Development of Tilling Robot and Operation Software

A tilling robot was developed to be able to recognize its own position and heading in the field, while performing an unmanned tilling as well as a manual operation. The tilling robot was composed of the robotized vehicle “ROBOTRA” based on a commercial tractor, the navigation system “XNAV” based on a surveying system and the control system composed of a commercial factory computer and an original vehicle controller. The basic operation software for the robot was developed to execute a tilling operation in a conventional manner. Operation software for executing various agricultural works such as seeding and soil paddling were also developed by modifying the basic operation software. By the result of unmanned operation tests, the work efficiency was almost equal to that of conventional manual operation. As to the work accuracy in returning operation, the robot was superior to a skilled operator.