Prediction of Tractor Behavior Based on Reconstructed Terrain Profiles Using Stereo-vision Camera

—Investigation of Tractor Behavior Simulation on Reconstructed Ground and Actual Ground—

Abstract

Because most hazardous accidents involve lateral rollover, it is important to investigate tractor roll motion to predict lateral tractor rollover and improve tractor safety. This study reconstructed the ground in front of a tractor using a stereo-vision camera installed on top of the tractor weight. Then, the obtained road surface height was input into a tractor behavior simulation to compare the actual tractor movement with the simulated movement. The ground was reconstructed according to different camera angles. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the roll angular velocity was determined in terms of ground obstacles at each camera angle. The tractor simulation exhibited roll motion that was very similar to that of the actual tractor on the same ground.