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Early Access
https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2026.1767

Design and experiment of seed posture detection and adjustment device for garlic

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Published: 4 May 2026
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Garlic, pointed-end-up garlic planting, posture detection, adjustment

Authors

Aijun Geng
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.
Xinzhe Lin
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.
Zhilong Zhang
sdauzzl@163.com
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.
Tianhua Li
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.
Fengshuai Ling
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.
Zongxin Guo
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.

In order to solve the problem of low orientation adjustment success rate and unsatisfactory orientation effect in garlic mechanical seeding, a garlic seed posture detection and adjustment device for garlic was designed. The device was developed to recognize garlic posture and control garlic posture through video acquisition, target detection and garlic directional motion control, which consisted of a posture adjustment system and an automatic control system. The posture adjustment device was designed to finish garlic bud orientation change, which consisted of a rotating plate, a shell, a conveyor pipe, a garlic funnel, a seed tube, and a fixed plate. The diameter of the conveyor pipe was determined based on the morphological parameters of the garlic seeds. Based on the mechanical analysis of garlic seeds in the conveyor pipe, the length and inclination of the conveyor pipe were determined. The automatic control system was designed to execute and control camera shooting, image processing and target detection, input action signal to the controller and receive feedback of action signal. The improved SSD algorithm was adopted to improve the identification accuracy of garlic posture detection. After the key components of the device were designed, the garlic seed posture detection and adjustment device test bench was built. The total time for garlic seed scale bud orientation detection, conveyance, and adjustment is 0.81 s. After adjustment, the upward rate of garlic buds was greater than or equal to 98.6%, and the orientation time of garlic buds adjustment was 0.5 s. The design of the device significantly improves the efficiency and accuracy of garlic seed orientation adjustment, which meets the requirements of garlic mechanical seeding.

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How to Cite



“Design and experiment of seed posture detection and adjustment device for garlic” (2026) Journal of Agricultural Engineering [Preprint]. doi:10.4081/jae.2026.1767.
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