Adaptive steering controller using a Kalman estimator for wheel-type agricultural tractors

This paper presents an adaptive steering controller for achieving accurate and prompt steering control with noisy steering command signals and drifting valve characteristics on an automated agricultural tractor with an electrohydraulic steering system. It is difficult to accomplish performance objectives with conventional PID controllers because of the effects of disturbances and unknown factors. The adaptive controller, consisted of an adaptive gain tuner and an adaptive nonlinearity compensator, was to overcome these performance obstacles. Test results indicated that this controller provided an effective means for achieving satisfactory steering control for automated tractor traveling on changing and unpredictable farm field courses.