The HarvestEye 2.0 can be installed on harvesters or graders. It is recommended to follow the best practices during the installation of the HarvestEye 2.0 so that detection and sizing accuracy are optimised as much as possible. If these practices are not followed, the system may perform sub-optimally.
If you have questions regarding installation or need help, please use the support channels to reach out to us:
- Email (support@harvesteye.com)
- WhatsApp number (+44(0)7971 598271)
GPS location
When mounting the GPS on a harvester, please ensure the GPS device is installed on the roof of the harvester to maximise the satellite signal acquisition (a GPS cable extender is provided with the kit). In our past experience, we've noticed that mounting the GPS inside the cabin of the tractor/harvester reduces spatial accuracy of the GPS.
Adequate lighting
There must be good lighting in the environment where the camera is going to be installed otherwise the system won't be able to detect the crop. In some cases, natural lighting may not be enough (e.g. dark rooms or harvesting in the night), therefore, artificial lighting may be required. Reach out to the HarvestEye team to get advice on lighting. Please see below some good and bad examples of lighting.
Examples with good lighting
Examples with poor lighting
Camera height
The height that the camera is installed at also influences the performance of the system. We recommend installing the camera based on the width of the conveyor belt of the harvester/grader. Please use the formula below to work out a suitable height:
Camera Height (cm) = Belt Width (cm) x 0.7272
However, if the formula outputs a height such as 120 cm or above, we recommend not raising the camera above that threshold, especially when processing mostly small crop (< 50 mm). The reason for this is that sizing accuracy will degrade slightly due to camera resolution limitations.
Camera location
One key decision to be made during the installation is to determine where the camera should be mounted on the harvester/grader. An optimal environment for the camera should have the following features:
- The camera must be ideally installed on the cleanest section of the conveyor belt to minimise crop obstruction (i.e. where most mud, rocks, etc... have been removed already).
- Ensure the camera is installed in a way where the flow of crop goes from bottom to top (or vice-versa) on the field of view of the camera and not from left to right (or vice-versa).
- Avoid installing the camera where the visibility of the belt is significantly obstructed by multiple objects (e.g. bars, control panels, etc...). If not possible, please let us know.
- Do not install the camera over table rollers. Detection and sizing accuracy are expected to decrease in these conditions. If only a part of the field of view of the camera is capturing the table rollers, that is acceptable as the field of view of the camera can be adjusted to pick up crop from specific sections.
Significant obstruction in the field of view of the camera
Examples of the camera being over a rollers table
Camera alignment
We recommend the camera to be installed fully parallel to the conveyor belt, as illustrated on the schematics below. There are cases where the belt is inclined and it is not possible to install the camera in any other section of the conveyor belt. The shroud of the camera allows rotating the camera to ensure that, even in those cases, the camera lens is fully parallel to the belt.
Examples with the camera parallel to the belt
Examples of the camera being misaligned with the belt
Speed of the conveyor belt
The system is known to operate within parameters up to 2 km/h. It will still detect crop at higher speeds, but it is expected that the detection and sizing accuracy are affected. Very high speed levels will cause the frames to be blurry, hence the system may struggle to effectively detect the crop. In factories, where multiple conveyor belts may exist and operate at different speed levels, it is recommended to consider whether the camera should be mounted on a belt that runs slower.
Image blurriness caused by a high speed of the conveyor belt
Cable management
Installing all the cables (camera cable, power cable, etc...) properly on the harvester/grader is key to ensure no damage to the cables occurs. Please follow the guidelines below when installing cables
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Make sure that the camera cable is securely tied up on the harvester and ensure the cable is not visible in the field of view of the camera.
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All cables for the HarvestEye system need to be neatly tied to the harvester.
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Cables should be attached out of the way of any major moving parts of the harvester. Failure of doing this, could result in potential snagging of cables and make the system inoperative.