Abstract:The rapid development of crop phenomics demands high-efficiency, intelligent, and cost-effective technologies and systems for large-scale data acquisition and analysis, as well as for germplasm phenotyping. To address these challenges, multidisciplinary innovations was integrated to overcome key technical bottlenecks in high-throughput data acquisition and intelligent traits extraction for crop phenomics. A suite of proprietary technologies was developed, including lightweight and agile multi-sensor arrays, universal imaging box, and both fixed and mobile high-throughput phenotyping platforms adaptable to diverse environments, together with corresponding algorithms and software systems. These developments culminate in the Crop Phenomics Big Data Factory (CPBDF). CPBDF is a comprehensive technology and equipment framework that conceptualizes farmlands, greenhouses, and growth chambers as “factories”, where phenotyping platforms function as “production lines”, and the output is high-quality phenomics big data. The system integrated field-based and facility-based autonomous phenotyping platforms, organ- and microscopy-level phenotyping systems, automated cultivation control devices, crop modeling systems, a digital-twin intelligent management platform, and a big data computing center. It enabled automated, multi-source, and multi-scale data acquisition with high throughput, precision, and integration, supporting three-dimensional reconstruction and quantitative phenotypic analysis across crop populations, individuals, organs, and microstructures. The proposed framework established a paradigm for the production, processing, and application of crop phenomics big data. It provided foundational infrastructure for digital breeding and smart cultivation, and served as a key enabler for AI for Science-driven research platforms and factory-style germplasm phenotyping.
