DEVELOPMENT OF AN OPTICAL TECHNIQUE FOR SCAN THE SOIL AFTER THE CONTACT WITH WHEELS

Abstract

Soil is a collection of natural bodies, that are made of solid parts, liquid and gas, three-dimensionally and formed by mineral sand organic materials, containing living matter one of the mantle surface of the planet, providing the development of agriculture that is essential and irreplaceable to human life. In agriculture, the use of mechanization arms to increase productivity, once the global population grows everyday, increasing the demand for food and avoiding deforestation for opening new agricultural frontiers. The use of machinery in agriculture requires full knowledge of its operation, adjustments and maintenance, as well as the compatibility of soil-working machine, otherwise it may cause impacts to the soil and therefore to the environment. So it is critical to understand the effects that the tires of the tractor can cause during the transit of tractors through agricultural areas, giving preference to monitoring techniques that avoid contact with the soil and demands great consumption of time and labor. This study evaluated the interferometric technique as a potential alternative to traditional manual processes or high cost equipment and proposed a protocol to be used in the field besides testing the methodology of a laser scanner. The results showed the feasibility of the proposed technique in the laboratory and in the field in addition to copy the soil 3D profile and identify the deformations caused by the tread.