An Integrated Route and Path Planning Strategy for Skid–Steer Mobile Robots in Assisted Harvesting Tasks with Terrain Traversability Constraints

Ricardo Paul Urvina, César Leonardo Guevara, Juan Pablo Vásconez, Alvaro Javier Prado

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This article presents a combined route and path planning strategy to guide Skid–Steer Mobile Robots (SSMRs) in scheduled harvest tasks within expansive crop rows with complex terrain conditions. The proposed strategy integrates: (i) a global planning algorithm based on the Traveling Salesman Problem under the Capacitated Vehicle Routing approach and Optimization Routing (OR-tools from Google) to prioritize harvesting positions by minimum path length, unexplored harvest points, and vehicle payload capacity; and (ii) a local planning strategy using Informed Rapidly-exploring Random Tree ((Formula presented.)) to coordinate scheduled harvesting points while avoiding low-traction terrain obstacles. The global approach generates an ordered queue of harvesting locations, maximizing the crop yield in a workspace map. In the second stage, the (Formula presented.) planner avoids potential obstacles, including farm layout and slippery terrain. The path planning scheme incorporates a traversability model and a motion model of SSMRs to meet kinematic constraints. Experimental results in a generic fruit orchard demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. In particular, the (Formula presented.) algorithm outperformed RRT and (Formula presented.) with 96.1% and 97.6% smoother paths, respectively. The (Formula presented.) also showed improved navigation efficiency, avoiding obstacles and slippage zones, making it suitable for precision agriculture.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1206
JournalAgriculture (Switzerland)
Volume14
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2024

Keywords

  • agricultural machinery
  • capacitated vehicle routing
  • harvesting tasks
  • rapidly-exploring random tree
  • route and path planning
  • skid–steer mobile robot
  • terrain traversability constraints
  • traveling salesman problem

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Plant Science

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