Autonomous tillage operation control device and method

Abstract

An autonomous tillage operation control device and a method thereof are disclosed. An autonomous tillage operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a shooting unit that captures a ground surface to acquire image data; a soil condition analysis unit that analyzes at least one of soil condition information among soil crushing degree, tillage depth, and horizontality of the work surface from the image data; a work condition determination unit that calculates a deviation between the soil condition information and preset standard work quality data to determine the current work condition of a tiller for each soil condition information; and a work control unit that generates a control signal for automatically controlling the engine speed, PTO (Power Take-Off) torque, and the height of a 3-point hitch based on the result of determining the current work condition.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an autonomous tillage control device and a method thereof, and more specifically, to a technology that combines image analysis and automatic control functions to evaluate the quality of tillage operations in real time and automatically correct quality deviations. Background Technology

[0002] Quality control for tillage in agricultural machinery currently relies primarily on operator skill and manual operation. Although some automated control technologies have been introduced, they are utilized only to a limited extent, and in particular, image-based precise quality evaluation and control technologies are not yet widely applied. Consequently, the quality of agricultural work still heavily depends on the operator's experience and judgment.

[0003] However, these existing technologies have limitations in quantitatively evaluating soil conditions in real time. Although soil condition is a critical factor directly affecting work quality, it is difficult to accurately measure or analyze it with current technology. As a result, problems such as inconsistent work quality and deviations in work results occur frequently.

[0004] Furthermore, workers must continuously repeat manual operations, which increases fatigue and reduces work efficiency. In particular, the larger or more complex the work environment, the greater the burden on the worker, and this acts as a factor that undermines the productivity and quality of agricultural work in the long run. This issue is pointed out as a major obstacle preventing the system from meeting the demands of modern agriculture, which requires automation and precision. Prior art literature

[0005] Korean Published Patent Application No. 10-2025-0058258 (Published April 30, 2025) The problem to be solved

[0006] The present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the objective of the present invention is to provide an autonomous tillage operation control device and a method thereof that can maintain consistent quality by evaluating work quality in real time and automatically correcting it through image analysis and automatic control.

[0007] The problems of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned problems will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. means of solving the problem

[0008] An autonomous tillage work control device according to one embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above objective comprises: a shooting unit that captures a ground surface to acquire image data; a soil condition analysis unit that analyzes at least one of soil condition information among soil crushing degree, tillage depth, and horizontality of the work surface from the image data; a work condition determination unit that calculates a deviation between the soil condition information and preset standard work quality data to determine the current work condition of the tiller for each soil condition information; and a work control unit that generates a control signal for automatically controlling the engine speed, PTO (Power Take-Off) torque, and the height of the 3-point hitch based on the result of determining the current work condition.

[0009] The soil condition analysis unit can detect soil aggregates from the image data, calculate the two-dimensional area of ​​the soil aggregates, convert the two-dimensional area into a circle corresponding to the two-dimensional area to calculate the equivalent diameter of the soil aggregates, classify the equivalent diameter according to a predefined aggregate size interval standard, calculate the aggregate area for a specific aggregate size interval among the classified results, and calculate the soil fragmentation degree by comparing this to the total aggregate area.

[0010] The soil condition analysis unit above calculates the average brightness value within each frame of the image data, and can calculate that the lower the average brightness value, the deeper the tillage depth.

[0011] The soil condition analysis unit can extract a boundary line between the ground and the background from the image data and calculate the horizontality of the work surface by comparing the boundary line with a preset reference horizontal line.

[0012] The above work status determination unit can determine that the current work status of the soil status information is of insufficient quality if the deviation between the soil status information and the standard work quality data is greater than or equal to the preset allowable error for each soil status information.

[0013] The above work control unit can generate a control signal to decrease or increase the engine rotational speed so that the PTO torque of the work machine increases or decreases when it is determined that the current work status regarding the soil crushing degree is of insufficient quality.

[0014] The above work control unit can generate a control signal to contract or extend a hydraulic cylinder connected to the lower link of the three-point hitch so that the height of the three-point hitch is raised or lowered when it is determined that the current work status regarding the tillage depth is of poor quality.

