Automatic guidance systems in agricultural machinery as a tool for drivers' mental strain and workload relief

Abstract

This article evaluates agricultural operator´s stress, mental strain and generally fighting with driving difficulties during operating agricultural machinery sets by means of a heart rate indicator. Different drivers driving different tractors with implements were chosen and evaluated during different field jobs, namely soil tillage and sowing. Machinery position on the field was precisely monitored by a GPS receiver and the heart beat rate was observed by means of a chest belt special device with a heart rate sensor. The output data from the sensors were monitored during conventional manual steering of the tractor-implement set and also when using the complete automatic guidance steering without any driver´s intervention to steering wheel - all by using the DGPS guidance signal. The data were further processed with a special software for the heart rate sensor and detailed statistical evaluation was performed. All described trials were measured at different farms in the Czech Republic. The final outcomes from the experiment showed a statistically significant difference between two experimental variants and confirm our hypothesis that the guidance systems bring a great benefit for drivers concerning mental strain and relief of their workload.

Keywords

• navigation in agriculture
• heart rate sensor
• driver's stress
• driver's workload