High clearance four-wheel independent electric drive sprayer path tracking control based on self-correction controller

Most traditional agricultural machines use traditional mechanical transmission with fuel drive and front wheel steering, and most of them are manned, with low transmission efficiency, poor flexibility and low level of intelligence. This paper proposes a new high ground clearance sprayer with four-wheel independent drive (4WID) with dual front and rear steering axles. This sprayer is an oil-electric hybrid that not only saves energy, but also reduces the pollution to crops. In this study, a path tracking controller and a self-correcting controller are constructed based on the kinematic model of the sprayer, respectively. The model prediction controller is used as the main controller, and it outputs the desired steering angle and speed of the sprayer based on the current state of the sprayer and the desired path to achieve path tracking control. The self-correcting controller, as an auxiliary controller, adopts fuzzy control method and designs fuzzy control rules based on the driver’s experience to correct the wheel turning angle at the current moment, which not only retains the advantages of model prediction control in linear path tracking, but also improves the control effect in curved path tracking and enhances the path tracking accuracy in large curvature roads. The simulation shows that the maximum lateral deviation of 0.03 m can be achieved by the model predictive control alone, and the maximum lateral deviation is reduced to 0.0141 m after adding the self-correcting controller.