PROBES snapshot: On-phone 3D plant mapping

This one-page brief, developed by the Digital Transformation Accelerator (DTA) team at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, is based on the On-phone 3D Plant Mapping probe led by Emile Faye, Senior Researcher at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. The probe explores whether low-cost smartphones can be used to generate three-dimensional plant models through image capture and computer vision techniques. By enabling in-field 3D reconstruction without specialized equipment, the approach aims to make plant phenotyping more accessible, scalable, and affordable. Implemented as an early-stage, safe-to-fail experiment, the probe focuses on understanding the feasibility, accuracy, and practical limitations of on-device 3D plant mapping under real-world conditions. The brief summarizes key insights to inform future applications of smartphone-based phenotyping tools in agricultural research and breeding programs.