Driving Angle and Track Sequence Optimization for Operational Path Planning Using Genetic Algorithms

The objective of this article was to develop an initial approach for a method to combine two recently developed methods related to the field area coverage problem. The first stage generated a field geometrical representation and the second stage aimed to optimize the routing of agricultural vehicles within this geometrically defined world. In the first stage, using the former method the optimal driving direction is derived based on the minimization of the overlapped area. The second stage uses the later method, the optimal routing is determined for the derived driving direction and is based on the minimization of the non-working distance. In its current state, the developed approach can provide optimal solutions in terms of overlapped area and sub-optimal solutions in terms of total non-working travelled distance. Still, these sub-optimal solutions proved more efficient compared to the conventional field work patterns. Improving this sub-optimality as well as the reducing the computation times of the method in order to be feasible for real-time implementation, are considered issues of future researching.