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An Integrated Route and Path Planning Strategy for Skid–Steer Mobile Robots in Assisted Harvesting Tasks with Terrain Traversability Constraints

Abstract:

This article presents a combined route and path planning strategy to guide Skid–Steer Mobile Robots (SSMRs) in scheduled harvest tasks within expansive crop rows with complex terrain conditions. The proposed strategy integrates: (i) a global planning algorithm based on the Traveling Salesman Problem under the Capacitated Vehicle Routing approach and Optimization Routing (OR-tools from Google) to prioritize harvesting positions by minimum path length, unexplored harvest points, and vehicle payload capacity; and (ii) a local planning strategy using Informed Rapidly-exploring Random Tree ((Formula presented.)) to coordinate scheduled harvesting points while avoiding low-traction terrain obstacles. The global approach generates an ordered queue of harvesting locations, maximizing the crop yield in a workspace map. In the second stage, the (Formula presented.) planner avoids potential obstacles, including farm layout and slippery terrain. The path planning scheme incorporates a traversability model and a motion model of SSMRs to meet kinematic constraints. Experimental results in a generic fruit orchard demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. In particular, the (Formula presented.) algorithm outperformed RRT and (Formula presented.) with 96.1% and 97.6% smoother paths, respectively. The (Formula presented.) also showed improved navigation efficiency, avoiding obstacles and slippage zones, making it suitable for precision agriculture.