Multi-Sensor Fusion Based Tractor Guidance Method for Autonomous Implement Hitching

Abstract

This study proposes a guidance method using GNSS, IMU, and vision sensors to navigate a tractor-implement to align and hitch. The vision system, comprising a camera and marker, estimates the implement’s relative pose with respect to the tractor’s. The relative pose is fused with data from the GNSS and IMU to determine the implement’s hitching pose for planning the tractor-backing path accurately. The results of automatic hitching tests on a concrete surface using an autonomous tractor and broadcaster demonstrates that the proposed guidance method can accurately perform path planning and tracking. The calculated average tractor-implement alignment errors are 0.015±0.010 m, 0.011±0.010 m, and 2.3±1.3 ° in the lateral, longitudinal, and yaw directions, respectively.