Autonomous loose fruit collector (INNBOT) – Human following vehicle

This project proposes the design of a GPS-based autonomous vehicle for the purpose of navigation and following operators in the collection of loose fruits in oil palm plantations. The aim is to reduce the burden on operators who traditionally must manually collect the loose fruits while following behind a truck. The proposed autonomous vehicle utilizes a GPS module to track its real-time location and follows the operator based on their smartphone’s GPS coordinates. The vehicle’s navigation is controlled by calculating displacement, bearing, and heading angles using GPS coordinates and a digital compass. The vehicle’s movement is determined by the heading-to-bearing ratio, allowing it to move forward, turn left or right, or stop depending on the ratio value. The proposed design includes the selection of appropriate components such as GPS module, digital compass, Bluetooth module, motor driver module, and Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller. The circuit diagram and prototype of the vehicle are presented. The working principle of the vehicle involves point-to- point navigation, calculation of displacement and bearing angles, and utilization of a digital compass for heading determination. The system has been tested and the results show successful navigation and movement of the vehicle based on the operator’s location. However, improvements are needed for real-life deployment and extended operation duration. Overall, the GPS-based autonomous vehicle presents a promising solution for efficient and automated loose fruit collection in oil palm plantations.