System identification, adaptive control and formation driving of farm tractors.

摘要

Great increases in agricultural productivity and profitability can be gained by increasing the navigational control accuracy of a farm tractor. To maximize accuracy in the presence of environmental uncertainties, a novel technique for on-line parameter identification has been developed. This method combines the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and the Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithms and is used to identify key parameters which describe the dynamics of a farm tractor. This algorithm provides a 15:1 improvement in computational efficiency over the traditional EKF, while offering comparable convergence rates and noise rejection properties. Experimental data on a full-sized John Deere tractor shows a 25 percent improvement in lateral accuracy when using then adaptive controller versus a fixed controller over identical trajectories.; In addition to parameter identification, farmers require formation driving capability for routine operations. Multiple farm vehicles work cooperatively together to accomplish a common goal. Several formation driving algorithms were developed for these varying requirements. An experimental implementation of a fully autonomous farm vehicle following a human operated lead vehicle demonstrated an accuracy of 10 centimeters in the in-track direction and 10 centimeters in the cross track direction.