A method to enable a human operator to have a piece of land cultivated, and a method and systen for generating a cultivation plan

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a method to enable a human operator to have a piece of land cultivated, the method comprising providing an autonomous agricultural vehicle that is able to perform an agricultural operation, the vehicle being able to drive in a forward direction and in a backward direction, providing a processing unit to generate a cultivation plan for the piece of land, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of land, controlling the autonomous agricultural vehicle such that it autonomously crosses the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths, while performing the agricultural operation, in order to cultivate the piece of land, wherein in the method, the human operator has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land. The invention also pertains to a method and system for generating a cultivation plan for such an autonomous vehicle.

Description

[0001] A METHOD TO ENABLE A HUMAN OPERATOR TO HAVE A PIECE OF LAND CULTIVATED, AND A METHOD AND SYSTEN FOR GENERATING A CULTIVATION PLAN

[0002] GENERAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention pertains to a method to enable a human operator to have a piece of land, in particular farmland, cultivated using an autonomous agricultural vehicle. In such a method a processing unit is used to generate a cultivation plan for the piece of land, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of land in parallel. Thereafter, the autonomous agricultural vehicle is controlled (typically via the same processing unit) such that it autonomously crosses the land by moving over each of the said multiple distinct paths in the said order, while performing the agricultural operation in order to cultivate the piece of land. The invention also pertains to a method and system for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of land as described here above.

[0004] BACKGROUND ART

[0005] The adoption of technology in agriculture has improved the approaches that farmers use in the farmland nowadays. Modern agriculture has made it easy for farmers to achieve high produce while using less input, in particular less labour. According to the trends in the use of technology in agriculture, there are high concerns whether or not the future of agriculture is bright. For example, mechanization in agriculture has reduced the overuse of manpower in doing some of the farming activities. As a consequence, agricultural machines have become bigger and bigger and more dedicated towards performing one type of cultivation. The introduction of autonomous agricultural vehicles, such as an autonomous tractor that is operatively connected to an agricultural implement such as a plough, is considered a next step into the future of farming and it is expected that using autonomous vehicles there is more freedom to cultivate the land using even less labour. Self-driving cars are common these days. Based on the trends in regards to the advancement of technology, it is expected that the technology will also be used on a wide scale for cultivating farmland. At present farmers in advanced countries are giving a tactical approach to how they plant, harvest, as well as maintain their crops. A good example of new tactical approaches is the use of autonomous vehicles in agriculture. The concept of autonomous vehicles (form now on also denoted as autonomous tractors) can be traced back prior to the introduction of the concept of precision farming in the eighties. During these days, farmers used GPS technology as a guide to the tractors driving across the farmland. The aim of such an approach was the reduction of fuel consumption and enhancing the efficiency of the tractors and the farming activities. As such, these initial steps formed the basis for the development of autonomous tractors, following the introduction of technologies that improved communication over wireless devices. Autonomous tractors employ much the same approach as the driverless vehicles, i.e. using advanced control systems and sensors. With the inclusion of auto-steering abilities, such tractors have added control abilities. Evidently, the launch of the autonomous tractors is considerably a manifestation of the extended use of this technology in farming.

[0006] Benefits to farmers are obvious. It is an undeniable fact that farming is not an easy undertaking, it involves working for long hours and the subscription to hard labour in harsh weather conditions. Taking into consideration the common state of farmers, the majority of them have no employees to task them in the farmland and hence, have to do everything all by themselves, the autonomous tractors obviously can be a positive outcome. Next to this, accuracy and precision are important aspects in agriculture in various aspects such as planting. All in all, the use of such tractors may lead to higher return on investment since accuracy is enhanced.