[0015] The above work control unit can generate a control signal to independently extend or retract a hydraulic cylinder connected to the lower link of the three-point hitch so as to reduce the deviation in the horizontality of the work surface when it is determined that the current work status regarding the horizontality of the work surface is of poor quality.

[0016] A method for controlling autonomous tillage work according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above objective comprises: a shooting step of capturing a ground surface to acquire image data; a soil condition analysis step of analyzing at least one soil condition information among soil crushing degree, tillage depth, and levelness of the work surface from the image data; a work condition determination step of determining the current work condition of a tiller for each soil condition information by calculating a deviation between the soil condition information and preset standard work quality data; and a work control step of generating a control signal for automatically controlling the engine speed, PTO (Power Take-Off) torque, and the height of a 3-point hitch based on the result of determining the current work condition. Effects of the invention

[0017] According to one aspect of the present invention described above, the deviation in work quality can be automatically corrected by analyzing the soil condition in real time using image data and comparing it with reference work quality data.

[0018] In addition, work quality can be maintained uniformly by controlling the engine speed, PTO torque, and the height of the 3-point hitch in conjunction.

[0019] The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description in the claims. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an autonomous tillage work control system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an illustrative diagram for explaining the structure of a three-point hitch and a hydraulic cylinder according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an illustrative diagram for explaining the movement of a three-point hitch according to a hydraulic cylinder according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram for explaining soil crushing according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram for explaining an equivalent diameter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram for explaining the tillage depth according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram for explaining the horizontal level of a work surface according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the schematic flow of an autonomous tillage operation control method according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0021] The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that various embodiments of the invention are different but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, specific shapes, structures, and characteristics described herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in relation to one embodiment. It should also be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following detailed description is not intended to be limiting, and the scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims, including all equivalents to those claimed therein, provided appropriately described. Similar reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same or similar functions across various aspects.

[0022] The components according to the present invention are defined by functional distinction rather than physical distinction, and can be defined by the functions each performs. Each component may be implemented as hardware or as program code and processing units that perform each function, and the functions of two or more components may be included and implemented in a single component. Therefore, it should be noted that the names assigned to the components in the following embodiments are not intended to physically distinguish each component but are assigned to imply the representative function performed by each component, and that the technical concept of the present invention is not limited by the names of the components.

[0023] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an autonomous tillage control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an illustrative diagram explaining the structure of a three-point hitch and a hydraulic cylinder according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an illustrative diagram explaining the movement of a three-point hitch according to a hydraulic cylinder according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram explaining the degree of soil crushing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram explaining the equivalent diameter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram explaining the tillage depth according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram explaining the levelness of a working surface according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, the autonomous tillage control system (1) may include an autonomous tillage control device (10) and a tiller (20).

[0026] The autonomous tillage control device (10) can be linked with the tiller (20). The autonomous tillage control device (10) can generate a control signal to automatically control each component of the tiller (20). The tiller (20) can receive a control signal from the autonomous tillage control device (10). The tiller (20) can be automatically controlled according to the received control signal. The tiller (20) can be controlled to perform tillage work according to the control signal.

[0027] First, the tiller (20) according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

[0028] The tiller (20) may include a tiller body (210), a hydraulic cylinder (220), a three-point hitch (230), and a work tool (240).

[0029] The tiller body (210) can be responsible for driving the tiller (20). The tiller body (210) can be responsible for generating and transmitting power. For example, the tiller body (210) may include an engine for generating power, a transmission for transmitting power, a steering system for controlling the driving direction, wheels that move in contact with the ground, a cabin for the driver, various instrument panels, a hydraulic system, and a fuel tank. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. The tiller body (210) may be equipped with an autonomous driving system. The tiller body (210) can perform the function of driving automatically according to a preset standard work path.

[0030] In one embodiment of the present invention, at least some of the components of the autonomous tillage control device (10) may be mounted on the tiller body (210). For example, some components of the autonomous tillage control device (10) may be installed on the top of the cabin, the front frame, the rear fender, or the work mast of the tiller body (210). However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0031] The implement (240) may be connected to the front or rear of the tiller body (210). The implement (240) may be coupled to the tiller body (210). The implement (240) may be a part that performs tillage work. Tillage work may include cultivating soil. Tillage work may include crushing soil. For example, the implement (240) may be a rotary, plow, harrow, rotavator, tillage roller, subsoiler, or disk harrow. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. The implement (240) may be driven by power generated from the engine of the tiller body (210).

