Different sensors are attached to the mast.
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A rail track from UR-Automation provides measurement data for the environmental perception of agricultural machinery. The MiniTec modular system is used extensively in the plant.
The trend towards self-driving cars continues. But a lot of development effort is also being put into autonomous driving for agricultural machinery. If tractors or combine harvesters are to work fields independently, they have to keep to predefined lanes and reliably detect obstacles such as people or animals. The high variability of the ambient conditions is not without its problems: In the field, the machines are confronted with environmental influences such as rain, dust and backlighting, as well as a wide variety of plant and soil characteristics.
Which sensors are suitable for compensating for these special conditions? The DFKI (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence) launched the "AI Test Field" project last year for this purpose. The aim was to create an outdoor test environment for generating reproducible sensor data under variable field, weather and plant conditions. With the aim of enabling an evaluation and optimization of sensor systems with regard to reliability in different environments.
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Accordingly, the lead DFKI research site in Osnabrück needed a rail-based platform for the acquisition of measurement data. For this purpose, the company contacted RTS Rail & Tracking Systems, which specializes in solutions for moving cameras. The company has, for example, already implemented automated rail systems for sports broadcasts that enable optimal positioning of the camera in motion sequences. Therefore, there was a certain overlap with the DFKI requirement.
RTS in turn took UR-Automation on board for the overall project management. The automation specialists had already had very good experience with the profile construction kit and the cooperation with MiniTec in an earlier project at Lufthansa in Frankfurt, so it was no question for them to use the MiniTec system for the plant, according to Martin Urban of UR Automation: "We have a long-standing cooperation and relationship with MiniTec. They have very reliable specialists and are characterized by fast and flexible delivery, even to the construction site. The modular profile system includes a large and flexible range of parts, and adjustments on the construction site are easy to implement. Last but not least, the price is also within a fair range."
Specifically, the task was to implement a platform to collect measurement data in the open field for at least three years under all weather conditions and at all times of day. The research center would repeatedly attach different sensors to the measurement vehicle and evaluate their results. The system was to execute driving commands at speeds of up to 20 km/h with pinpoint accuracy. The specification for the routing was to begin with a 15-meter straight line after a starting point, which then changes to a 90-degree curve, followed by a 90-meter straight line to the end point.
After several months of development including digital pre-tests, the facility was finally built and handed over to its intended use in July 2022. Since then, the environment with the various boundary conditions in agriculture has been recorded on the test field by means of a carrier vehicle equipped with different sensor technology (such as laser scanner, stereo camera, time-of-flight camera, ultrasound and radar). This is guided accurately and reproducibly along the track course through the field setting. Together with the metadata of the surveys, such as weather conditions or time of day, the raw data provide the necessary database for control based on algorithms. The railroad operates automatically and can be controlled and monitored remotely. The movements of the measuring carriage, affectionately christened "Dolly" by the development team, are generated by a servo motor via a cable.
The MiniTec system is used extensively in the system - for the entire rails as well as for the rotating tower (sensor carrier) on the vehicle, for the substructure of the weatherproof enclosure and for the masts for the surveillance cameras. This was not insignificant for the successful realization, according to Maik Wittek from UR Automation: "With such a prototype, not everything can be planned and designed in advance. With the MiniTec construction kit, one can easily help oneself and achieve good and also visually appealing results. For this, you need an aluminum saw and some spare material on the construction site and get almost every challenge solved."
Different sensors are attached to the mast.
Around it are agricultural areas that were created specifically for the test facility.
Thanks to the flexibility of the MiniTec modular system, much could be implemented on site at the construction site.