[0007] It is generally recognised that data plays a significant role in determining the farmers’ decisions. Usually, the absence of clear and reliable data can interfere with the decisions farmers make, and subsequently, have adverse impacts on the amount of outcome obtained from the fields. There are diverse sources and types of data that a farmer needs to succeed in their farming activities. For example, data on soil is important in that it helps farmers in determining what crops will do well in a given piece of land by establishing the moisture content, and the amount of nutrients. The autonomous vehicles are typically be fitted with various sensors that can be used in the collection of data on the conditions of the soil, and hence, offer a platform for improving the outcome of the available crops. The elimination of the human interaction in farming following the use of autonomous vehicles may thus be advantageous. Stressed employees cannot achieve the required efficiency level in the fields. Similarly, it is often hard for humans to manage diverse tasks on the farm especially where a large farmland is involved. Autonomous vehicles have the appropriate sensors to offer the necessary help in the management of a several tasks in the farmland hence reducing stress and the workload in the farm.

[0008] The autonomous agricultural vehicles run on high level technology that can be used in gathering high profile information. For example, some models have automatic steering abilities and GPS or GNSS technologies which enhance the control of the vehicles’ course. The advanced sensors come in handy in the determination of soil moisture level, activities around planting and harvesting, present yield, as well as the amount of fuel needed for a given area of land. Additionally, other models of autonomous vehicles can guide farmers on how to apply fertilizers.

[0009] Autonomous agricultural vehicles allow precise control of work and farm equipment by at least minimising or even ruling out human errors. It makes it possible for farmers to extend their working hours. The sensors fitted in the vehicles can guide it in the right course even in conditions of reduced visibility and at night: work may even continue during windy, dusty, and foggy conditions. Additionally, the ability of the vehicles to reduce workload and stress on employees comes in handy in increased working hours in a day since the farmer has a greater flexibility in the management of growing tasks.

[0010] It has thus become a common understanding that the best way for using an autonomous vehicle is to establish a cultivation plan for the piece of farmland, which plan comprises generating multiple paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland along particular coordinates, and after the plan has been generated, controlling the autonomous vehicle such that it crosses the land by moving over each of the multiple paths autonomously. Also, the way the actual agricultural implement (which may be part of the vehicle or coupled thereto) is operated (for example its driving speed, its height with respect to the land, its angle with respect to the land etc.), may be controlled autonomously, for example using the sensor technology to adapt the predetermined plan to the particular circumstances of the moment in time the land is actually cultivated. Such circumstances can for example be objects that were not present at the piece of land at the time the plan was made, the weather conditions, etc.

[0011] The general aim in the art is to maximise the effective cultivation. By having a plan generated by the system, and allowing the system to plan the most effective routing over the farmland, maximum cultivation can be attained in a convenient and consistent way. How difficult it might be for a human driver to take the planned paths is not relevant, since the vehicle is able to cross the paths autonomously. Therefore, the complexity of the routing is generally not considered an issue.

[0012] OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0013] It is an object of the invention to devise an improved method for enabling a human operator to have a piece of land, in particular farmland, cultivated using an autonomous agricultural vehicle.

[0014] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] In order to meet the object of the invention, a method to enable a human operator to have a piece of land, in particular farmland, cultivated is devised, the method comprising providing an autonomous agricultural vehicle that is able to perform an agricultural operation, the vehicle being able to drive in a forward direction and in a backward direction, providing a processing unit to generate a cultivation plan for the piece of land, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of land, and controlling the autonomous agricultural vehicle such that it autonomously crosses the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths, while performing the agricultural operation in order to cultivate the piece of land (not excluding that the agricultural operation does not take place on some or part of the paths, for example turning paths on a headland section), the method being improved in that in this method, the human operator has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land. Thus, the invention provides that next to the processing unit generating a cultivation plan that allows the vehicle to move forward and backwards, the option is provided for the human operator to dictate that the processing unit generates a plan wherein the vehicle is allowed to move exclusively in one direction, either the forward direction or the backward direction.

[0016] In hindsight the improvement of forcing the vehicle to move exclusively in one direction may look simple, but when starting from the prior art, it is not obvious. In the art of autonomous agricultural vehicles, commonly one strives for maximum use of the field, thus maximum coverage of the piece of land by the paths. As indicated here above, complexity of the routing is generally not considered an issue since the crossing of the paths is controlled autonomously, and does not depend on the skills of a human driver. To allow the reliable moving along complex routing, dedicated algorithms have been developed. This in combination with appropriate sensors, cameras and other means to monitor the environment (i.e. the land, the weather, objects and crops on the land, etc.) I believed to make sure that an autonomous vehicle can reliably take even the most complex routes.

