How to improve soil anti-adhesion by studying the micro relief of the cutible surface of digging beetles: Using rotated image with maximum average power spectrum technique to find the predominant directions of the topographic patten.

Abstract

In recent years, our research has focused on the microtopography of different soil-digging beetles, with the aim of identifying the pattern responsible for reducing the adhesion of soil particles to agricultural machinery components [1, 2]. The main characteristic of the microtopography (micro relief) of the cuticular surface of the pronotum of these beetles is the presence of dimples apparently randomly distributed.

In the present work, the angular orientation of the dimples pattern is quantified by employing the Rotated Image with Maximum Average Power Spectrum (RIMAPS) technique [3]. The RIMAPS technique, facilitated by software [4], involves the rotation of the image and the calculation of the x-step of the two-dimensional Fourier transform for each y-line of the resulting new image after rotation. Averaged power spectra are obtained for each angular position, and the corresponding maximum values are plotted as a function of rotation angle. The maxima of the RIMAPS spectrum are indicative of the main angular directions of the topographic pattern.