• 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 the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.4142-4148
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• 2013

Because of effective fruit growing and management in the slope land, the use of orchard vehicle with lifting utilities has been increased. For this reason the study on the stability of that vehicle for worker's safety is needed. This study is investigated on the stability estimation of orchard vehicle with four wheels and dual rectangular-type lifting utilities which can be moved on the dirt sloping load. Through the multi-body dynamics analysis on the vehicle mechanism, overturning angles of 19.2 and $34.6^{\circ}$ in the right-left and front-rear direction can be calculated. It is determined tractive resistances and required powers of the wheels. And through the finite element analysis on the frame of lifting utility its maximum von-Mises stress is 146 MPa and it is structural stable. Therefore it is known that the orchard vehicle with wheels and lifting utilities has static and dynamic stability.

• 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 Biosystems Engineering
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.397-403
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• 2009

This study was carried out to investigate the present status of subsoil compaction, and subsoil compaction management in orchard as a basic study for developing a self-propelled explosive subsoiler. Subsoil compaction was evaluated using the soil penetration resistance. Soil cone index was measured using the DIK 5520 type cone penetrometer in several fruit farms such as apple, pear, peach and grapes during growing seasons of these fruit in Jecheon, Gamgok, Choongju, Cheonan and Hwasung areas. Most of the subsoil managing machinery were either explosive type or digging type attached to the tractor or power tiller and turning radius of this machine was more than 3-5 m. Many of the farmers wanted to use the subsoiler which can put lime into soil and rupture soil at the same time. For most of the orchard fields, soil penetration resistance in vehicle traffic area was increased quickly and reached about 1.0 MPa in 5 cm soil depth. As the soil depth increased to 15-20 cm, cone penetration resistance reached about 2.0-2.5 MPa which restricted root growth seriously. Thus it was concluded that one of the main reason for increasing the soil compaction in orchard fields is agricultural vehicle traffic. In the vicinity of fruit trees, compaction is not so serious compared to that of the vehicle traffic area, but as the soil depth increased to 20-25 cm, in most of the orchard fields soil penetration resistance reached about 2.0-2.5 MPa which is the root growth-limiting value. Considering the rooting depth of fruit trees which ranged 30-60 cm for apple, pear and peach, and 20-30 cm for grape, it is necessary to loosen the subosoil and improve the subsoil conditions using subsoiler.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.171-179
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• 2011

Facing the current hikes of labor wage and high oil price, it is needed to have energy-saving machinery which also enables us precise farm operations. Thus, it was necessary to develop a safe machine which allows secure and pleasant works along orchard slopes. In this study, a lifting utility with balance-controlled platform was developed. The platform utility could maintain to level the workbench while driving along slopes. Even the machine body was driven at the tilt angle ranges of ${\pm}20^{\circ}$, the platform bench could be maintained within ${\pm}0.5^{\circ}$ of a gimbal angle. In addition, the machine lifted up to 2.0 m using an electric-hybrid driving mechanism with a low noise. A tandem hybrid power source was developed with a DC 72 V, 100 AH for the Deep-Cycle batteries, charged with 3.5 kW gasoline generator as an auxiliary power source. HST, which is one of the CVT's, was adopted as a transmission device, and a crawer track was used for the safety of the vehicle against tip-over. The maximum lifting height of platform was is 2,500 mm, and the maximum extendable width was 2,900 mm.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.291-304
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• 1998

A control algorithm fir the unmanned vehicles was developed using image information received through a CCD camera that acquires more powerful information over the wide range of wave-length comparing with other sensors and was applied to a speed-sprayer. The algorithm consisted of straight mode for passing along with middle of two tree-rows and turning mode for changing from a row to another row. In case of turning mode, two marks of colored papers were employed to indicate turning point and to decide turning direction for various orchard situations. The method of analysis and image would be differed according to camera's tilt-angle and position that is set on the speed-sprayer. Hence, it analyzed the point of difference by making camera's up and downward tilt-angle.

• 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.