A Comprehensive Overview of Control Algorithms, Sensors, Actuators, and Communication Tools of Autonomous All-Terrain Vehicles in Agriculture

Abstract

This review paper discusses the development trends of agricultural autonomous all-terrain vehicles (AATVs) from four cornerstones, such as (1) control strategy and algorithms, (2) sensors, (3) data communication tools and systems, and (4) controllers and actuators, based on 221 papers published in peer-reviewed journals for 1960–2023. The paper highlights a comparative analysis of commonly employed control methods and algorithms by highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. It gives comparative analyses of sensors, data communication tools, actuators, and hardware-embedded controllers. In recent years, many novel developments in AATVs have been made due to advancements in wireless and remote communication, high-speed data processors, sensors, computer vision, and broader applications of AI tools. Technical advancements in fully autonomous control of AATVs remain limited, requiring research into accurate estimation of terrain mechanics, identifying uncertainties, and making fast and accurate decisions, as well as utilizing wireless communication and edge cloud computing. Furthermore, most of the developments are at the research level and have many practical limitations due to terrain and weather conditions.