ADVANCES IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES FOR AGRICULTURE

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ADVANCES IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES FOR AGRICULTURE

• Stuart Pocknee

University of GeorgiaNational Environmentally
Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory
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Autonomy Issues

• Labor costs labor availability
• Continuity of operations
• Weight cost of vehicle
• Operator issues - safety fatigue

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(Willrodt, 1924 US Patent 1506706).
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(Andrew, 1940 US Patent 2259193).
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Approaches to autonomy

• Guidance with respect to previous pass (emulates
  human operator)
• Guidance with respect to pre-planned path (also
  emulates human operator?)

J.N. Wilson Computers and Electronics in
Agriculture 25 (2000) 39
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Sensor systems
Approaches to autonomy

• Internal
• Machine status
• External
• Position
• Local feature detection

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Approaches to autonomy
External Sensors

• Mechanical feelers (ridge, furrow, crop)
• Buried wires/radio beacons
• Machine vision
• GPS
• Compasses gyroscopes
• Sensor fusion

J.N. Wilson Computers and Electronics in
Agriculture 25 (2000) 39
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Farm characteristics related to autonomy

• The operating areas are large.
• Ground surfaces may be uneven.
• Depending on the operation, wheel slippage may
  be far from negligible.
• Cultivation operations may interfere with
  underground cables, etc.
• Environmental conditions (rain, fog, dust, etc.)
  may affect sensor observations.
• Low cost systems are required.

Hague etal. Computers and Electronics in
Agriculture 25 (2000) 11-28
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Farm characteristics related to autonomy

• Human tractor drivers perform many functions
  that are difficult for a smart machine to
  duplicate.

Merv Kizlyk. John Deere. (2001) Farm Industry
News
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Research Initiatives

• Carnegie-Mellon University
• Stanford University
• University of Illinois
• Texas AM
• Michigan State University
• University of Kentucky
• University of Florida

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Sprayer Automation in Citrus
(http//www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/axs/sprayer.html).
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(http//www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/axs/sprayer.html).
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(http//mel.autonomoussolutions.com/products/5510.
html).
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(www.rec.ri.cmu.edu/projects/demeter).
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Auto-steer Systems

• www.beeline.ag
• www.trimble.com/aggps_autopilot.html
• www.gpsfarm.com
• www.deere.com/en_US/ag/servicesupport/ams/mobileco
  mponents.html
• www.accutrak.ca
• www.outbackguidance.com/product/edrivefeatures.asp
  
• www.farmscan.net/ProductDetails.aspx?id5400
• www.agguide.com.au

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Autonomous Vehicle Enablers

• Precision Agriculture
• Wireless Networks the Internet
• High precision stand alone GPS
• Vehicle cooperation logic
• Improved machine vision
• Decreased price and increased capabilities of
  electronics
• Vision/Imagination coupled with Research
• Demand

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Precision Agriculture

• Precision agriculture has helped advance vehicle
  guidance firstly in terms of providing position
  information that is required for vehicle
  guidance. Secondly, precision agriculture has
  placed the notion of vehicle automation within
  the conceptual boundary of equipment
  manufacturers and agricultural producers.

J.F. Reid et al. Computers and Electronics in
Agriculture 25 (2000)
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http//www.nespal.org/wireless
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(www.autonomoussolutions.com)
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Components
navigation

• OmniStar HP DGPS

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Components
communication

• WiFI 802.11b

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Components
communication

• WiFI 802.11b
• onboard ethernet

Network Hub
Eth2WiFI
Camera
PC
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Components
sensors

• WiFI netcam

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Thanks for your attention!
For more information contact
Stuart Pocknee NESPAL P. O. Box 748 Tifton, GA
31793 229-386-7057 Voice 229-386-7273 FAX
http//stuart.pocknee.com http//www.nespal.org