Navigating Farm Fields to Cover the Most Area with the Least Distance

Ron Palmer and David Wild

Abstract:	The objective of navigation is to get from point A to point B in the shortest distance and in the least amount of time. Navigating a farm field is not unlike this, but the objective is to cover the entire area of the field while travelling the shortest possible distance in the least amount of time. A significant reduction in travelled distance can be realized by navigating along a predetermined optimum field course. This reduction in distance translates into savings in fuel, time, and chemical inputs. This paper presents the advantages and considerations in creating and following efficient field courses during farm operations. In addition, a software package that generates these courses is explained. It is shown that by using a navigational aid or positioning system to follow a predetermined efficient course, lateral overlap can be almost eliminated and the distance required to execute a turn can be minimized. Preliminary studies have shown that these benefits can reduce the distance travelled to work a field by nearly twenty percent.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1998) June 1 - 3, 1998 The Adams Mark Hotel Denver, CO
Pages:	271 - 279
Cite this article:	Palmer, Ron, Wild, David, "Navigating Farm Fields to Cover the Most Area with the Least Distance," Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1998), Denver, CO, June 1998, pp. 271-279.
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