Multi-Reference Path Tracking Control for an Agricultural Tractor with Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

Multi-Reference Path Tracking Control for an Agricultural Tractor with Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

|Authors: Marcel Moll, Timo Oksanen

|Venue: arXiv preprint | Year: 2026

|arXiv: 2610.00057

Abstract

Guiding a tractor along a predefined reference path is a key component of precision agriculture. This study develops a path tracking controller based on Nonlinear Model Predictive Control, which incorporates multiple segments of a piecewise-linear reference path directly into the objective function. In addition, methods for selecting viable reference segments from the full path are presented. The control system is evaluated during a field test with a tractor controlled via the Tractor Implement Management steering interface. The NMPC solver converged on average after 3.45 ms and tracked the curved reference path with a mean absolute cross-track error of 6.1 cm.

Key Contributions

• Guiding a tractor along a predefined reference path is a key component of precision agriculture
• This study develops a path tracking controller based on Nonlinear Model Predictive Control, which…
• In addition, methods for selecting viable reference segments from the full path are presented
• The control system is evaluated during a field test with a tractor controlled via the Tractor Imp…
• The NMPC solver converged on average after 3.45 ms and tracked the curved reference path with a m…

Topics

• control

Code & Data

No code repository linked in paper metadata.

BibTeX

@article{Moll2026_261000057,
  title     = {Multi-Reference Path Tracking Control for an Agricultural Tractor with Nonlinear Model Predictive Control},
  author    = {Marcel Moll and Timo Oksanen},
  year      = {2026},
  eprint    = {2610.00057},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  primaryClass  = {cs.RO},
  url       = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.00057}
}