Variable field-of-view machine vision based row guidance of an agricultural robot

A novel variable field-of-view machine vision method was developed allowing an agricultural robot to navigate between rows in cornfields. The machine vision hardware consisted of a camera with pitch and yaw motion control. Guidance lines were detected using an image-processing algorithm, employing morphological features in a far, near and lateral field of view, and the robot was guided along these lines using fuzzy logic control. The method was tested while the vehicle successfully traveled through a distance of 30 m towards the end of a crop row in three replications. To evaluate the guidance performance, RTK-GPS data were collected, showing a maximum guidance error of 15.8 mm and stable navigational behavior. 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V.