[0032] The three-point hitch (230) can perform the function of connecting the tiller body (210) and the implement (240) to each other. The three-point hitch (230) may include an upper link (231) and a lower link (232). A hydraulic cylinder (220) may be provided to correspond to each of the upper link (231) and the lower link (232) of the three-point hitch (230). The hydraulic cylinder (220) may extend or retract. The hydraulic cylinder (220) may provide driving force for the movement of the upper link (231) and the lower link (232).

[0033] Referring to FIG. 2, the three-point hitch (230) is mounted at the rear of the tiller body (210) and can serve to connect and support the work implement (240).

[0034] In one embodiment of the present invention, the three-point hitch (230) may be configured to include one upper link (231) and two lower links (232). Each link is connected to a hydraulic cylinder (220) and can move independently according to a control signal from the work control unit (140).

[0035] Regarding the main body of the tiller (210), details that overlap with those described in Fig. 1 will be omitted.

[0036] The tiller body (210) can provide a structural base to which each link of the three-point hitch (230) can be connected. Specifically, the rear frame of the tiller body (210) may be provided with a mounting point to which an upper link (231) and a pair of lower links (232) can each be connected by a hinge structure.

[0037] The upper link (231) is positioned at the upper center of the three-point hitch (230) to connect the upper part of the implement (240) with the tiller body (210). The upper link (231) can perform the function of adjusting the forward and backward tilt angle of the implement (240). When the length of the upper link (231) is changed, the angle that the implement (240) makes with the ground is adjusted, thereby setting the angle of attack for the tillage operation.

[0038] In one embodiment of the present invention, one end of the upper link (231) may be rotatably connected to the tiller body (210). The other end of the upper link (231) may be rotatably connected to the implement (240). As the hydraulic cylinder (220) installed corresponding to the upper link (231) extends or retracts, the effective length of the upper link (231) may change. For example, if the hydraulic cylinder (220) extends and the length of the upper link (231) increases, the upper end of the implement (240) may move away from the tiller body (210). Through this, the front of the implement (240) may be tilted in a direction that lifts.

[0039] In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper link (231) may additionally include a manually adjustable turnbuckle structure in addition to the hydraulic cylinder (220). This structure may be used for initial setup of an automatic control system or for manual operation in an emergency. Additionally, a strain gauge or load cell for measuring the work load may be installed on the upper link (231). The strain gauge or load cell may transmit the measured data to the work control unit (140).

[0040] The lower links (232) can be positioned as a pair on the left and right sides at the bottom of the three-point hitch (230). The lower links (232) can support the load of the implement (240) and adjust its height. The two lower links (232) can play a key role in adjusting the overall height and horizontal alignment of the implement (240). Each lower link (232) can connect the lower part of the tiller body (210) and the implement (240), respectively.

[0041] In one embodiment of the present invention, the left and right lower links (232) can each move up and down by independent hydraulic cylinders (220). When the work control unit (140) determines that the tillage depth needs to be adjusted, the two hydraulic cylinders (220) can be extended simultaneously to lower the lower links (232). Conversely, the two hydraulic cylinders (220) can be retracted simultaneously to raise the lower links (232). Through this, the tillage depth of the work machine (240) can be controlled in real time.

[0042] The hydraulic cylinder (220) can function as a power source to generate movement of the upper link (231) and the lower link (232). Each hydraulic cylinder (220) can receive hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic system of the tiller body (210). Each hydraulic cylinder (220) can extend or retract the piston rod using the supplied hydraulic pressure.

[0043] In one embodiment of the present invention, the hydraulic cylinder (220) may be connected to a proportional control valve that controls the flow of hydraulic fluid according to a control signal from the work control unit (140). The work control unit (140) may calculate a control amount based on the deviation between soil condition information and reference work quality data. The work control unit (140) may send an electrical signal to the proportional control valve according to the calculated control amount. Through this, the operating speed and displacement amount of the hydraulic cylinder (220) can be precisely controlled.

