MeisterGRIP: cylindrical interface for intuitional robot manipulation

An agricultural vehicle for forming a substantially circular water ring in the soil for the planting of a young tree or the like includes a vehicle body having an operator position, a pair of wheels supporting the body and an engine for rotating the wheels to move the body across the soil in a direction of travel responsive to control by the operator. A disk plow blade, having a front face and a peripheral edge adapted to engage and turn up the soil is coupled to the vehicle by a boom supported by the vehicle body, the blades being spaced from, and aside, the operator position at a point generally normal from the operator position with respect to the direction of travel, thereby permitting the operator to view the blade during engagement with the soil such that a circular water ring may be formed in the soil by movement of the vehicle in a generally circular direction of travel causing the blade to push up the soil to form the water ring.