Development of a machine vision assisted mechatronic seed meter for corn (Zea mays L.)
2018
Borja, A.A.
The occurrence of missing hills in planting operation is one common problem for pneumatic corn planters. This study focused on providing a solution to prevent or reduce missing hill occurrence using machine vision technology and mechatronics. A pneumatic corn planter was fitted with a camera to monitor the seed plate, a microprocessor to process images and govern the operation of the planter, and a stepper motor to produce precise rotations for the planter drive. Tests were conducted to determine the reliability of the drive, accuracy of the machine vision system, and performance of the planter under varying forward speeds. It was found out that the drive cannot maintain a constant seed delivery rate due to the limited processing capacity of the microcontroller. The machine vision system was highly accurate as it only committed 0.2564 % error for 780 readings. Acceptable performance was observed at 2 kph and 4 kph settings where the system was able to reduce the number of missing hill occurrence by 55.4025 % and 20.8811 %, respectively, against a control set-up. Performance at 6 kph was found out to be unacceptable as the number of missing hill occurrence was 136.6207 % more when compared to the control.
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