[0044] In one embodiment of the present invention, the hydraulic cylinder (220) may include a position sensor that measures the current extension length of the cylinder. For example, the position sensor may be a linear potentiometer, a magnetostrictive sensor, a Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT), an encoder, a Hall effect sensor, a proximity sensor, or an optical sensor. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. Such a position sensor may provide feedback information regarding the current position of the three-point hitch (230).

[0045] Referring to FIG. 3, the hydraulic cylinder (220) can perform an extension or contraction motion based on a received control signal. The hydraulic cylinder (220) can control the position of the three-point hitch (230) through the extension or contraction motion.

[0046] A hydraulic cylinder (220) connected to an upper link (231) can adjust the forward and backward tilt of a work device (240). A work control unit (140) can control the hydraulic cylinder (220) to extend. When the hydraulic cylinder (220) extends, the work device (240) can tilt backward. A work control unit (140) can control the hydraulic cylinder (220) to retract. When the hydraulic cylinder (220) retracts, the work device (240) can tilt forward.

[0047] A hydraulic cylinder (220) connected to a lower link (232) can adjust the height of a work device (240). The work control unit (140) can extend the hydraulic cylinder (220) to raise the height of the lower link (232). When the height of the lower link (232) is raised, the height of the work device (240) can also be raised. The work control unit (140) can retract the hydraulic cylinder (220) to lower the height of the lower link (232). When the height of the lower link (232) is lowered, the height of the work device (240) can be lowered.

[0048] In one embodiment of the present invention, an independent hydraulic cylinder (220) may be connected to each of the left lower link (232) and the right lower link (232). The work control unit (140) may generate a control signal to control the left and right hydraulic cylinders (220) individually. The work control unit (140) may adjust the left and right horizontal alignment of the work device (240) through individual control. The work control unit (140) may correct the horizontal alignment of the work surface through the left and right horizontal alignment of the work device (240).

[0049] Hereinafter, the autonomous tillage work control device (10) according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

[0050] The autonomous tillage operation control device (10) according to the present embodiment may include a shooting unit (110), a soil condition analysis unit (120), an operation status determination unit (130), and an operation control unit (140). Additionally, the autonomous tillage operation control device (10) may have software (application) installed and executed to perform an autonomous tillage operation control method, and the shooting unit (110), the soil condition analysis unit (120), the operation status determination unit (130), and the operation control unit (140) may be controlled by the software (application) to perform an autonomous tillage operation control method.

[0051] At this time, the autonomous tillage operation control device (10) may be a separate terminal or a part module of the terminal. Additionally, the configuration of the shooting unit (110), soil condition analysis unit (120), operation status determination unit (130), and operation control unit (140) may be formed as an integrated module or composed of one or more modules. However, conversely, each configuration may be composed of a separate module.

[0052] Additionally, the autonomous tillage control device (10) may be mobile or fixed. This autonomous tillage control device (10) may be in the form of a server or an engine, and may be referred to by other terms such as device, apparatus, terminal, UE (user equipment), MS (mobile station), wireless device, or handheld device. Furthermore, the autonomous tillage control device (10) may execute or create various software based on an operating system (OS), that is, a system. Here, the operating system is a system program that enables software to use the hardware of the device, and may include all mobile computer operating systems such as Android OS, iOS, Windows Mobile OS, Bada OS, Symbian OS, BlackBerry OS, etc., as well as computer operating systems such as Windows family, Linux family, Unix family, MAC, AIX, HP-UX, etc.

[0053] The camera unit (110) can capture the ground and obtain image data.

[0054] In one embodiment of the present invention, the imaging unit (110) may be a visible light camera, an infrared camera, a thermal imaging camera, a 3D depth camera, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or a stereo camera. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0055] A shooting unit (110) may be provided at the bottom of the working machine (240). The shooting unit (110) may photograph a predetermined area facing the rear of the working machine (240). The shooting unit (110) may photograph the ground immediately after tillage work is performed by the working machine (240) at preset unit times. The shooting unit (110) may collect image data through shooting.

[0056] A shooting unit (110) may be provided at the rear end of the work machine (240). The shooting unit (110) may photograph a predetermined area facing the rear of the work machine (240). The shooting unit (110) may photograph the ground and other background immediately after tillage work is performed by the work machine (240). The shooting unit (110) may collect image data through shooting.

