AUTOMATIC GUIDANCE OF FARM VEHICLES

Abstract Automatic guidance of two different types of farm vehicles is described and results from field experiments are presented. The paper deals mainly with the control theoretical aspects and the sensors and implementations are only briefly described. The first vehicle is an experimental 9 m span horticultural gantry running on crawler tracks. A leader-cable system was used as the reference line. Field experiments showed that the path of the gantry could be controlled with an accuracy better than 6 cm. The second vehicle is a tool carrier with a row-weeder for cereal crops. The control system sensed mechanically the position of the plant rows. The field experiments showed that the position of the vehicle could be controlled with an accuracy better than 2 cm.