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

Abstract

The invention pertains to a method to enable a human operator to have a piece of farmland (10) cultivated, the farmland having a boundary including one or more corners, the method comprising providing an autonomous agricultural vehicle (101) that is able to perform an agricultural operation, providing a processing unit to generate a cultivation plan for the farmland, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths (21) that spatially extend over the farmland, and controlling the vehicle such that it autonomously crosses the farmland by moving over the paths, while performing the agricultural operation, wherein the farmland is divided into a corner area adjacent the one or more corners and a work area complementing the corner area, by determining a maximum size for the corner area, wherein the multiple distinct paths spatially extend over the work area of the farmland such that the corner area will be left at least partly uncultivated.

Description

[0001] A METHOD TO ENABLE A HUMAN OPERATOR TO HAVE A PIECE OF FARMLAND CULTIVATED, AND A METHOD AND SYSTEM 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 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 farmland, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland. 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, while performing the agricultural operation, in order to cultivate the piece of farmland. The invention also pertains to a method and system for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of farmland 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. 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.

[0011] OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0012] It is an object of the invention to devise an improved method for enabling a human operator to have a piece of farmland cultivated using an autonomous agricultural vehicle, in particular a piece of farmland having a boundary including one or more corners.

[0013] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] In order to meet the object of the invention, a method as described here above in the General Field of the Invention section has been devised, wherein the piece of farmland has a boundary including one or more corners, the method comprising (as known form the art) providing an autonomous agricultural vehicle that is able to perform an agricultural operation, providing a processing unit to generate a cultivation plan for the piece of farmland, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland, controlling the autonomous agricultural vehicle such that it autonomously crosses the piece of farmland by moving over the said multiple distinct paths, while performing the agricultural operation (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), in order to cultivate the piece of farmland, the method being improved in that 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.

[0015] The invention is based on the recognition that leaving the planning to the system, in real life circumstances often leads to time consuming maneuvering in the corners of the piece of farmland. Corners are in many cases such that the vehicle cannot smoothly follow the boundary of the piece of farmland (which boundary may be an outer boundary, or in inner boundary of the piece of farmland) since the minimum radius of the turning cycle of the vehicle is too large for this. The consequence is that in such cases the vehicle has to make multiple back and forth movements in order to be able and have the paths cover the complete land adjacent a corner. As such, this is not problematic for an autonomous vehicle, but the inventors recognised that it may take so much time that the overall efficiency of the autonomous cultivation goes down significantly (without being noticed). In some cases, depending on the complexity of the shape of the boundary, including the number of corners, up to 10% or more of the cultivation time is needed to cross 1% or less of the farmland.

[0016] The current method provides a solution by allowing that an area of a particular size adjacent the corners may be left uncultivated, which means that no paths need to be planned over that area. This way, corners with sharp edges can be skipped and the vehicle is allowed to smoothly pass the corner, or only with minimal back and forth movements. In the method, this is done by determining a maximum size for such a corner area, by which the piece of farmland is inherently divided into a corner area (or areas in case there is more than one corner) and a work area complementing the corner area or areas (thus, the corners area(s) plus the work area together form the complete area of the piece of farmland). Thus, it is not needed according to the invention to explicitly determine a work area. This work area is simply the complement of the corner area(s). According to the invention, the corner area may be left uncultivated, which means that no paths need to cross this area. Thus, the multiple distinct paths of the cultivation plan spatially extend over the work area of the piece of farmland such that the corner area will be left at least partly uncultivated (i.e. not crossed by the vehicle). It is important to realise that the size for the corner area is a maximum size, meaning that this is the maximum size left uncultivated. The processing unit may provide a plan that still includes some or part of the paths to cross the corner area if this means that a more efficient path planning results therefrom, as long as the uncultivated area in one corner is not larger than the determined maximum size. It is noted that according to the invention, only the maximum size of the corner area needs to be determined. This means that the resulting shape of the area left uncultivated is not determined. This is an outcome of the path planning and depends i.a. on the type of vehicle, tractor, implement, the minimum turning radii, the shape of the corner etc.

[0017] It is also noted that determining a size does not mean that the actual value for a number of square metres or feet is chosen and that this value actually is the maximum size. The determination may also be the result of a choice of certain value (which may be a default value), and thereafter a calculation for the actual maximum size using this value. With such a calculation, other factors can be taken into account. What is key for the method according to the invention is that ultimately, a maximum size is determined, and not how this is done.