[0057] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can analyze at least one of the soil condition information, soil fragmentation, tillage depth, and work surface levelness from the image data. The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate at least one of the soil fragmentation, tillage depth, and work surface levelness by analyzing the soil condition information on a unit-time basis or on a frame-by-frame basis of the image data.

[0058] Referring to FIGS. 4 and FIGS. 5, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can analyze the degree of soil fragmentation based on image data obtained from the shooting unit (110).

[0059] When the working part (240) of the tiller (20) performs tillage work, the soil can be broken into soil aggregates of various sizes.

[0060] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can identify soil aggregates within image data and classify aggregate sizes, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0061] Specifically, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can detect soil aggregates from the image data.

[0062] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can detect soil aggregates from image data. The soil condition analysis unit (120) can detect each soil aggregate as an object in the image data of the soil surface. To this end, the soil condition analysis unit (120) may use an image processing algorithm to detect soil aggregates from image data. For example, the image processing algorithm may be Canny edge detection, Sobel operator, watershed algorithm, k-means clustering, Otsu's method, morphological operations, or a deep learning-based segmentation model. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. The soil condition analysis unit (120) can set a boundary line along the outline of each detected soil aggregate. The soil condition analysis unit (120) can detect individual soil aggregates by clustering the area inside the boundary line into a single object.

[0063] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the two-dimensional area of ​​soil aggregates having an irregular shape. For example, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the two-dimensional area of ​​each soil aggregate in a manner such as calculating the number of pixels.

[0064] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the equivalent diameter of the soil aggregate by converting it into a circle corresponding to the calculated two-dimensional area. In one embodiment of the present invention, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can perform an operation to convert the two-dimensional area of ​​the soil aggregate having an irregular shape into a circle of the same area corresponding to the two-dimensional area. The soil condition analysis unit (120) can set the area of ​​the converted circle to be the same as the two-dimensional area of ​​the original soil aggregate. The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the diameter of the converted circle, that is, the equivalent diameter of the soil aggregate. The process of calculating the equivalent diameter can enable comparison and analysis of soil aggregates having various shapes and sizes using a standardized single scale.

[0065] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can classify the equivalent diameter according to a predefined aggregate size range standard. For example, the aggregate size range standard may be 2 mm or less, 2 mm to 5 mm, 5 mm to 10 mm, 10 mm to 20 mm, 20 mm to 30 mm, 30 mm to 50 mm, or 50 mm or more. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0066] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the aggregate area for a specific aggregate size range among the classified results.

[0067] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the soil fragmentation degree by comparing the aggregate area for a specific aggregate size range to the total aggregate area. The soil fragmentation degree may refer to an indicator of how well the soil is broken after tillage. In one embodiment of the present invention, the soil fragmentation degree may be output in percentage (%) units.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 6, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can analyze soil condition information from image data obtained from the shooting unit (110).

[0069] The soil condition analysis unit (120) calculates the average brightness value within each frame of the image data, and can calculate that the lower the average brightness value, the deeper the tillage depth.

[0070] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the tillage depth using the brightness value of the image data. The soil may have the characteristic of becoming darker in color as the humidity increases as it gets deeper from the surface.

[0071] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the average brightness value within each frame of the image data. The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate that the lower the calculated average brightness value, the deeper the tillage depth. For example, in FIG. 6(a), the average brightness was calculated as 145.11, so the tillage depth (tillage depth) was calculated as 15 cm, and in FIG. 6(b), the average brightness was calculated as 171.05, so the tillage depth was calculated as 5 cm.

[0072] In one embodiment of the present invention, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can determine the relationship between the average brightness value and the tillage depth using a preset mapping table. For example, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the tillage depth by referring to a preset look-up table based on specific soil types and moisture conditions.

[0073] Meanwhile, the soil condition analysis unit (120) may estimate the tillage depth through a machine learning model that has learned image data collected from various environments and actual measured tillage depth data. The machine learning model may be an artificial intelligence model trained to receive image data as input, extract features such as the average brightness value and texture of the soil, and estimate the tillage depth based thereon. The machine learning model includes a backbone structure such as a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to generate a multilayer feature map from the input image, and the generated feature map can be converted into a predicted value for the tillage depth through a regression module. Therefore, the machine learning model according to the present invention can provide generalized tillage depth estimation performance based on large-scale training data collected under various soil environments and moisture conditions.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 7, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can analyze the condition of the soil based on image data obtained from the shooting unit (110).

