Agricultural System Process Supervisor for Forage Harvesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural systems for feed harvesting primarily rely on moisture or dry matter content to control the harvesting process, which does not ensure high-quality, storage-worthy crops with optimal energy content.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural system with a process supervisor that coordinates and optimizes various machines through data exchange, using a higher-level control unit to manage partial processing steps, taking into account quality parameters and external influences to achieve optimal crop quality for specific uses such as biogas production, animal feeding, or hay storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If individual work steps are regulated based solely on moisture content, then control of harvesting steps is simplified, but crop quality suitable for storage is not ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from controlling only moisture content to monitoring multiple quality parameters including dry matter content, crop composition, and weather conditions. This multi-parameter approach enables precise regulation of harvesting steps while maintaining simplified operation through automated decision-making algorithms that process all inputs to determine optimal timing for each operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where sensors monitor crop parameters throughout the harvesting process, and this data is fed back to automatically adjust subsequent operations. The feedback mechanism ensures that each harvesting step is optimized based on real-time crop conditions, guaranteeing high-quality output while maintaining ease of operation through automated control.
2Manufacturing precision
If a complete forage harvesting process is implemented with comprehensive control, then crop quality is ensured, but system complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The harvesting system is divided into independent modular units, each responsible for a specific function (sensing, data processing, actuation). Each module operates semi-independently with standardized interfaces, allowing the system to achieve comprehensive quality control through coordinated modules while managing complexity through modular architecture that enables independent development, testing, and maintenance of each component.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs universal control algorithms and data structures that can handle multiple crop types and harvesting operations through a single integrated platform. The multi-functional design allows the same hardware and software infrastructure to support various harvesting scenarios, ensuring high crop quality across different applications without proportionally increasing system complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple quality parameters are monitored and processed, then optimal crop quality for specific uses is achieved, but data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary data processing and filtering at the sensor level and edge devices before transmitting data to central processing units. By pre-processing data locally to extract only relevant features and discard redundant information, the system achieves high-precision quality assessment for specific crop uses while significantly reducing the computational power required at centralized processing nodes.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present invention relates to an agricultural system (1) for carrying out a forage harvesting process chain (13), comprising: - at least one agricultural machine (31) for carrying out a specific partial processing step (2) of an overall processing step of the forage harvesting process chain (13), - an assistance system (32a ... 32n) assigned to each machine (31) for controlling the respective machine (31), wherein the respective assistance system (32a ... 32n) forms an independently operating control unit (45a ... 45n) with the respective machine (31) provided for carrying out the partial processing steps (2) and/or its working elements, which serves to optimize the control of the respective machine (31) for carrying out the specific partial processing step (2), wherein the system (1) includes a process supervisor (47) as a higher-level control unit of the control units (45a ...45n) includes, which controls the individual control machines (45a ... 45n) and that the assistance systems (32a ... 32n) of the control machines (45a ... 45n) are connected to the process supervisor (47) for data exchange among themselves via a communication means (48).