1996 Volume 58 Issue 6 Pages 101-110
A microcomputer controlled driverless air blast sprayer was developed to avoid the exposure of operator to agricultural chemicals and machine noise, to improve safety and to increase working efficiency during the application work for pest control in orchards. The driverless air blast sprayer travels along the guiding cable set on the working course. An “unmanned” traveling system was developed and installed on the sprayer. This system detects the displacement between the sprayer and the cable to control the steering devices of the sprayer to travel along the cable by sensing the magnetic field which was generated by sending alternating current to the cable. A Fuzzy reasoning method was used for the algorithm of the automatic steering control program to control the steering devices smoothly. The unmanned sprayer traveled smoothly and steadily along the cable during straight traveling and turning on flat ground.