[0075] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can extract the boundary line between the ground and the background from the image data.

[0076] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can extract a boundary line between the ground and the background using an image processing algorithm. The soil condition analysis unit (120) according to one embodiment of the present invention may include preprocessing, candidate region detection, and boundary line correction processes to more precisely extract a boundary line between the ground and the background from the image data. Specifically, in the preprocessing, a Gaussian filter or a median filter may be applied to remove noise from the image data to improve image quality. In the candidate region detection, a classical edge detection technique such as Canny Edge Detection or a Sobel Filter may be applied, or a deep learning-based Semantic Segmentation model may be used to separate candidate ground regions and candidate background regions. Next, in boundary line correction, the detected boundary lines are normalized into straight lines or curves using Hough Transform or Polynomial Fitting techniques to remove noise or discontinuities, and if necessary, semantic, instance, or panophetic segmentation is applied to improve the boundary accuracy at the object level. Accordingly, the soil condition analysis unit (120) can provide stable and consistent ground-background boundary line extraction performance even under various environmental conditions. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0077] The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate the level of the work surface by comparing the boundary line with a preset reference horizontal line.

[0078] FIG. 7(a) shows a preset reference horizontal line, and FIG. 7(b) shows the extracted boundary line tilted relatively to the right compared to the reference horizontal line of FIG. 7(a). The soil condition analysis unit (120) can calculate an angle deviation by comparing the slope value of the extracted boundary line with the slope value of the reference horizontal line. The calculated angle deviation can be calculated as the horizontality of the work surface, and based on this, the left-right tilting state can be determined.

[0079] In another embodiment of the present invention, the soil condition analysis unit (120) may calculate the horizontality of the work surface based on various boundary lines that may be extracted or arbitrarily set within the image data, as well as the boundary line between the ground and the background from the image data. For example, the soil condition analysis unit (120) may calculate the horizontality of the work surface by extracting a contact line where the lower part of the work machine (240) meets the ground, or by extracting at least one of the structural lines of the work machine (240), such as the corner of the frame of the work machine (240) appearing on the image data, or the axis line of a rotary or plow, and comparing it with a reference horizontal line. Additionally, the soil condition analysis unit (120) may calculate the horizontality of the work surface by extracting a boundary line between the two regions using the difference in texture or brightness between tilled soil and untilled soil, or by fitting a ground height distribution obtained using LiDAR, a 3D depth camera, an ultrasonic sensor, etc., into a curved shape, setting it as a virtual boundary line, and comparing it with a reference horizontal line. Accordingly, in addition to the boundary line between the ground and the background presented in one embodiment of the present invention, various boundary lines identified in image data or acquired through external sensors, or arbitrary reference lines, can be compared with a reference horizontal line to calculate the horizontality of the work surface.

[0080] The work status determination unit (130) can determine the current work status of the tiller for each soil status information by calculating the deviation between soil status information and preset standard work quality data.

[0081] More specifically, the work status determination unit (130) can determine that the current work status of the soil status information is of poor quality if the deviation between the soil status information and the reference work quality data is greater than or equal to a preset allowable error for each soil status information.

[0082] In one embodiment of the present invention, the reference work quality data may include a preset target value corresponding to each soil condition information. The user may pre-set the target value of the soil condition information according to the type of crop to be cultivated or the characteristics of the farmland.

[0083] The work status determination unit (130) can determine the current work status of each soil condition information by comparing the soil crushing degree, tillage depth, and horizontality of the work surface calculated by the soil condition analysis unit (120) with their respective target values ​​to derive a deviation, and by comparing the deviation with a preset allowable error. For example, if the deviation is greater than the allowable error, the current work status of the soil condition information can be classified as having poor quality, and conversely, if the deviation is less than the allowable error, it can be classified as having adequate quality. In addition, the current work status can be calculated in the form of specific numerical values, such as the magnitude of the deviation, in addition to the simple classification result.

[0084] The work control unit (140) can generate a control signal to automatically control the engine speed, PTO (Power Take-Off) torque, and the height of the 3-point hitch based on the result of determining the current work status.

