Development and evaluation of digital twin model for rack and pinion drive vegetable seedling transmission device using Adams/MATLAB co-simulation

A sustainable design and optimized control system for the vegetable seedling transmission device is crucial for enhancing the operational speed and precision of fully automatic vegetable seedling transplanters. The incorporation of virtual prototype modeling for optimizing the design and control of these seedling devices has not been sufficiently explored in prior studies. Goal of this research is to develop and validate a digital twin model that will serve as a foundation for optimizing the design and control of seedling devices used in robotic transplanters. This study presents a state-of-the-art digital twin model of rack and pinion drive seedling transmission device utilizing Adams/MATLAB co-simulation. The findings demonstrate a robust correspondence between digital twin model and physical prototype, exhibiting a maximum linear positioning error discrepancy of 0.95 mm, a maximum relative positioning error of 3.17 and coefficient of determination ($R^2$) values approximately equal to 1. Angular positioning error ranged from 3.73° to 7.98° as seedling rates increased from 90 to 140 seedlings/mi. Furthermore, precise activation and deactivation of the seedling cups opening mechanism was observed during the seedling transmission schedule. This digital twin model accurately represents the physical model of seedling device which can be utilized for design and control optimization. Potential future applications of this digital twin model include enhancing efficiency of robotic transplanters and mitigating environmental impacts.