FAQ
Working with the API
What is meant by "crop-specific"?
The Vultus API provides two types of analyses, general analyses and crop-specific anayses. The term "crop-specific" can cause confusion for Vultus API users. None of the Vultus Analyses are truly "crop-specific" in that the API will generate the requested analysis, regardless of the type of vegetation on the ground.
What is the difference between general analyses and crop-specific analyses?
The Vultus Analysis Platform is built upon a set of general services that apply to all vegetation. Additionally, Vultus has recently add new services that are focused on specific crops.
General Analyses
These are the original Vultus API services. These services are generally used by Vultus users to provide an overview of the health of the vegetation on a plot of land.
| Service |
|---|
| plant health |
| water stress |
| vegetation indices |
| soil organic carbon |
| soil moisture |
| fertilizer prescription files |
Crop-Specific Analyses
The addition of the new services, focused on specific crops, forms the basis of the crop-specific analyses. Vultus users make use of some, maybe all, of the general services, along with the specific services to provide a detailed analysis of the crop on a plot of land. These new, patent pending, crop-focused analyses are unique to Vultus.
| Service | Crop |
|---|---|
| crude protein % | forage grass |
| dry matter content % | forage grass |
| starch % prediction | potato |
| yield prediction | potato |
| disease risk prediction | potato* |
| leaf nitrogen** | potato |
Not crop-specific, may be relevant for other crops. *Coming soon.
Understanding API feedback
The API returned a status code of "200", what does that mean?
Status codes, returned on the "data" portion of the response, apply only to the communication between the user and the API and not to the actual results of the request. The three types of status codes are described below.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| 200 | The API successfully received the request and placed it in the queue for processing. |
| 400 | There is a syntax error in the request. Correct the error and try again. |
| 500 | There was an error conneting to the API. Confirm that the client is connected to the internet and try again. If unsuccessful, contact Vultus support at support@vultus.se. |
How can I check the status of my requests?
There are three queries that provide request status information. All three queries return the same information about requests.
retrieveRequestDetails()- This query returns the status information of a single request. The only parameter needed is therequestId.retrieveRequestsHistory()- The query returns status information of requests for a single polygon.retrieveRequestsInProgress()- This query returns the status information of in-progress requests for a single polygon
My request is not returning images, what is going on?
There are a few reasons why a request might not produce analysis images.
- The request was not successfully submitted to the Vultus platform. If the status code returned by the API is not "200", the request was not successfully submotted.
- There is no available satellite data for the dates submitted with the request. There are two possible reasons for this:
- The satellite was not above top the plot for the requested dates.
- The weather conditions were cloudy when the satellite was above the plot. The API needs to have a clear, uncloudy satellite data in order to produce an analysis.
- The request is in the queue and has not completed processing. Long queue times can happen when there are thousands of requests submitted to the Vultus Platform in a short time frame.
- The Vultus platform had a system failure after the request was submitted. It is uncommon and rare that submitted request is "stuck".