Perception and Localization Error Propagation and Robust Path-Tracking Control for Agricultural Machinery in Hilly Orchards: A Review

Hilly orchards are characterized by undulating terrain, canopy occlusion, irregular tree-row structures, and marked variations in ground adhesion conditions, which challenge the autonomous navigation of agricultural machinery by degrading perception and localization, increasing reference path uncertainty, and reducing closed-loop robustness. Perception and localization errors can propagate progressively along the chain of “sensor observation–vehicle pose estimation/environmental-structure perception–reference path generation–path-tracking controller inputs–vehicle closed-loop response,” ultimately affecting path-tracking accuracy, control smoothness, and operational safety. This review examines perception and localization error propagation and robust path-tracking control for agricultural machinery in hilly orchards. The review first summarizes the navigation roles and error characteristics of key observation sources and then analyzes how perception, localization, and reference path generation provide state variables, reference variables, and safety constraints to controllers. It subsequently compares typical path-tracking methods under multi-source disturbances and actuator constraints and discusses key challenges and an integrated robust design direction coupling perception and localization, reference path generation, and path-tracking control. The proposed integrated framework represents a synthesis-derived design direction rather than a complete architecture that has already been experimentally validated in hilly orchard field environments.