Comparing a single-sensor camera with a multisensor camera for monitoring coffee crop using unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

There exist two options for digital cameras that can capture the near-infrared (NIR) band. Conventional red–green–blue (RGB, visible bands) cameras with a single sensor provide NIR band visibility based on the removal of the internal NIR-blocking filter. Alternatively, multisensor cameras exist that have a specific sensor for each band. The modified RGB cameras are of a lower price. In this context, the objective of this study was to compare the performance of a modified RGB camera with that of a multisensor camera for obtaining the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in an area with coffee cultivations. A multispectral camera with five sensors and another camera with only one sensor were used. The NDVI of the coffee field was also measured using the GreenSeeker handheld NDVI sensor manufactured by Trimble. The images were calibrated radiometrically based on the targets in shades of gray made of napa, and the NDVI was calculated after image calibration. The calibration curves showed a high coefficient of determination. The NDVI value obtained with the calibrated images from the cameras showed a significant correlation with the values obtained by the GreenSeeker NDVI sensor, making it possible to obtain the variability pattern of the vegetation index. However, the NDVI obtained using the multisensor camera was closer to the NDVI obtained by the GreenSeeker NDVI sensor.