[0085] In one embodiment of the present invention, the work control unit (140) may generate a control signal to decrease or increase the engine rotation speed so that the PTO torque of the work machine (240) increases or decreases when the current work condition regarding the soil crushing degree is determined to be of poor quality.

[0086] For example, if the soil fragmentation level is lower than the target value and is judged to be of poor quality, the work control unit (140) may reduce the engine speed of the tiller body (210) so that the PTO torque of the implement (240) increases in order to increase the soil fragmentation level. Conversely, if the soil fragmentation level is higher than the target value and is judged to be of poor quality, the work control unit (140) may increase the engine speed of the tiller body (210) so that the PTO torque of the implement (240) decreases in order to decrease the soil fragmentation level.

[0087] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the current working condition regarding the tillage depth is determined to be of poor quality, the work control unit (140) may generate a control signal to contract or extend a hydraulic cylinder (220) connected to the lower link (232) of the three-point hitch (230) so that the height of the three-point hitch (230) is raised or lowered.

[0088] For example, if the tillage depth is lower than the target value and is judged to be insufficient in quality, the work control unit (140) can lower the 3-point hitch (230) to lower the height of the implement (240). Conversely, if the tillage depth is higher than the target value and is judged to be insufficient in quality, the work control unit (140) can raise the 3-point hitch (230) to raise the height of the implement (240).

[0089] In one embodiment of the present invention, the work control unit (140) may generate a control signal to independently extend or retract a hydraulic cylinder (220) connected to the lower link (232) of the three-point hitch (230) so as to reduce the deviation in the horizontality of the work surface when it is determined that the current work state regarding the horizontality of the work surface is of poor quality.

[0090] For example, if the boundary line between the extracted ground and the background is tilted to the right as shown in FIG. 7(b), the work control unit (140) can generate a control signal to contract the right hydraulic cylinder (220) or extend the left hydraulic cylinder (220) so that the boundary line approaches the preset reference horizontal line of FIG. 7(a).

[0091] FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an autonomous tillage control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Since the autonomous tillage control method according to an embodiment of the present invention proceeds on substantially the same configuration as the autonomous tillage control device (10) shown in FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as the autonomous tillage control device (10) in FIG. 1, and repetitive descriptions are omitted.

[0092] An autonomous tillage operation control method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a shooting step (S600) for capturing a ground surface to acquire image data, a soil condition analysis step (S700) for analyzing at least one soil condition information among soil crushing degree, tillage depth, and levelness of the work surface from the image data, a work condition determination step (S800) for determining the current work condition of a tiller for each soil condition information by calculating a deviation between the soil condition information and preset standard work quality data, and a work control step (S900) for generating a control signal to automatically control the engine speed, PTO (Power Take-Off) torque, and the height of a 3-point hitch based on the result of determining the current work condition.

[0093] The autonomous tillage operation control method of the present invention, as described above, can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer components and recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., either individually or in combination.

[0094] The program instructions recorded on the above-mentioned computer-readable recording medium may be those specifically designed and configured for the present invention, or they may be those known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software.

[0095] Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory.

[0096] Examples of program instructions include machine code, such as that generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc. The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform processing according to the present invention, and vice versa.

[0097] Although various embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. It is understood that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essence of the invention as claimed in the claims, and such modifications should not be understood individually from the technical spirit or perspective of the present invention. Explanation of the symbols

[0098] 1: Autonomous tillage control system 10: Autonomous tillage control device 20: Tiller 110: Filming Department 120: Soil Condition Analysis Department 130: Operation status determination unit 140: Operation Control Unit 210: Tiller body 220: Hydraulic cylinder 230: 3-point hitch 231: Upper link 232: Sub-link 240: Work Log

