Abstract:In the case of autonomous orchard navigation, researchers have developed algorithms that utilize features, such as trunks, canopies, and sky in orchards, but there are still various difficulties in recognizing free space for autonomous navigation in a changing agricultural environment. In this study, we applied the Naive Bayesian classification to detect the boundary between the trunk and the ground and propose an algorithm to determine the center line of free space. The naïve Bayesian classification requires a small number of samples for training and a simple training process. In addition, it was able to effectively classify tree trunk's points and noise points of the orchard, which are problematic in vision-based processing, and noise caused by small branches, soil, weeds, and tree shadows on the ground. The performance of the proposed algorithm was investigated using 229 sample images obtained from an image acquisition system with a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Image Sensor (CIS) camera. The center line detected by the unaided-eye manual decision and the results extracted by the proposed algorithm were compared and analyzed for several parameters. In all compared parameters, extracted center line was more stable than the manual center line results.
The speed sprayer plays an important role in fruit orchards as it undertakes spraying to prevent damage by blight and harmful insects. Although farmers who use speed sprayers wear protective devices, pesticide poisoning incidents and damage can occur when pesticides penetrate the skin. In addition, skilled manpower in agriculture is decreasing due to aging populations in farming villages. To overcome these problems, we aim to develop an autonomous driving system using a single-frequency GNSS RTK for commercialization of an autonomous driving speed sprayer. Therefore, in this study, path generation and a tracking system based on the single-frequency GNSS RTK are developed and the preliminary results of tests of this system are analyzed. The field test of the developed system showed positional accuracy of 0.01 m.
Recently, to improve safety and convenience in driving, numerous sensors are mounted on cars to operate advanced driver assistant systems. Among various sensors, vehicle dynamic sensors can measure the vehicle motions such as speed and rotational angular speed for dead reckoning, which can be applied to develop a land vehicle positioning system to overcome the weaknesses of the GNSS technique. In this paper, three land vehicle positioning algorithms that integrate GNSS with vehicle dynamic sensors including a wheel speed sensor (WSS), a yaw rate sensor (YRS), and a steering angle sensor (SAS) are implemented, and then a performance evaluation was conducted during GNSS outages. Using a loosely coupled strategy, three integration algorithms are designed, namely, GNSS/WSS, GNSS/WSS/YRS, and GNSS/WSS/YRS/SAS. The performance of the three types of integration algorithm is evaluated based on two data sets. The results indicate that both the GNSS/WSS/YRS integration and the GNSS/WSS/YRS/SAS integration could estimate the horizontal position with meter-level accuracy during 30-second GNSS outages. However, the GNSS/WSS integration would provide an unstable navigation solution during GNSS outages due to the accuracy limitation of the computed yaw rate using WSS.
To address the problems of inefficient agricultural production and labor shortages, there has been active research to develop autonomously driven agricultural machines, using advanced sensors and ICT technology. Autonomously driven speed sprayers can also reduce accidents such as the pesticide poisoning of farmers, and vehicle overturn that frequently occur during spraying work in orchards. To develop a commercial, autonomously driven speed sprayer, we developed a prototype of an autonomously driven agricultural vehicle, and conducted performance evaluations in an orchard environment. A prototype of the agricultural vehicle was created using a rubber-tracked vehicle equipped with two AC motors. A prototype of the autonomous driving hardware consisted of a GNSS module, a motion sensor, an embedded board, and an LTE module, and it was made for less than $1000. Additional software, including a sensor fusion algorithm for positioning and a path-tracking algorithm for autonomous driving, were implemented. Then, the performance of the autonomous driving agricultural vehicle was evaluated based on two trajectories in an apple farm. The results of the field test determined the RMS, and the maximums of the path-following errors were 0.10 m, 0.34 m, respectively.
To address problems such as pesticide poisoning and accidents during pest control work and to enable efficient work in this area, the development of a competitively prices speed sprayer with autonomous driving is required. Accordingly, in order to contribute to developing the commercialization of a low-cost autonomous driving speed sprayer, we developed a positioning algorithm and an autonomous driving-based spraying algorithm by using two low-cost global navigation satellite system (GNSS) modules and a low-cost motion sensor. In order to provide stable navigation solutions from the autonomous driving hardware despite disturbances from the electromagnetic field generated by the spraying device, the proposed positioning algorithm, a moving baseline (MB) real-time kinematic (RTK)/motion sensor-integrated positioning algorithm, was developed using a loosely coupled extended Kalman filter. To compare the yaw estimation performance provided by the MB RTK positioning technique, yaw was calculated by post-processing with two types of positioning algorithms: the MB RTK/motion sensor-integrated positioning algorithm and the GNSS RTK/motion sensor-integrated positioning algorithm. In the static test, the precision of the yaw provided by the MB RTK/motion sensor-integrated positioning algorithm was 0.14°, but with the GNSS RTK/motion sensor-integrated positioning algorithm, the precision of the yaw was 4.53°. The static test results confirmed that the proposed positioning algorithm using the yaw provided by the MB RTK positioning technique based on two GNSS modules for measurement, precisely estimated the yaw even when the spray engine was operating. To perform autonomous driving and spraying, an autonomous driving-based spraying algorithm was developed using the MB RTK/motion sensor-integrated positioning algorithm. As a result of two performance tests based on the proposed algorithm in an orchard, autonomous driving and spraying were stably performed according to the set autonomous driving route and spraying method, and the root mean square (RMS) of the path-following error was 0.06 m.
The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning technique is widely used for the automotive navigation system since it can provide the stable and accurate position and velocity in the most road environments at an affordable price. However, the performance of GNSS positioning technique is degraded in certain areas, where GNSS signals are blocked by buildings and tunnel. To overcome this problem, the GNSS positioning technique should be integrated with dead reckoning (DR) sensors such as accelerometer, gyroscope, and odometer. Recently, the most passenger cars are equipped with the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) based on numerous sensors to improve safety and convenience in driving. Among sensors for the ADAS, vehicle dynamic sensors such as wheel speed sensor (WSS), yaw rate sensor (YRS), gravity sensor (GS) can be used for the DR algorithm since those sensors measure vehicle’s motions. Therefore, this paper evaluates the vehicle positioning algorithm that integrate the GNSS with a three-dimensional dead reckoning based on WSS, YRS, and GS. The vehicle positioning algorithm is implemented through the extended Kalman filter of a loosely-coupled mode. Performance was evaluated through tests carried out in real driving trajectory including various GNSS signals reception environments. It is found that the proposed algorithm can be an alternative solution to compensate the limitation of the GNSS positioning technique, without the use of a low-cost inertial measurement unit.
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