A System for Semi-Autonomous Tractor Operations

July 2002

A System for Semi-Autonomous Tractor Operations

Authors:

Anthony (Tony) Stentz, Cristian Dima, Carl Wellington, Herman Herman, and David Stager

Abstract:

Tractors are the workhorses of the modern farm. By automating these machines, we can increase the productivity, improve safety, and reduce costs for many agricultural operations. Many researchers have tested computer-controlled machines for farming, but few have investigated the larger issues such as how humans can supervise machines and work amongst them. In this paper, we present a system for tractor automation. A human programs a task by driving the relevant routes. The task is divided into subtasks and assigned to a fleet of tractors that drive portions of the routes. Each tractor uses on-board sensors to detect people, animals, and other vehicles in the path of the machine, stopping for such obstacles until it receives advice from a supervisor over a wireless link. A first version of the system was implemented on a single tractor. Several features of the system were validated, including accurate path tracking, the detection of obstacles based on both geometric and non-geometric properties, and self-monitoring to determine when human intervention is required. Additionally, the complete system was tested in a Florida orange grove, where it autonomously drove seven kilometers.
@article{Stentz-2002-8502,
author = {Anthony (Tony) Stentz And Cristian Dima And Carl Wellington And Herman Herman And David Stager},
title = {A System for Semi-Autonomous Tractor Operations},
journal = {Proceedings of Autonomous Robots},
year = {2002},
month = {July},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {87 - 103},
keywords = {agricultural robots, position estimation, path tracking, sensor fusion, obstacle detection},
}
Copyright notice: This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.