Authors

Abstract

Tree whitewash has the functions of parasite prevention and cold protection and is therefore commonly used in the maintenance and management of trees. At present, tree whitewash mainly relies on manual operation, which has the problems of low efficiency, poor quality, and uneven distribution of the whitewash agent. To address this issue, this study developed a smart tree whitewash device based on human–computer interaction. The device was controlled mainly by a programmable logic controller (PLC). Once the trunk information collected by sensors was received by the PLC, it would control the up and down motions of the ball screw to manipulate the mechanical arm for whitewash. In addition, a Mitsubishi GT12 touch screen was adopted to facilitate system operation. Subsequently, a whitewash experiment was performed on poplar trunks with lengths of 10–35 cm using three different whitewash devices, i.e., a backpack sprayer, a semi-automatic tree sprayer, and the proposed smart tree whitewash device; the efficiency and the amount of whitewash agents used were compared. The results suggested that as the tree diameter at breast height increased, the amount of required whitewash agent elevated accordingly. In this case, the time required by the backpack sprayer and the semiautomatic tree sprayer to complete the job both increased, whereas that required by the smart tree whitewash device remained almost identical. In terms of work efficiency, the time required by the smart whitewash device to whitewash a tree was 109.89 s, which was approximately 1/2 of the time required by the backpack sprayer or 2/3 of that required by the semiautomatic tree spraying device. Meanwhile, the amount of whitewash agent required by the smart whitewash device to whitewash a tree was 140.23 g, which was approximately 0.46 of the amount required by the backpack sprayer or 0.74 of that required by the semiautomatic tree spraying device. Therefore, it was concluded that the proposed smart tree whitewash device could not only improve the work efficiency of tree whitewash but also greatly reduce the amount of whitewash agent required, thereby decreasing the cost and minimising environmental pollution. This study provides theoretical guidance and technical support for future research on smart tree whitewash devices.

Abstract in Chinese

树木刷粉具有预防寄生虫和御寒的功能，因此常用于树木的养护和管理。目前，树木刷白主要依靠人工操作，存在效率低、质量差、刷白剂分布不均匀等问题。针对这一问题，本研究开发了一种基于人机交互的智能树干涂刷装置。该装置主要由可编程控制器(PLC)控制。PLC接收到传感器采集到的主干信息后，通过控制滚珠丝杠的上下运动来操纵机械臂进行粉刷。并采用三菱GT12触摸屏，方便系统操作。随后，在10-35 cm的杨树树干上进行了刷白试验，试验采用3种不同的刷白装置，即背包式刷白机、半自动刷白机和本发明的智能刷白装置;比较了该方法的漂白效率和用量。结果表明，随着树径胸高的增加，所需的漂白剂用量也相应增加。在这种情况下，背包喷雾器和半自动树木喷雾器完成这项工作所需的时间都增加了，而智能树木粉刷设备所需的时间几乎相同。在工作效率方面，智能刷树装置刷树时间为109.89 s，约为背包式喷雾器刷树时间的1/2或半自动喷雾器刷树时间的2/3。同时，智能刷白装置刷白树木所需的刷白剂用量为140.23 g，约为背包式喷雾器所需用量的0.46，或半自动刷白装置所需用量的0.74。因此，本文提出的智能树木涂刷装置不仅可以提高树木涂刷工作效率，而且可以大大减少所需的刷白剂用量，从而降低成本，减少环境污染。本研究为未来智能树干刷白设备的研究提供了理论指导和技术支持。