Odometry is widely used to localize wheeled and tracked vehicles because of its simplicity and continuity. Odometric calculations integrate the wheel or track’s rotation speed. The accuracy of position thus calculated, is affected by slippage between the ground and the wheel or track. When traveling on a loose slope, the localization accuracy of the odometry decreases remarkably due to slippage...

Trail-based recreation has increased over recent decades, raising the environmental management issue of soil erosion that originates from unsurfaced, recreational trail systems. Trail-based soil erosion that occurs near stream crossings represents a non-point source of pollution to streams. We modeled soil erosion rates along multiple-use (hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding) recreati...

Skid-steered robots are commonly used in outdoor applications due to their mechanical simplicity, high maneuverability, and robustness. The maneuverability of these robots allows them, under ideal conditions (e.g., flat terrain and powerful actuators), to perform turning maneuvers ranging from point turns to straight line motion. However, sloped terrain, terrain with high friction, or actuator ...

In winter 1999-2000 trials of deep tillage and recontouring of skid trails were implemented on three sites in northeastern Kentucky, USA to examine their potential as skid trail retirement options. While effective, current Best Management Practices (BMPs) for trail retirement do not address two potential benefits of retirement: recovery of normal hill slope hydrology and amelioration of soil co...

The effects of traffic frequency and skid trail slope on dry bulk density, litter mass and rutting are examined. Treatments included a combination of four different traffic frequencies (3, 7, 14, and 20 passes of a rubber skidder) and three levels of slope ( 20%.) The results showed that dry bulk density, rut depth and soil displacement increased with the increase of traffic frequency and slop...

skidding operations can cause considerable and wide spread soil disturbance. the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of ground skidding operations on soil compaction, moisture content, and total porosity at different levels of slope and traffic frequency. four levels of traffic intensity (3, 8, 13, and >13 passes of a crawler tractor onezhets ? 110) and three levels of slope ( 2...