Planter Trench Geometry Sensing from Camera Motion Before Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
It is difficult for operators to visually inspect the shape of trenches formed by planter row units and the deposition of seeds or commodities within them due to the closing wheels covering the trenches, leading to decreased efficiency and productivity.
Innovation Solution
A method using a camera mounted on the planter row unit to capture image data, which is analyzed by a computing device to determine geometric parameters of the trench, including depth and seed location, by identifying artifacts and calculating camera displacement between images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If closing wheels are used to close trenches after seed deposition, then soil is properly covered and protected, but operators cannot visually inspect trench shape and seed placement
Solution Approach 1:
A camera system is introduced as an intermediary device to capture images of the trench and seed placement. The camera is positioned to view the trench before closing wheels cover it, allowing operators to visually inspect the work without compromising the closing function. This mediator enables observation without interfering with the soil coverage process.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection problem is shifted from the physical spatial dimension to the optical/image dimension. Instead of requiring direct line-of-sight visual inspection of the trench, the system captures two-dimensional images that represent the three-dimensional trench structure, allowing operators to examine trench shape and seed placement from a different dimensional perspective.
2Measurement precision
If operators stop the machine to visually inspect trenches, then they can assess seed placement quality, but productivity and efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system operates continuously during the planting process, capturing images of the trench and seed placement in real-time as the machine moves forward. This eliminates the need to stop the machine for inspection, maintaining continuous planting operation while providing ongoing visual feedback on seed placement quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual inspection process, which requires stopping the machine and physical examination of trenches, is replaced by an automated optical imaging system. The camera automatically captures and transmits images to operators or monitoring systems, substituting mechanical inspection with optical detection to maintain productivity while ensuring quality assessment.
3Measurement precision
If multiple images are captured and analyzed to determine geometric parameters, then accurate trench profile measurement is achieved, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates multiple image copies or representations of the trench from different positions and angles. By capturing multiple images and processing them together, the system can reconstruct three-dimensional trench geometry and calculate precise geometric parameters such as depth, width, and shape, achieving accurate measurement through image replication and synthesis.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for identifying geometric parameters of a trench during a planting process. The method includes, providing image data of the trench from a camera to a computing device, the image data including more than one image, identifying at least one artifact in a first image and a second image of the image data, determining camera displacement between the first image and the second image, and applying the camera displacement and positioning of the at least one artifact to identify a geometric location of the at least one artifact identified in the first image and the second image.