• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2000

Spraying operation is one of the most essential in an orchard management and it is also hazardous to human body. for automatic and unmanned spraying , an autonomous travelling vehicle is demanded. In this study, a telemeter was developed using infrared beam which could detect trunks and obstacles measure distance and direction from the vehicle travelling in the orchard. The telemeter system was composed of two infrared LED transmitters and receivers, a beam scanning device for continuous object detection , two rotary encoders for angle detector, and a beam level controller for uneven soil surface. The detected distance and direction signal s were sent to personal computer which made for the system display the angular and distance measurements through I/O board. According to a field test in an apple farm, the system detected up to 10m distance under 12 V of transmitted beam intensity, however, it was recommended that the proper beam transmit intensity be 7 v at the 10 m distance, because of the negative effect to human body at 12 V. The error rate of this system was 0.92 % when the actual distance was compared to measured one. The system was feasible at the small error rate. The developed telemeter system was an important part for autonomous travelling vehicle provided the real time object recognition . A direction control system could be constructed suing the system. It is expected that the system could greatly contribute to the development of autonomous farm vehicle.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.31 no.6 s.119
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• pp.489-499
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• 2006

Since the application of chemicals in confined spaces under the canopy of an orchard is hazardous work, it is needed to develop an autonomous guidance system for an orchard sprayer. The autonomous guidance system developed in this research could steer the vehicle by tracking an overhead guidance rail, which was installed on an existing frame structure. The autonomous guidance system consisted of an 80196 kc microprocessor, an inclinometer, two interface circuits of actuators for steering and ground speed control, and a fuzzy control algorithm. In addition, overhead guidance rails for both straight and curved paths were devised, and a trolley was designed to move smoothly along the overhead guidance rails. Evaluation tests showed that the experimental vehicle could travel along the desired path at a ground speed of 30 $\sim$ 50 cm/s with a RMS error of 5 cm and maximum deviation of less than 12 cm. Even when the vehicle started with an initial offset or a deflected heading angle, it could move quickly to track the desired path after traveling 2 $\sim$ 3 m. The vehicle could also complete turns with a curvature of 1 m. However, at a ground speed of 50 cm/s, the vehicle tended to over-steer, resulting in a zigzag motion along the straight path, and tended to turn outward from the projected line of the guidance rail.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.23-30
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• 2020

Driving on irregular and inclined roads using agricultural machinery such as spraying machines or trucks in orchards causes farmer casualties associated with the overturning of agricultural machinery. In addition, the harm to agricultural workers caused by the excessive inhalation of the scattered pesticide frequently occurs during pest control processes. To address these problems, we introduced precision agricultural technology that could selectively spray pesticides only where the fruit is present by recognizing the presence or shape of the fruit in the orchard. In this paper, a 16-channel LIDAR (VLP-16) made of Velodyne was used to identify the shape of fruit trees. Solenoid valves were attached to the end parts of 12 nozzles of the orchard spraying machine for on/off control. The smart spraying machine implemented in this way was mounted on a vehicle capable of autonomous travel and performed selective control depending upon the shape of the fruit trees while traveling in the orchards. This is expected to significantly reduce the amounts of pesticides used in orchards and production costs.