# An Image Processing Method for Measuring the Surface Area of Rapeseed Pods
## 4 Discussion
### The Application of Image Processing Technology in a Future Rapeseed Pod Testing Machine  
With the continuous increase in crop phenomics, researchers are committed to developing various phenomics analytical platforms [45]. The combination of these platforms with various \"omics\" studies will trigger a new technological revolution, and the \"high-throughput phenomics era\" [46] will profoundly affect the development of various fields of crop science. As an important index of rapeseed plant type, the technology for measuring the surface areas of rapeseed pods will be reconstructed from theory and technology by integrating robot technology, sensor technology, optics, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. The technology will then be developed to ensure automation, high efficiency and accuracy, mass, and simple and easy operation. The image processing measurement technology of the rapeseed pod surface area proposed in this study will provide a design principle for the future design of a rapeseed pod testing machine with high-throughput characteristics. The basic framework and design ideas are as follows:  
(1) Conceptual design. The rapeseed pod testing machine is roughly composed of three parts: a pod transmission device, an image acquisition device, and a data processing software platform. The pod transmission device primarily automates pod placement, eliminating the involvement of people in the placement process. The pods are automatically and efficiently evenly placed through the transmission device. After the image acquisition device takes photos, it automatically places and transmits the next set of pods. The image acquisition device closely cooperates with the pod transmission device and rhythmically takes photos that conform to the later image segmentation and data processing. The data processing software platform is primarily used to process the pod images and calculate the related phenotypic indices.  
(2) Overall design. The conceptual design described above indicates that the rapeseed pod test machine primarily comprises three parts, as shown in Figure 10. The pod conveying device primarily comprises a feeder, blower, flow controller, conveyor belt, rapeseed pods, and other components. The blower evenly disperses many accumulated pods, which fall evenly on the conveyor belt without overlapping and blocking. The flow controller includes a valve to control the density of the pod by controlling the size of the airflow from the blower. The conveyor belt is a pod conveyance device and a background for pod shooting made of white plastic material. The image acquisition device is permanently installed on the conveyor belt and made as a dark box to prevent external light interference. The top surface of the interior is equipped with a mobile phone or a digital camera bracket, and an LED flat lamp is installed to ensure that the shooting light source is stable and sufficient. The data processing software platform primarily comprises computer and special data processing software. For the convenience of operation, the data processing platform can also operate and control the machine.  
(3) Operational process. The device is started after manual feeding, and the accumulated pods are evenly blown onto the conveyor belt under the combined action of gravity and the blower. The scattered pods keep a certain rhythm and speed in the dark box. The system software controls the mobile phone or digital camera to shoot the scattered pods and then performs the subsequent image processing and data calculation.