The need for accuracy in sugarcane machine traffic has boosted the adoption of automatic steering systems. These have been used in tractors pulling transhipment trailers. Such sets are long and articulated, which hinders their performance and benefits due to alignments in curved and laterally sloped paths. In this sense, this study aimed to quantify shifts in direction to which tractors and transshipment trailers are subjected while traveling straight and curved paths on different terrain slopes. We evaluated an internal transport system composed of one tractor and two three-axle transshipment trailers, equipped with GNSS receivers and RTK correction system, for their respective positioning. Pass-to-pass errors were evaluated by differences in orthogonal distance between antenna positioning and a reference line. Results showed that misalignment errors of tractor and trailer sets are strongly associated with path type and terrain lateral slope, besides being increasingly affected between set parts. Trailer path errors were above acceptable limits, thereby complementary solutions are needed regarding tractor automatic steering.

No abstract