[0017] However, it was recognised that under real-life circumstances in many cases the autonomous crossing is interrupted by disruptions that sometimes even need human operator intervention. In particular, applicant recognised disproportionate rate of interruptions at positions where the vehicle needs to change its driving direction. For example, at corners, in many cases the vehicle is not able to exactly follow the outer boundary of the land (due to the minimum radius of the turning cycle of the vehicle being too large for this). Since a maximum cultivation area is strived for, this means that at a corner section, the vehicle often makes various back and forth movements in order to nicely cover the complete area. The same might be true for sharp curves that need to be made in the mainland, for example when being forced by the wat the crop or land is spatially arranged. Despite sophisticated algorithms, sensors, camera’s etc, the applicant found that still a substantial amount of time is lost due to interruptions when such back and forth movements are made. This may have several causes, such as the implement moving with respect to the tractor (in case of a trailed implement), the type of implement, shortcomings in the algorithms and / or sensor technology, the quality of the land, the type of crop etc. All of these issues, and others, were recognised by the applicant to lead to the overall consequence that too much time may be lost due to interruptions when the vehicle needs to make back and forth movements.

[0018] The solution is simple and yet very effective: provide the human operator with the option to determine that when crossing the piece of land over the multiple distinct paths according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle must move exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction. The consequence is that at a site where the vehicle needs to make a turn (thus change its direction of movement with respect to the piece of farmland), some area may not be covered by a path and thus cannot be cultivated. In other words, some areas might necessarily be skipped, in particular areas adjacent (sharp) corners. This decrease the overall efficiency of the cultivation, but what is won is the amount of time needed to cross the land completely and the amount of time lost due to unwanted interruptions. In practice this may lead to an increase of overall efficiency. Next to this, when choosing for example the “forward only” option, the sensors and cameras at the trailing end may be shut off, which might contribute to less sensor and or camera faults and hence even less interruptions.

[0019] The invention is based also on the recognition that in real life circumstances it is hardly possible, if possible at all, that all relevant variables are known in each and all circumstances, to make sure the routing is free of interruptions. It was recognised that despite using sophisticated software, input data that seems to be complete, and algorithms that are dedicated for their task, in some cases unwanted interruptions still occur. This may be due to any unforeseen circumstances, unforeseen constraints, etc. Although disturbances can never be prevented completely, by providing at least the option to the human operator to dictate that the processing unit generates a plan wherein the vehicle is allowed to move exclusively in one direction, either the forward direction or the backward direction, may lead to an increase in overall efficiency.

[0020] It is noted that it is in particular essential in the method according to the invention that the manual determination is not obligated, but provided as an option to the human operator. So the operator may choose to exercise that option, or choose not to, in which case the plan is generated without the restriction of an exclusive moving direction for the vehicle. For the majority of the cultivation plans this may be expected to lead to a satisfactory outcome for the operator, but if not, the operator at least has the choice to manually determine that the vehicle needs to cross the land exclusively in one direction. This is an important advantage over the prior art, where in case of an unsatisfactory result for the plan, the operator would have to change the input data in the hope the result would satisfy the operator’s expectation or wish. However, it may simply be that this expectation or wish simply cannot be met, even after a long iteration process. The current method is able to swiftly accommodate to such expectation or wish if deemed necessary by the operator.

[0021] It is noted that in the art indeed methods are described leading to forward only driving of an autonomous vehicle, but not as an option to determine this for a human operator of such a vehicle. For example, WO2017 / 159615 (assigned to Yanmar Corp ltd) discloses a method wherein the control unit determines a forward only driving mode, based on input data, viz. the distance between neighbouring work paths and the turning radius. It is not described that the human operator of the system has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land.

[0022] Correspondingly, KR 2021 / 0088011 (assigned to Yanmar Power Technology Corp ltd), discloses a method wherein an autonomous vehicle comprises a forward / backward switching tool. This tool is used to initiate the autonomous driving mode by putting the switching tool in the forward mode. And by putting it into the neutral position, execute a manual driving mode. As with WO2017 / 159616, there is no disclosure of a system, the human operator of which has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land.

