Abstract
This research introduces a new inclination correction method with increased accuracy applied to the guidance system of an agricultural vehicle. The method considers the geometry of a robot tractor and uses an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to correct the lateral error of the RTK-GPS antenna measurements raised by the tractor's inclinations. A parameters optimization experiment and an automatic guidance experiment under real working conditions were used to compare the accuracy of a traditional correction method with the new correction method, by calculating the RMSE of the lateral error and the error reduction percentage. An additional tuned correction method was found by using a simple analytical method to find the optimal variables that reduced the lateral error to a minimum. The results indicate that the new correction method and the tuned correction method display a significant error reduction percentage compared to the traditional correction method. The methods could correct the GPS lateral error caused by the roll inclinations in real-time. The resulting lateral deviation caused by the tractor's inclinations could be reduced up to 23% for typical travelling speeds. Keywords: inclination correction method, guidance system, agricultural vehicles, robot tractor, IMU, RTK-GPS, precision farming DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20201306.6012 Citation: Ospina R, Noguchi N. Improved inclination correction method applied to the guidance system of agricultural vehicles. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2020; 13(6): 183–194.
Highlights
Aging and population decline have been progressing in Japanese society[1], and this tendency is more significantly seen in rural areas than in urban areas
This research presented a new inclination correction method and a tuned correction method applied to the guidance system of an agricultural vehicle
The considerations required to apply the new method were described according to the geometry of a robot tractor
Summary
Aging and population decline have been progressing in Japanese society[1], and this tendency is more significantly seen in rural areas than in urban areas. Since the positioning of agricultural vehicles depends mainly on GPS based technologies, measurement of the GPS data requires to know where the antenna is situated in the vehicle, and typically this is in the center of the cab roof[5], over 2 m height from the ground. This installation setup causes a position error resulting from the vehicle’s inclinations in the roll and pitch directions. A correction method of the position error caused by the vehicle’s inclinations must be considered in the GPS antenna measurements
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