An Automatic Machine Vision-Guided System for the Propagation of Potato Test-Tube Plantlets

In manually propagating potato test-tube plantlets (PTTPs), the plantlet is usually grasped and cut at the node point between the cotyledon and stem, which is hardly located and is easily damaged by the gripper. Using an agricultural intelligent robot to replace manual operation will greatly improve the efficiency and quality of the propagation of PTTPs. An automatic machine vision-guided system for the propagation of PTTPs was developed and tested. In this paper, the workflow of the visual system was designed and the image acquisition device was made. Furthermore, the image processing algorithm was then integrated with the image acquisition device in order to construct an automatic PTTP propagation vision system. An image processing system for locating a node point was employed to determine a suitable operation point on the stem. A binocular stereo vision algorithm was applied to compute the 3D coordinates of node points. Finally, the kinematics equation of the three-axis parallel manipulator was established, and the three-dimensional coordinates of the nodes were transformed into the corresponding parameters X, Y, and Z of the three driving sliders of the manipulator. The experimental results indicated that the automatic vision system had a success rate of 98.4%, 0.68 s time consumed per 3 plants, and approximate 1 mm location error in locating the plantlets in an appropriate position for the medial expansion period (22 days).

Abstract licence: CC BY

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