[0023] The invention is also embodied in a method for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of land, in particular farmland, the vehicle being able to drive in a forward direction and in a backward direction, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of land, which vehicle is to cross the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths, the method comprising providing a processing unit to generate the cultivation plan, wherein in the method, a human operator has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths.

[0024] The invention is also embodied in a system for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of land, in particular farmland, the vehicle being able to drive in a forward direction and in a backward direction, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of land, which vehicle is to cross the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths, the system comprising a processing unit to generate the cultivation plan, and a user interface (III) for communication between the processing unit and a human operator of the system, wherein the system is configured to provide to the human operator via the III, the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths.

[0025] DEFINITIONS

[0026] An agricultural vehicle is a vehicle that is used cultivate land, typically composed of a tractor and a coupled agricultural implement, pulled or carried by the tractor which is used to generate the actual energy to propel the complete vehicle and cultivate the land. However, the implement and tractor may also be constituted as one single unit, such as a harvester. The vehicle typically has a gasoline or electric engine and large (rear) wheels or endless belt tracks (so called caterpillar tracks).

[0027] An autonomous vehicle is a vehicle that can move over a piece of land according to a predetermined cultivation plan without a human operator controlling (i.e. actively running) its instant movement. Such a vehicle is typically able to automatically perceive its environment, make decisions based on what it perceives and recognizes, and then actuate a movement or manipulation within that environment. These decision-based actions may include, but are not limited to, starting, stopping, and maneuvering around obstacles that are in its way. Such a vehicle can cross farmland without needing continuous control of a human operator, and thus is able to autonomously cultivate the land. It is not excluded however, that the movement of the autonomous vehicle is monitored by a human operator, for example in order to meet local safety legislation. Such monitoring can for example take place by an operator taking place on the vehicle, or monitoring the vehicle at the farmland from an observation post, or from a remote location via one or more cameras.

[0028] A corner of a piece of land is the area of that pieced of land where two converging boundary lines of that piece of land intersect (thus crossing at an angle above 0°). In particular in every day agricultural practice, at a corner two boundary line intersect at an angle of at least 5 or even 10°. A path of a cultivation plan is a line along which a vehicle crosses a piece of farmland, for example from one end to the other (not excluding that the path does not start or end adjacent an actual boundary of the land). Such a path may be straight, but can also be (partly) curved, depending mainly on the shape of the piece of farmland and the most optimal way of crossing the complete land. A turning path on a headland section, even if no agricultural operation takes place, is also a path of the cultivation plan.

[0029] A vehicle to move forward, as opposed to move backwards, means that it moves with its front end pointing in the downstream direction and its back end pointing in the upstream direction. For tractors, in most cases this means that the nose of the tractor points in the forward direction and the implement is situated at the trailing end. However, there are also front end implements such as a shovel, digger, loader etc.

[0030] A trailed implement is one that is attached to a drawbar of a pulling vehicle (a tractor) by a pin joint. This is as opposed to a mounted implement that is one that is attached to the tractor as an integral part, or one that is rigidly attached to the tractor and has a wheel or wheels to support part of its weight (the latter also be denoted as a semi-mounted implement).

[0031] A processing unit is the part of a computing system (which may be a local system or a distributed system) that performs logical and arithmetical operations on data as specified in the instructions for this unit. A processing unit is generally composed of hardware (one or more processors) and instructions programmed therein.

[0032] To determine means to deliberately cause something to occur in a particular way, thus to regulate.

[0033] To manually determine means that a human person by acts of its own makes a determination.

[0034] An option is one thing that can be chosen from a set of possibilities.

[0035] Farmland is land that is used for or suitable for farming.

[0036] A human operator of a machine or device is a real-life person that has the skills to control this machine or device.

[0037] Cultivating is the act of preparing land for improving its properties, in particular for growing something, improving the growth, or harvesting thereof, especially crops. Typical cultivation acts include tillage, seeding, fertilising, spraying, harvesting etc. but also simply moving from one point to another point on the land when this is part of the said act.

