Detection of Navigation Route in Greenhouse Environment with Machine Vision

A route detecting algorithm was proposed for the cucumber picking robot navigation in greenhouse environment. Possible navigation route was determined from the additive value of the column scanning results. Color difference between cucumber plants and the mid row soil was analyzed through combining the RGB elements segregations with extra-green (ExG) value and extra-red (ExR) value. The obtained gray image was segmented with OTSU threshold method, which made the gray-color abruptly changed pixels along the two sides of the central line identified. Mean value of these selected pixels in each line was calculated to provide the discrete points along the navigation route. Finally least square method was used to fit these discrete points to provide the navigation lines, from which, the route for current navigation scheme can be determined. The proposed algorithm was applied to multiple images for its high speed and anti-noise verification.