Autonomous Technologies in Agricultural Equipment: A Review of the State of the Art

Automation and robotics for agricultural production are topics of tremendous interest and large investments. There have been significant recent advances in agricultural automation and robotics in the areas of (1) automatic vehicle guidance and steering control, (2) automatic implement guidance, (3) automatic headland sequence and turn management, (4) sensing for perception, (5) sensing for variable-rate technologies, (6) optimization of machine operation, (7) machinery coordination, and (8) machinery communication. These eight areas of progress are discussed in terms of commercially available technologies, public intellectual property, and the research literature.