MUMBAI, India, Aug. 31 -- Intellectual Property India has published a patent application (202641101030 A) filed by Sri Eshwar College Of Engineering on August 20, 2026, for Ai-Enabled Uav System For Thermal Imaging Based Crop Water Stress Detection And Precision Irrigation Mapping.
Inventors include Muthu Samy M; Indiresh P L; P Ganeshan; and Samraj S.
The application for the patent was published on August 28, 2026, under issue no. 35/2026.
Abstract: The proposed invention presents an intelligent UAV-based system for detecting crop water stress and generating a precision irrigation map for targeted watering. The UAV is equipped with a thermal imaging camera, an optional multispectral camera, a GPS module, flight controller, onboard processing unit, and a wireless communication module. During flight, the UAV follows a pre-defined grid path and captures canopy temperature images of the field, and the onboard processing unit analyses the images in real time to compute a Crop Water Stress Index. Whenever a water-stressed zone is detected, the system automatically records the corresponding GPS coordinates, canopy temperature, and stress classification. The collected data is compiled into a colour-coded map — green for healthy, yellow for moderate stress, and red for severe stress — enabling the farmer to directly irrigate only the zones that require water instead of watering the entire field uniformly. The proposed system reduces water wastage, enables early detection of crop stress before visible wilting occurs, helps identify malfunctioning irrigation infrastructure, and contributes to sustainable water management by combining UAV technology, thermal imaging, multispectral analysis, and GPS-based geolocation into a single integrated platform.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