[0038] A cultivation plan for a vehicle to cultivate a piece of land, is a plan which defines at least the position, direction and speed of the corresponding agricultural vehicle when crossing the land such that the land in essence can be cultivated completely.

[0039] Automatically means without the need of (human) operator intervention. The term automatically does not exclude that something is operator initiated or operator stopped as long the process can be completed without needing operator intervention.

[0040] A user interface (III) is the space where interactions between a human operator and a machine occurs. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine from the human end, while the machine simultaneously feeds back information that aids the operators' decision-making process. A III typically includes hardware such as for example a display screen, a keyboard, a hand held controller, a mouse, a smart phone and the appearance of a desktop. A user interface interacts with one or more human senses, typically via touch (a tactile III), sight (a visual III) and sound (an auditory III), but also smell (an olfactory III), balance, (an equilibria III), and taste (a gustatory III) are options for a III.

[0041] EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0042] In a first further embodiment of the method according to the invention the human operator has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction when crossing the piece of farmland. Thus, in this embodiment the only option that is provided and which may be exercised by the human operator is to choose for a forward only movement. If not exercised, the processing unit generates the plan without this restriction of moving forward only. It was found that moving forward in most cases satisfies the object of the invention.

[0043] In a second embodiment of the method according to the invention, the autonomous agricultural vehicle comprises a self-propelled tractor (i.e. a tractor with an engine that is able to provide the energy needed for the tractor to move over the farmland and optionally carry or pull an implement) and a trailed implement (not excluding that the trailed implement is attached to the front end of the tractor). It was found that in particular for a trailed implement, any movement wherein the implement is pushed instead of pulled may disproportionally lead to interruptions of the cultivation due to all kinds of disturbances, even when software, algorithms, sensors etc seem optimal.

[0044] In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the agricultural operation is harvesting. It was found that in particular when harvesting, thus in a situation where there is grown crop on the land, allowing to move in both forward and backward direction may lead to either disturbances and / or unwanted damage to some crop. For example, a harvester moving backwards over headland that is not yet harvested, may damage the crop present. By allowing the harvester to move only in the forward direction, such damage can be prevented.

[0045] In yet another embodiment of the method according to the invention, in which embodiment the piece of farmland has an outer boundary including one or more corners, and wherein in the method, the piece of farmland is divided into a corner area adjacent the one or more corners and a work area complementing the corner area adjacent the one or more corners, by determining a maximum size for the corner area, wherein the multiple distinct paths spatially extend over the work area of the piece of farmland such that the corner area will be left at least partly uncultivated, if the human operator has exercised the option to determine that the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction when crossing the piece of farmland, the maximum size for the corner area that may be left uncultivated is not taken into account for generating the cultivation plan. This embodiment recognises that in some case it is advantageous to determine that a particular area adjacent a corner that does not need to be cultivated, with a maximum in size. However, that maximum may not be able to accomplish when the vehicle is only allowed to move in one direction. Therefore, since the two constraints might conflict, it was found to be advantageous to overrule the maximum size of such corner area and thus accept that a corner area that is left uncultivated is larger than the maximum size. In yet again another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the option to determine the exclusive direction for crossing the piece of farmland is provided to the human operator as a binary choice for the said human operator, to either determine the exclusive direction or not. For example, the human operator can be shown a toggle button on a user interface that provides the option to either “yes” or “no” exercise the option for imposing a forced direction of movement of the order. In a further embodiment, the default value for the binary choice is not not to set an exclusive direction for crossing the piece of farmland.

[0046] In still another embodiment of the method according to the invention, in which embodiment a user interface (III) is provided for communication between the human operator and the processing unit, the III includes a display that visually shows to the human operator before the vehicle is controlled to cross the piece of farmland land, the multiple distinct paths. This provides the operator whit a simple and effective means to control the generation of the plan, since the outcome is visible on a display. In a further embodiment, if the option is chosen by the human operator, the human operator exercises this option by indicating this on the III, for example using a key-board, a mouse, by touching a screen, or via voice control etc.

