Real Shot™ Imagery

Real Shot™ is delivered back to end-users as 4 different image products at 1 meter resolution:

True Color (RGB)

The Real Shot™ True Color image is how the fields appear to the naked eye as if you were sitting in the plane and looking out the window on the day of capture. Easily define sloughs, drainage ditches, sandy patches, or different colored plants or weeds.

Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI)
The Real Shot™ NDVI is the image which most users extract the maximum value. It is a calculated vegetative index which shows you the variability in plant biomass density and plant health across the field. It picks up subtle differences between plants, soil, and water, and allows us to more easily define field variability. It’s Real-Shot™ NDVI that is most commonly used for management zone creation.

False Color Infrared (FCIR)

The Real Shot™ FCIR image is used to analyze and distinguish differences between plant health variability and soil moisture differences. Having a FCIR image to compare against NDVI and True Color will add that extra layer of help to distinguish your field problems.

Raw 4-Band Product

For the more advanced users and those who may want expandibility with Real Shot™ imagery, you will also receive the raw file format of your Real Shot™ images. The file type can be a 4-Band GeoTiff or GeoJpeg and will allow you to store for later use, or import into most common GIS programs.

How is Real Shot™ Imagery Captured and Delivered?

Using fixed wing aircraft flying at approximately 10,000 feet and without cloud cover or shadows below, Real Shot™ images are captured with automated GPS remote sensing equipment and delivered back to users in digital, high resolution format for pinpoint accuracy.

To order Real Shot™, all you need is a geo-reference field boundary file.

Results and Decisions

Groundtruthing:
When you’ve received back the aerial imagery products, you are presented with a variety of options that can lead to a variety of results. The first step that GeoFarm recommends is to “Ground-Truth” the images. This step can involve taking the geo-referenced Real Shot™ image product, commonly the NDVI to the field and using your eyes and knowledge to help you figure out why the variability exists. Coupling this step with readings from SPAD meters, tissue and soil tests, LAI counts, plant height readings, or compaction meters, the ground-truthing truly will prove valuable and make your decisions easier.

Management Zones for Variable Rate:
When you begin to understand what is causing the field variability, the next step may be to create management zones. Through online tools, you are able to automatically create between 2 and 22 classified management zones based on the NDVI or FCIR image. These management zones can be used for in-season application correction of fertilizer or fungicide, or used later in the fall for zone soil sampling.

Field Scouting with Real Shot™

An excellent tool for consultants and businesses looking for efficiency in scouting is to utilize Real Shot™ before hitting the fields. By capturing Real Shot™ Images shortly before scouting, you will be that much smarter and efficient in your scouting. Instead of walking or driving to random areas of the field to look for weeds, problems, or to take tissue tests, utilize the in-season Real Shot™ images to point you in the exact areas of the field to record your scouting observations.

The Science Behind Real Shot™ Imagery

It’s the near-infrared wavelength of light that is able to penetrate into the inner cell layer and give an indication of the vigor of the crop. A dense, healthy, inner cell layer in a plant will reflect NIR light. A less dense, weaker inner cell layer will allow more NIR light to transmit through the plant. By measuring the degree of reflection and absorption of the NIR we can begin to determine the vigor of the crop below. The density of crop canopy also plays an importance in this measurement as both soil and water around the crop canopy reflect NIR to a different degree than a plant will. The Real Shot™ digital camera technology records the reflection of the 4 wavelengths of light off the ground and vegetation below (red, green, blue, NIR). It does this from an overhead perspective and provides information and insight that is not as easily attainable from ground level with the human eye.