Agricultural Machine Control System Using Position-Based Operational Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural machines face inefficiencies due to variations in environmental conditions such as slope, wind direction, and crop moisture, which existing systems address reactively and data-intensively, lacking a proactive approach to automate operational adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A control system that uses positional data to determine the direction of travel and retrieve pre-defined operational profiles for agricultural machines, allowing for proactive adjustments of operational parameters, including those related to heading, speed, and component angles, and incorporating sensor data for reactive responses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If real-time sensor monitoring is used to adjust operational parameters, then the machine can respond to environmental conditions, but the system becomes data intensive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The control system retrieves pre-defined operational profiles that contain optimal operational parameters for different environmental conditions and directions of travel. These profiles are prepared in advance based on mapped environmental data, allowing the system to implement adjustments without requiring complex real-time sensor processing. The system proactively applies the appropriate profile when the machine enters a specific geographic area or heading zone, reducing the need for continuous real-time monitoring and decision-making complexity.
2Productivity
If manual adjustment by operator is used, then the system is simple, but the harvesting efficiency and yield are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically retrieves and applies the appropriate operational profile based on the machine's position and heading within the mapped environment. The system monitors its own operational parameters and environmental context, then self-adjusts by implementing the pre-defined profile without requiring continuous manual intervention. This automation level improves harvesting efficiency while maintaining reasonable system complexity through the use of pre-prepared profiles rather than complex real-time decision algorithms.
3Device complexity
If pre-defined operational profiles are used, then the system is less data intensive, but the adaptability to real-time conditions may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Operational profiles are pre-defined and stored based on various environmental conditions and directions of travel, containing optimal operational parameters for different scenarios. This preliminary preparation allows the system to quickly implement appropriate adjustments without requiring complex real-time data processing, while still maintaining the ability to adapt to current conditions through the selection of the most suitable pre-defined profile.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a control system and method for controlling operation of one or more operational parameters of an agricultural machine. Using a position of the agricultural machine within a mapped environment; a heading parameter indicative of a direction of travel of the agricultural machine within the mapped environment is determined. An associated operational profile is then employed controlling operation of one or more operable components of the agricultural machine in dependence on the direction of travel of the machine within the mapped environment such that configuration of those components is appropriate for the environmental conditions.