[0047] Preferably, the processing unit is operatively coupled to the agricultural vehicle, typically wireless. This means that the unit and vehicle can communicate for optimal cultivation.

[0048] Optionally, the processing unit is permanently operatively coupled to the agricultural vehicle while cultivating the piece of farmland.

[0049] Preferably, the autonomous agricultural vehicle comprises an autonomous tractor and operatively coupled thereto an agricultural implement that performs the agricultural operation. The implement can be chosen from a group of multiple different agricultural implements.

[0050] It is noted that any and all embodiments as described here above or exemplified here after in the examples section for the method to enable a human operator to have a piece of farmland cultivated according to the invention, can also be embodied in the method for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle according to the invention, and in the system according to the invention. The invention will now be further illustrated using the following specific examples.

[0051] EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION

[0052] Figure 1 schematically shows a system according to the invention.

[0053] Figure 2 schematically shows a human operator interacting with the system.

[0054] Figure 3 schematically shows III options for a method according to the invention.

[0055] Figure 4 schematically shows a piece of farmland with an outer boundary and several corners.

[0056] Figure 5 schematically shows how a cultivation plan is displayed on a III in a method according to the invention.

[0057] Figure 1

[0058] Figure 1 schematically shows a system 1 according to the invention. The system 1 has a central processing unit 2, that is operatively coupled (wireless connection) to local processing unit 11 of vehicle 10 (schematically depicted as a dashed box; such a vehicle is commonly known in the art and for example depicted in more detail for example in WO2023 / 191616)). Note that any connection between electronic components as indicated in figure 1 can be wired or wireless as commonly known in the art. The system 1 further comprises a memory unit 3 that holds data regarding a piece of land to be cultivated (such as the GPS coordinates, the type of soil, objects in the piece of land, etc), the vehicle (lists with tractor types and implement types), a list with (standard) routing options and all kinds of other data than can be used as input data such that the CPU 2 can generate a particular cultivation plan.

[0059] Unit 4 is a unit that is able to retrieve data from the internet, such as the weather force cast or any other conditions that apply during the period of time estimated to be needed for cultivating the land. The CPU 2 is connected to a desk top computer 5 that can be used by a human operator of the system to input various data needed for planning the cultivation of the piece of farmland, for example by having the operator making choices from the lists as stored in memory unit 3, by putting in additional data, and by retrieving data from the internet. This process as such is known from the art. For example, a process as described in US2020033143 in conjunction with figures 6-11 therein. This way, the system 1 is able to generate a cultivation plan for the vehicle 10, taking into account all input data.

[0060] For the actual operation to perform this plan, the local processing unit of vehicle 10 is connected to engine 12 and steering unit 13. The cultivation plan as generated by system 1 is stored in unit 14 and may be adapted when needed for example when a sensor picks up an object (e.g. a fallen tree) or person standing in the way of the vehicle when crossing the land. The local processing unit 11 is able to let the vehicle perform this plan via control of the engine 12 and steering unit 13.

[0061] The generation of the cultivation plan comprises the determination of multiple distinct paths that extend over the piece of farmland (see figure 5), their position, the direction in which they extend and an order in which the paths are to be crossed by the autonomous vehicle. Based on the available information, the CPU 2 receives the minimal required data for generating a cultivation plan via unit 3, and generates a travel route that fits to this field and the cultivation needed. This travel route may be generated automatically based on basic, initial parameters entered via units 3 and 4, and / or based on input parameters substantially defining a travel route entered by an operator via computer 5.

[0062] Figure 2

[0063] Figure 2 schematically shows a human operator interacting with the system via the desk top computer 5. The human operator 15 that is seated behind desk top computer 5, for example at a central office of a large farm (remote from the piece of farmland), having a display 50 as user interface. This user interface allows communication between the human operator and the system 1 (as with any display): the human operator can provide all kinds of input data, for example via keyboard 51 or mouse 52, and is provided with a schematic view of the resulting cultivation plan on the display 50. This way and operator can see a schematic representation of the cultivation plan that has been generated by system 1 (see figure 5).

