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Sensors
Volume 26
Issue 12
10.3390/s26123793
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Review

Terrain Modeling and Cost Map Construction for Autonomous Agricultural Vehicles in Hilly Orchards: A Review

by
Ruohan Shi
1,2,†,
Hanquan Lei
1,2,†,
Yunfei Wang
1,2,
Mingxiong Ou
1,2 and
Weidong Jia
1,2,*
1
School of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
2
High-Tech Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment and Intelligence of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Sensors 2026, 26(12), 3793; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26123793 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 19 May 2026 / Revised: 11 June 2026 / Accepted: 12 June 2026 / Published: 14 June 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Image Processing and Analysis in Sensor-Based Object Detection)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Navigating hilly orchards is challenging for autonomous agricultural vehicles due to the rugged terrain and dense canopy cover. Standard environmental modeling techniques are widely used, yet they often overlook how elevation uncertainty propagates during Digital Elevation Model (DEM) reconstruction. This oversight can directly affect terrain risk assessments and navigation planning. From an error-propagation perspective, this review examines how uncertainties originating from RTK-GNSS, LiDAR, and computer vision propagate through DEM reconstruction, terrain-feature extraction, cost map construction, and path planning. We further analyze how DEM elevation errors and vertical inaccuracies affect slope estimation, roughness representation, traversability assessment, vehicle stability, and navigation safety. Finally, we highlight practical bottlenecks in hilly orchard scenarios and suggest several research priorities, including multimodal fusion, uncertainty-aware modeling, lifelong map updating, and learning-based traversability assessment.
Keywords: hilly orchards; digital elevation model; terrain modeling; traversability assessment; cost map; autonomous navigation hilly orchards; digital elevation model; terrain modeling; traversability assessment; cost map; autonomous navigation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Shi, R.; Lei, H.; Wang, Y.; Ou, M.; Jia, W. Terrain Modeling and Cost Map Construction for Autonomous Agricultural Vehicles in Hilly Orchards: A Review. Sensors 2026, 26, 3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/s26123793

AMA Style

Shi R, Lei H, Wang Y, Ou M, Jia W. Terrain Modeling and Cost Map Construction for Autonomous Agricultural Vehicles in Hilly Orchards: A Review. Sensors. 2026; 26(12):3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/s26123793

Chicago/Turabian Style

Shi, Ruohan, Hanquan Lei, Yunfei Wang, Mingxiong Ou, and Weidong Jia. 2026. "Terrain Modeling and Cost Map Construction for Autonomous Agricultural Vehicles in Hilly Orchards: A Review" Sensors 26, no. 12: 3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/s26123793

APA Style

Shi, R., Lei, H., Wang, Y., Ou, M., & Jia, W. (2026). Terrain Modeling and Cost Map Construction for Autonomous Agricultural Vehicles in Hilly Orchards: A Review. Sensors, 26(12), 3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/s26123793

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