Design and experiment of a stereoscopic vision-based system for seeding depth consistency adjustment

•A device was designed to adjust the covering soil volume and compaction force of individual seeds during the sowing process.•A method was proposed to use a stereo structured light camera to real-time detect the trenching depth of the seeder.•A dust removal device designed for field cameras was implemented.•The performance of the seeding depth consistency adjustment system was tested. The basic process of corn sowing includes seed selection, land preparation, fertilization, sowing, and soil compaction. Soil compaction is an important step in the sowing process, playing a crucial role in protecting the seeds, promoting germination and root development, and providing a stable growth environment for corn. Currently, mainstream soil compaction devices used in corn sowing employ non-active adjustment structures, which cannot regulate the amount of soil covering and the compaction force for individual seeds during the sowing process, making it difficult to ensure consistent sowing depth. To address these issues, this study investigates the soil compaction device on a corn planter and proposes a soil compaction device that utilizes a binocular structured light camera to detect the opening depth of the planter and flexibly adjust the soil covering and compaction force for each seed. Experimental evaluations of the device’s performance were also conducted. The design of the sowing depth consistency control system includes the selection and application of the design, motor, gearbox, binocular structured light camera, dust removal device, user interface, electric-driven soil compaction device, and control system. The experimental results showed that when the system detects a variation in trench depth of around 2 cm, the average response time of the system is 2.23 s with a standard deviation of 0.042 s. When the system detects a variation in trench depth of around 4 cm, the average response time of the system is 4.68 s with a standard deviation of 0.078 s. This suggests that the system’s response time fluctuates within 0.1 s, indicating good stability of the system. The average error of the planter’s opening depth, as measured by the binocular structured light camera, is approximately 6 mm, the success rate of detection can be maintained above 70 % under different trench depths. The dust removal device’s performance meets the requirements of the detection system. The research demonstrates that the sowing depth consistency control system developed in this study can acc