Steering a Tractor by Means of an EMG-Based Human-Machine Interface

An electromiographic (EMG)-based human-machine interface (HMI) is a communication pathway between a human and a machine that operates by means of the acquisition and processing of EMG signals. This article explores the use of EMG-based HMIs in the steering of farm tractors. An EPOC, a low-cost human-computer interface (HCI) from the Emotiv Company, was employed. This device, by means of 14 saline sensors, measures and processes EMG and electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from the scalp of the driver. In our tests, the HMI took into account only the detection of four trained muscular events on the driver’s scalp: eyes looking to the right and jaw opened, eyes looking to the right and jaw closed, eyes looking to the left and jaw opened, and eyes looking to the left and jaw closed. The EMG-based HMI guidance was compared with manual guidance and with autonomous GPS guidance. A driver tested these three guidance systems along three different trajectories: a straight line, a step, and a circumference. The accuracy of the EMG-based HMI guidance was lower than the accuracy obtained by manual guidance, which was lower in turn than the accuracy obtained by the autonomous GPS guidance; the computed standard deviations of error to the desired trajectory in the straight line were 16 cm, 9 cm, and 4 cm, respectively. Since the standard deviation between the manual guidance and the EMG-based HMI guidance differed only 7 cm, and this difference is not relevant in agricultural steering, it can be concluded that it is possible to steer a tractor by an EMG-based HMI with almost the same accuracy as with manual steering

PRECISION DIAGNOSTICS OF A DIESEL ENGINE UNDER AGRICULTURAL TRACTOR OPERATING CONDITIONS

This paper presents a method for the precise diagnosis of a diesel engine in an agricultural tractor based on the analysis of efficiency changes and parameters characterizing the process of fuel-air mixture preparation. We proposed that the technical condition be identified based on available data from the engine controller, as this enables the implementation of precise online diagnostics of an agricultural tractor. The method was verified using the original cycle, during which we simulated several engine defects leading to a change in conditions and quality of the processes of creating and burning the fuel/air/flue gas mixture. In the paper, we justified the selection of the points at which the engine parameters were measured, as they provide the most information and allow for efficient identification of damage. These results indicate the possibility of damage identification without the use of the diagnostic cycle in the operation of operator-driven vehicles and autonomous vehicles