Enhancing the Advantages Precision Agricultural Technologies by a Tractor Simulator
摘要
Driving simulators for cars have been a model for the realization of Tractor Driving Simulators (TDS). The growing spread of precision agriculture technologies (PATs) and the lack of literature demonstrating their objective benefits has led to the design and development of a TDS driver-in-the-loop aimed at studying precision agriculture mechanization. Specifically, (i) auto-guidance, (ii) geo-referencing, (iii) ISOBUS implements, (iv) variable rate applications. The attempt to objectify the benefits of PATs is limited by the possibility of carrying out experimental trials due to, among other things, field availability, weather conditions, the impossibility of repeating operations in rows at close intervals, and restrictions on the distribution of agrochemicals. A digital twin (DT) of both an existing farm and a real agricultural tractor, combined with a fertilizer, was used to replicate field operations and create scenario situations. The DT allowed to carry out comparable tests by varying different parameters: the fertilizer width spread, the optimum fertilizer trajectory, operation with or without prescription map or auto-guidance or section control, and different forward speeds. The operator had physically driven the DT around the field, replicating the target operations as they would be carried out in real conditions in driver-in-the-loop mode. Results, in terms of working quality, as error in spread mass product and time required to perform the operation for all the considered use cases have been reported.