[0018] The invention is also embodied in a method for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of farmland, the piece of farmland having a boundary including one or more corners, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland, the method comprising providing a processing unit to generate the cultivation plan, 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 said 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.

[0019] The invention is also embodied in a system for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of farmland, the piece of farmland having a boundary including one or more corners, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland, 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 divide the piece of farmland into a corner area adjacent the one or more corners and a work area complementing the corner area adjacent the one or more corners, and to provide to the human operator via the III, the option to determine the maximum size of the corner area adjacent the one or more corners, 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. It is important to realise that in this system, by determining the maximum size of the corner area adjacent the one or more corners, inherently the piece of farmland is divided into a corner area and a work area.

[0020] DEFINITIONS

[0021] 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).

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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 lines intersect at an angle of at least 5°, 10° or even 15°or above.

[0024] 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.

[0025] A boundary of a piece of farmland is a line which marks the limit of this piece of farmland. It may be a line to mark where the piece of farmland is neighboured by another piece of farmland, in which case the boundary would typically be an outer boundary, or an inner boundary, for example the line around an obstacle somewhere in the main land, such a cell phone tower, tree or rock.

[0026] 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.

[0027] To manually determine means that a human person by acts of its own makes a determination.

[0028] An option is one thing that can be chosen from a set of possibilities.

[0029] Farmland is land that is used for or suitable for farming.

[0030] A human operator of a machine or device is a real-life person that has the skills to control this machine or device.

[0031] Cultivating is the act of preparing land 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0036] In a first further embodiment of the method according to the invention the multiple distinct paths in essence do not extend over the corner area adjacent the one or more corners of the piece of farmland. This means that the paths cover at most 25% of the corner area, preferably less, such as 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11 , 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or even 0%. The essence of this embodiment is that a part of the corner area may still be covered by one or more of the paths that are part of the plan, but not more than a small maximum percentage.

[0037] In another embodiment, the maximum size for the corner area is a default number generated by the processing unit, for example a number that is set, or chosen from a list of potential default values (depending for example on the type of vehicle, type of farmland etc). The human operator may then assess the resulting cultivation plan as proposed by the system and decide whether this is satisfactory or not. If not, setting s may for example be manually altered such that an alternative plan is generated.

[0038] In an embodiment the human operator is provided the option to manually determine the maximum size for the corner area. It was found that it is advantageous to at least provide a human operator the option to determine the size. This provides for more control in the planning process by the human operator which may lead to a more efficient process overall since the human operator might be aware of all minds of circumstances and constraints for which there is no data in the automated system. It is noted that it is in particular essential in the method according to this embodiment 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 maximum size is determined automatically. For part of the cultivation plans to be generated, this may lead to a satisfactory outcome for the operator, but if not, the operator at least has the choice to manually determine the size for a corner area. This is an important advantage over the prior art, where in case of an unsatisfactory result in the planning, the operator would have to change particular 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. Thus, by going against the tendency in the art to have plans generated automatically with the aim to save operator time, it some case operator time can actually be saved by allowing an operator to manually determine a certain data input. Preferably, in the method according to the above embodiment, the processing unit generates a default number for the maximum size, and the human operator is provided the option to manually amend the number to become the maximum size of a corner area adjacent the one or more corners.

[0039] In yet another embodiment, the cultivation plan additionally depends on the minimum radius of a turning circle of the vehicle while cultivating. In this embodiment the minimum turning cycle is taken into account which may help to devise the most optimal path planning around the corner areas. In particular, the cultivation plan additionally depends on the minimum radius of a turning circle of the vehicle while performing the agricultural operation (as opposed to moving over a path without the implement performing the operation, thus only for crossing the land from one point to another).

[0040] In again another embodiment wherein 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 and the area adjacent the one or more corners that will be left uncultivated. This provides the operator with a simple and effective means to control the generation of the plan, since the outcome is visible on a display. For example, an operator can make a few different choices for the maximum size one after another, and immediately see after each choice what the result is regarding the actually planned paths and for example the time needed to cultivate the land.

[0041] 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.

[0042] Optionally, the processing unit is permanently operatively coupled to the agricultural vehicle while cultivating the piece of farmland.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] The invention will now be further illustrated using the following specific examples.

[0046] EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION

[0047] Figure 1 schematically shows a system according to the invention.

[0048] Figure 2 schematically shows a human operator interacting with the system.

[0049] Figure 3 schematically shows III options for a method according to the invention.

[0050] Figure 4 schematically shows a piece of farmland with an outer boundary and several corners.

