Developing A Field Test Method for Automatic Steering Systems

Precision agriculture (PA) refers to planning and managing the processes from tillage to harvest using modern technology and techniques in order to increase the productivity of the cultivated crops. One of the most important components of PA equipment is the location determination and verification unit. Automatic steering systems, which have started to be included in developing agricultural machines, enable reaching the targeted locations with the least deviation from the determined route. These systems are provided accurately to navigate the fields, ensuring that crops are planted, fertilized, sprayed and harvested with precision. By reducing overlaps and skips in planting and other tasks, farmers can optimize their resources and maximize yields. The use of automatic steering systems in precision agriculture not only increases efficiency but also helps to minimize environmental impact by reducing the use of inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides. In this study, simple equipment that can be connected to the tractor’s three-point linkage system was developed for pass-to-pass verification tests of the automatic steering systems in the field. For the field test, the narrowest and widest inter-row spacing that the automatic steering system was adjusted to have been taken into consideration. For the narrowest inter-row spacing, it was set to 3m; for the widest inter-row spacing, it was set to 18m. The automatic steering system was tested three times for each of the two different inter-row spacings. At the same time, the position information during the trial hours was compared with the records in the log files in the software part of the automatic steering system. Pass-to-pass tests were conducted based on ISO 12188-2:2012(EN) Tractors and Machinery for Agriculture and Forestry (Part 2). As a result of the evaluations, statistically significant difference wasn’t found between the values obtained from the field trials with developed equipment and the results obtained from the log files of the automatic steering system. The results show that this developed equipment can be used practically in pass-to-pass tests in the field.