Remote control of an agricultural tractor in SAE field upset tests Online publication date: Mon, 10-May-2004
by T.J. Lutz, G.T. Homce
International Journal of Vehicle Design (IJVD), Vol. 34, No. 3, 2004
Abstract: Research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Division of Safety Research in Morgantown, West Virginia is addressing the problem of injuries due to agricultural tractor rollovers, and improvements to rollover protective structures (ROPS). As part of this research, the NIOSH, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory modified a Ford model 4600 agricultural tractor for remote control operation, and used this tractor to conduct SAE field upset tests. Modifications to the tractor involved installing a protective framework, electrical actuators for fuel, brake, clutch, and steering controls, and a radio link for remote operation. The tractor has been used to complete over 30 total side and back upset tests, with no failures of the remote control system. These tests have allowed NIOSH researchers to study the performance of currently available ROPS, use this information for the development of improved ROPS designs, and test a NIOSH-developed prototype automatically deploying ROPS.
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