[0051] Figure 5 schematically shows how a cultivation plan is displayed on a III for various sizes for corner areas.

[0052] Figure 1

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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. Figure 2

[0057] 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).

[0058] Figure 3

[0059] 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, a) the positioning of each of the paths on the piece of farmland, b) the direction in which the paths extend over the piece of farmland and c) the order in which all of the multiple distinct paths are to be crossed by the autonomous vehicle (see 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.

[0060] 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. An example of the result of such choices is shown in figure 5.

[0061] The III 50” also has box 60 which indicates the option for choosing a forward only mode for the vehicle. If the toggle button 61 is put to the right, the vehicle is allowed only to move forward. 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 a corner area being left uncultivated depends on the spatial conformation of the corner, and the turning radius the vehicle needs when moving forward only, or when moving forward and at the same time performing an agricultural operation with the implement.

[0062] Figure 4

[0063] 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.

[0064] Figure 5

[0065] Figure 5, having the subfigures A and B, schematically shows how a cultivation plan is displayed on a III for various maximum sizes for a corner area 75 for a piece of farmland 70. In each of the figures, to reduce complexity, only one corner 80 is depicted. Basically, in each of the figures (part of) the cultivation plan is shown, 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. 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.

[0066] What can be seen in both figures is that the section of the piece of farmland has a corner area 75, which section may be left uncultivated (hence no paths over this section). The 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.

[0067] 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, this size is set at 200 m2. This means that the processing unit for the plan of figure 5A is allowed to leave at maximum 5 m2of land uncultivated, whereas for the plan of figure 5B this is 200 m2. The effect of this is immediately visible to the human operator when looking at the plans on the display of the III: in the case of the first plan, 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 (e.g. the vehicle slipping or digging in). The upside of course is a more complete cultivation of the land. In the second plan, the vehicle is planned such that it can smoothly follow 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 up to 200 m2of land will be left uncultivated. It is upon the operator to decide what he or she prefers. An option would be to have the system make a third plan for an intermediate value of the size, e.g. 100 m2and assess the results, before a definitive choice for the maximum size of the corner area is made.

[0068] Typically, in the plan it is strived for that back-and-forth actions are prevented, thus, that the vehicle only moves in one direction. If it is found that for a corner, this way the size of the area that cannot be cultivated is larger than the maximum size as determined for a corner area, this means that back-and-forth actions cannot be prevented for that corner. It that case, the corresponding corner area should be cultivated as completely as possible.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method to enable a human operator to have a piece of farmland cultivated, the piece of farmland having a boundary including one or more corners, the method comprising:- providing an autonomous agricultural vehicle that is able to perform an agricultural operation,- providing a processing unit to generate a cultivation plan for the piece of farmland, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland,- controlling the autonomous agricultural vehicle such that it autonomously crosses the piece of farmland by moving over the said multiple distinct paths, while performing the agricultural operation, in order to cultivate the piece of farmland, characterised in that 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.

2. A method according to claim 1 , characterised in that the multiple distinct paths in essence do not extend over the corner area adjacent the one or more corners of the piece of farmland.

3. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that in the method, the maximum size for the corner area is a default number generated by the processing unit.

4. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that in the method, the human operator is provided the option to manually determine the maximum size for the corner area.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein in the method the processing unit generates a default number for the maximum size, characterised in that the human operator is provided the option to manually amend the number to become the maximum size of acorner area adjacent the one or more corners.

6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the cultivation plan additionally depends on the minimum radius of a turning circle of the vehicle while cultivating.

7. A method according to claim 6, characterised in that the cultivation plan additionally depends on the minimum radius of a turning circle of the vehicle while performing the agricultural operation.

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 farmland land, the multiple distinct paths and the area adjacent the one or more corners that will be left uncultivated9. 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 farmland, the piece of farmland having a boundary including one or more corners, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland, the method comprising providing a processing unit to generate the cultivation plan, characterised in that 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 said 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.

11. A system for generating a cultivation plan for an autonomous agricultural vehicle for cultivating a piece of farmland, the piece of farmland having a boundary including one or more corners, which plan comprises multiple distinct paths that spatially extend over the piece of farmland, the system comprising- a processing unit to generate the cultivation plan,- a user interface (III) for communication between the processing unit and a humanoperator of the system, characterised in that the system is configured to divide the piece of farmland into a corner area adjacent the one or more corners and a work area complementing the corner area adjacent the one or more corners, and to provide to the human operator via the III, the option to determine the maximum size of the corner area adjacent the one or more corners, 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.

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