Symbolic course description for semiautonomous agricultural vehicles

Agricultural field machinery operators have to control the motion of the tr actor and the various implements. Autonomous motion planning and execution capabilities of the tractor could allow the operator to concentrate on the operation of the implements. Commanding and programming should be easy and the semiautonomous operation must be robust. In the field of service roboti cs several approaches for motion planning and control have been developed a nd successfully tested. A combined symbolic and numeric/geometric control i s presented and advantages for the motion planning and control of agricultu ral field machinery will be pointed out. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.