[0064] Figure 3

[0065] Figure 3, having sub figures 3A and 3B, schematically shows what is shown to a human operator on the display 50 when working through a program to input the data needed for the system 1 to generate a cultivation plan for a piece of farmland, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland. In figure 3A, indicating on the III 50’, is the part of the program title “Plan generation”, comprising the display of three distinct setting options, namely the “Tractor setting” 55, the “Field setting” 56 and the “Path setting” 57. These settings can be chosen one after another to make sure the system gets the desired input data regarding the type of tractor and implement (setting 55), the data regarding the farmland to be cultivated (setting 56) and data regarding the routing (setting 57). After this, by hitting the Calculate button 100, the system will generate a cultivation plan, including plan multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland in parallel, and for these multiple distinct paths, the positioning of each of the paths on the piece of farmland, the direction in which the paths extend over the piece of farmland and the order in which all of the multiple distinct paths are to be crossed by the autonomous vehicle (see also figure 5). It is also possible to skip one or more of these settings 55, 56 and 57, that is, if the system has default input values for the data required to determine a cultivation plan.

[0066] In figure 3B, what is shown on the display 50” is the box an operator sees when he hits the Path setting button 57. There is a Skipped Corners box 58, which provides the option to alter the default size of 5 m2 for the maximum size of a corner area that may be left uncultivated. Via sliding options in box 59, this size can be decreased to 0 m2 or increased, in this case to a maximum of 300 m2.

[0067] The III 50” also has box 60 which indicates the option for choosing a forward only mode for the vehicle. In this embodiment, this option pops up on the display if in the tractor setting a vehicle is chosen that comprises a tractor and a trailed implement. If the toggle button 61 is put to the right, the vehicle is allowed only to move forward, in which case the trailer implement is pulled over the complete length of paths (and nowhere pushed back). In this case the maximum size for the corner area is overruled. In the case of a vehicle being only allowed to move forward, the size of an area being left uncultivated depends on the spatial conformation of the piece of farmland, and the turning radius the vehicle needs when moving forward (with or without an operating implement).

[0068] Figure 4

[0069] Figure 4 schematically shows a piece of farmland 70 with an outer boundary 71 and several corners 80, some of which are convex, and other concave. In any case, each corner 80 is a point of the outer boundary 71 of the piece of farmland 70 where two converging lines 81 and 82 (only depicted for the lower left-hand corner) of the boundary of that piece of land intersect, meaning that they cross at an angle 10° in this case. In the method, the angle is set at a default value of 10°. Would the angle be set at lower value (e.g. 5 or even 0°), more corners would arise, such as hypothetical corner 80’ as depicted in figure 4. However, for most types of agricultural vehicles, an angle below 10°can be followed smoothly since the radius of the angle is then larger than the minimum radius the vehicle needs to make a turn. This means that such a “corner” can in fact be treated as a straight boundary line.

[0070] Figure 5

[0071] Figure 5, having the subfigures A and B, schematically shows how a cultivation plan is displayed on a III when the option for determining that the vehicle can move in one direction only, in this case “Forward only”, is exercised by the human operator (5B) or not (5A). In each of the figures, to reduce complexity, only a part of the piece of farmland 70 is shown, namely one corner 80 and the corresponding outer boundary 71 of the farmland

[0072] For figure 5A, the option of “Forward only” is not exercised by the human operator (toggle button 61 of figure 3B to the left). The value for the Skipped Corner is a default value of 5 m2, which means that when the plan is generated, a maximum of 5 m2adjacent the corner 80 is not covered by the paths. What is shown is part of the cultivation plan is, including the multiple distinct cultivation paths 90, 91 and 92 on a piece of farmland 70. This is the picture displayed on the III after the calculate button 100 (see figure 3A) is hit by the human operator and not exercising the option “Forward only”). The processing unit uses all of the input data regarding the type of tractor and implement, the field, the weather etc, and then generates the plan which includes the multiple distinct paths, the positioning of each of the paths on the piece of farmland, the direction in which the paths extend over the piece of farmland and the order in which all of the multiple distinct paths are to be crossed by the autonomous vehicle. What can be seen in the figures is that there is a small corner area 75, which section is not covered by paths. This corner section is complemented by a work area, which is covered by parallel paths 90 over a main area of the work area, which straight paths are connected by turning paths 91. For each path the direction of movement of the vehicle is indicated with an arrow on the path. The headland section that neighbours the boundary 71 is provided with curved paths 92. Together, paths 90, 91 and 92 in essence cover the work area and enable cultivation of the piece of farmland 70.

