Automatic operation of a combined harvester in a rice field

A joint research team organized by NARC and Mitsubishi Farm Machinery Co. Ltd., has developed and tested an automatic operating technique for the headfeeding combined harvester which is popular among Japanese farmers. This auto-combine has no visual sensor. Its operation system includes a straight line automatic operation which follows the rows of rice plants, and turning action at the end of the field which is supported by a computer with several kinds of sensors. The automatic harvesting operation system was tested to determine whether the system could carry out the operation without a human operator on board the harvester. The auto-combine proved to be as practical as it is intended. This new automatic operating system enables one operator to operate two or more auto-combines simultaneously in a rice field.