of a growing region, comprising:
 an imaging sensor for remotely detecting the plant material outside of the growing region;   a vehicle including a sampling implement for collecting a sample of the plant material;   a plant sensor for analyzing the sample of the plant material;   a deactivation implement for deactivating the sample of the plant material; and   a controller operatively coupled to the vehicle, wherein the controller directs the vehicle to the sample of the plant material, causes the sampling implement to collect the sample of the plant material, causes the plant sensor to analyze the sample of the plant material, determines if the sample of the plant material is designated for deactivation, and causes the deactivation implement to deactivate the sample of the plant material in response to determining that the sample of the plant material is designated for deactivation, so as to prevent propagation of designated plant material outside of the growing region.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 a mapping device operatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller receives data from the mapping device and plots the growing region in response to the received data.