[0073] The difference between the plans as depicted in figures 5A and B is that for the plan of figure 5A, the maximum size for the corner area is set at 5 m2, whereas for the plan of figure 5B, there is no maximum for this size since the option “Forward only” has been exercised by the human operator. For the plan of figure 5A, this means that the processing unit must make a plan wherein at maximum 5 m2of land can be left uncultivated adjacent the corner. The effect of this is immediately visible to the human operator when looking at the plan according to figure 5A on the display of the III: the vehicle has to make several back-and-forth actions adjacent the corner 80 to make sure that the resulting area 75 that is left uncultivated (i.e. not covered by a path) is at maximum 5 m2. This takes time and is riskier in the sense that an adverse event occurs.

[0074] The upside of course is a more complete cultivation of the land.

[0075] In the second plan, depicted in figure 5B, the maximum size for a corner area to be left uncultivated is overruled. The vehicle is planned such that it only moves in the forward direction. This means that the paths are such that the vehicle smoothly follows the corner 80, using its capabilities for a turning action while moving forward. This takes far less time and the risk for an adverse event is almost zero. The downside of course is that in this case about 200 m2of land 75 will be left uncultivated. It is upon the operator to decide what he or she prefers.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method to enable a human operator to have a piece of land cultivated, the method comprising:- providing an autonomous agricultural vehicle that is able to perform an agricultural operation, the vehicle being able to drive in a forward direction and in a backward direction,- providing a processing unit to generate a cultivation plan for the piece of land, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of land,- controlling the autonomous agricultural vehicle such that it autonomously crosses the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths, while performing the agricultural operation, in order to cultivate the piece of land, characterised in that in the method, the human operator has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land.

2. A method according to claim 1 , characterised in that the human operator has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction when crossing the piece of land.

3. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the autonomous agricultural vehicle comprises a self-propelled tractor and a trailed implement.

4. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the agricultural operation is harvesting.

5. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the piece of land has an outer boundary including one or more corners, and wherein in the method, the piece of land is divided into a corner area adjacent the one or more corners and a work area complementing the corner area adjacent the one or more corners, by determining a maximum size for the corner area, wherein the multiple distinct paths spatially extend over the work area of the piece of land such that the corner area will be left at least partly uncultivated, characterised in that if the human operator has exercised the optionto determine that the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction when crossing the piece of land, the maximum size for the corner area that may be left uncultivated is not taken into account for generating the cultivation plan.

6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the option to determine the exclusive direction for crossing the piece of land is provided to the human operator as a binary choice for the said human operator, to either determine the exclusive direction or not.

7. A method according to claim 6, characterised in that a default value for the binary choice is not to set an exclusive direction for crossing the piece of land.

8. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a user interface (III) is provided for communication between the human operator and the processing unit, characterised in that the III includes a display that visually shows to the human operator before the vehicle is controlled to cross the piece of land land, the multiple distinct paths.

9. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the processing unit is operatively coupled to the agricultural vehicle.

10. A method for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of land, the vehicle being able to drive in a forward direction and in a backward direction, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of land, which vehicle is to cross the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths, the method comprising providing a processing unit to generate the cultivation plan, characterised in that in the method, a human operator has the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths.

11. A system for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of land, the vehicle being able to drive in a forward direction and in a backward direction, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of land, which vehicle is to cross the piece of land by moving over thesaid multiple distinct paths, the system comprising- a processing unit to generate the cultivation plan,- a user interface (III) for communication between the processing unit and a human operator of the system, characterised in that the system is configured to provide to the human operator via the III, the option to determine that according to the cultivation plan, the vehicle moves exclusively in the forward direction or exclusively in the backward direction, when crossing the piece of land by moving over the said multiple distinct paths.

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