Claims

Claim 1 A shooting unit that captures the ground to acquire image data; a soil condition analysis unit that analyzes at least one of soil condition information, such as soil fragmentation, tillage depth, and the horizontality of the work surface, from the image data; and a work condition determination unit that calculates the deviation between the soil condition information and preset standard work quality data to determine the current work condition of the tiller for each soil condition information. and a work control unit that generates a control signal for automatically controlling the engine speed, PTO (Power Take-Off) torque, and the height of the 3-point hitch based on the judgment result of the current work status; wherein the soil condition analysis unit detects soil aggregates from the image data, calculates the two-dimensional area of ​​the soil aggregates, converts the two-dimensional area into a circle corresponding to the two-dimensional area to calculate the equivalent diameter of the soil aggregates, classifies the equivalent diameter according to a predefined aggregate size interval standard, calculates the aggregate area for a specific aggregate size interval among the classified results, calculates the soil fragmentation degree in comparison to the total aggregate area, wherein the soil aggregates are individually detected by clustering the area inside the boundary line set along the outline of each soil aggregate in the image data into a single object, and the soil fragmentation degree is the ratio occupied by the sum of the areas of soil aggregates belonging to the specific aggregate size interval classified according to the equivalent diameter to the sum of the areas of all soil aggregates, and the reference work quality data is a target value corresponding to the soil fragmentation degree An autonomous tillage work control device comprising, wherein the work status determination unit determines that the current work status of the soil condition information is of insufficient quality when the deviation between the soil condition information and the reference work quality data is greater than or equal to a preset allowable error for each soil condition information, and the work control unit generates a control signal to decrease or increase the engine rotational speed so that the PTO torque of the implement is increased or decreased when the current work status for the soil crushing degree is determined to be of insufficient quality. Claim 2 delete Claim 3 An autonomous tillage operation control device according to claim 1, wherein the soil condition analysis unit calculates an average brightness value within each frame of the image data and calculates that the tillage depth is deeper as the average brightness value is lower. Claim 4 An autonomous tillage work control device according to claim 1, wherein the soil condition analysis unit extracts a boundary line between the ground and the background from the image data and calculates the horizontality of the work surface by comparing the boundary line with a preset reference horizontal line. Claim 5 delete Claim 6 delete Claim 7 An autonomous tillage work control device according to claim 1, wherein the work control unit generates a control signal to contract or extend a hydraulic cylinder connected to the lower link of the three-point hitch so that the height of the three-point hitch is raised or lowered when the current work status regarding the tillage depth is determined to be of poor quality. Claim 8 An autonomous tillage work control device according to claim 1, wherein the work control unit generates a control signal to independently extend or retract a hydraulic cylinder connected to the lower link of the 3-point hitch so as to reduce the deviation of the horizontality of the work surface when the current work state regarding the horizontality of the work surface is determined to be of poor quality. Claim 9 A method for autonomous tillage control performed by an autonomous tillage control device, comprising: a shooting step of capturing a ground surface to acquire image data; a soil condition analysis step of analyzing at least one soil condition information among soil fragmentation degree, tillage depth, and work surface levelness from the image data; a work condition determination step of determining the current work condition of a tiller for each soil condition information by calculating a deviation between the soil condition information and preset reference work quality data; and a work control step of generating a control signal for automatically controlling engine rotational speed, PTO (Power Take-Off) torque, and the height of a 3-point hitch based on the result of determining the current work condition.The soil condition analysis step includes detecting soil aggregates from the image data, calculating the two-dimensional area of ​​the soil aggregates, converting the two-dimensional area into a circle corresponding to the two-dimensional area to calculate the equivalent diameter of the soil aggregates, classifying the equivalent diameters according to predefined aggregate size interval criteria, calculating the aggregate area for a specific aggregate size interval among the classified results, and calculating the soil fragmentation degree in comparison to the total aggregate area; the soil aggregates are individually detected by clustering the area inside the boundary line set along the outline of each soil aggregate in the image data into a single object; the soil fragmentation degree is the ratio occupied by the sum of the areas of soil aggregates belonging to the specific aggregate size interval classified according to the equivalent diameter to the sum of the areas of all soil aggregates; the reference work quality data includes a target value corresponding to the soil fragmentation degree; and the work status judgment step determines that if the deviation between the soil condition information and the reference work quality data is greater than or equal to a pre-set allowable error for each soil condition information, the current work status of the corresponding soil condition information is quality An autonomous tillage operation control method, wherein the above-described operation control step determines that the current operation status regarding the soil crushing degree is of insufficient quality, and generates a control signal to decrease or increase the engine rotational speed so that the PTO torque of the implement is increased or decreased.

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