Development and laboratory evaluation of a novel IoT-based electric-driven metering system for high precision garlic planter

Abstract

In order to address many issues, such as the inconsistent and unreliable seeding process in traditional mechanical garlic seed metering systems (SMS), as well as the lack of ability to monitor the effectiveness of the seeding, a highly accurate electric-driven metering system (EDMS) was developed and created specifically for garlic seed planters. This study provided a description of the overall structure and functioning principle, as well as an analysis of the mechanism for smooth transit and delivery. A combination of an infrared (IR) sensor, Arduino Mega board, stepper motor, speed sensor, and a Wi-Fi module was employed to operate the EDMS, as well as monitor and count the quantity of garlic seeds during the planting process and determine the qualified rate (QR) and missing rate (MR). A monitoring system of the planting quality of garlic seeds was created based on the IoT concept. Then, the performance of the EDMS was validated in a laboratory setting utilizing a bench test at six operating velocities of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 rpm of the EDMS. The obtained results showed that the correlation coefficient between the actual and detected garlic seed using the garlic seed monitoring and counting system (GSMCS) was 0.9723. Additionally, the EDMS observed a maximum QR of 96.23% at an operating velocity of 20 rpm, with a standard division and standard error of 1.61030 and 0.72015, respectively. Additionally, the EDMS minimized the MR up to 3.77% at the same operating velocity, with standard division and standard error of 1.65325 and 0.73936, respectively. Furthermore, the results indicated a progressive increase in the QR and MQ standard errors as the EDMS's operating velocity increased. Additionally, the sensor's monitoring accuracy gradually declined with an increase in the operating speed of the EDMS. Finally, this study introduced a novel EDMS to garlic seed planters that was not used before. The developed EDMS and GSMCS are technical manuals for developing and designing monitoring systems capable of precisely measuring and identifying the rates of qualifying and missing garlic seed measurements.

Fig 1. Main components of the planting unit of the garlic seeds.

Fig 2. Main dimensions of the planting unit of the garlic seeds (all dimensions in cm).

Fig 3. Technical specification of the different software components used for designing the developed EDMS and GSMCS.

Fig 4. Connection of the electronic circuits for developed EDMS and GSMCS with Arduino mega board.

Fig 5. Operating map of the developed EDMS and monitoring system.

Fig 6. Schematic drawing of smooth transport and delivery of garlic seed during the developed EDMS.

Whereas v_f is the travel speed, m/s; ω is the angular velocity of the stepper motor, rad/s; v_r is the linear speed of the feeding fork, m/s; v₁ and v_t are the initial and final falling speeds of garlic seed, m/s; H is the vertical distance between the stepper motor and soil surface; cm, h is the vertical distance between the lower sprocket and soil surface; cm, and x is the seeding spacing, cm.

Fig 7. Force analysis diagram of smooth transport and delivery of garlic seed during the developed EDMS.

Fig 8. Working steps and operating algorithm of the developed GSMCS.

Fig 9. Scatter plot of the actual and measured values at each theoretical distance using IR sensor.

Fig 10. Output signals from the GSMCS under different theoretical operating velocity.

Fig 11. Scatter plot of the detection garlic seed numbers versus actual garlic seed numbers at different seeding flow rate.

Fig 12. Influence of the operating velocity of the EDMS on the monitoring results of the GSMCS.