Automated Waypoint Generation for Mobile Machinery Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated guidance systems for mobile machinery, such as tractors, lack the ability to efficiently generate and utilize preliminary waypoints for precise path navigation, requiring manual input from operators, which can be time-consuming and inefficient, especially in large or irregularly shaped fields.
Innovation Solution
An automated guidance system that includes a location determining device, user interface, and controller to generate and display preliminary waypoints on a visual representation of the path, allowing operators to select and use them for automatic guidance, thereby reducing the need for manual path definition and enhancing operational efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual path definition is used, then operators can define working areas, but it is time-consuming and inefficient in large or irregularly shaped fields
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically generates preliminary waypoints along the machine's travelled path before the operator needs to define the working area. This preliminary action of creating multiple candidate waypoints eliminates the need for manual path definition, directly resolving the contradiction by improving efficiency while reducing time investment.
Solution Approach 2:
The guidance system performs self-service by automatically detecting the machine's path and generating preliminary waypoints without requiring manual intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously creating the waypoint data structure that would otherwise require operator input, thereby improving productivity and reducing time loss.
2Measurement precision
If automated guidance systems are used, then machines can follow precise paths, but they lack the ability to efficiently generate preliminary waypoints
Solution Approach 1:
The controller automatically generates preliminary waypoints at multiple locations along the detected path before guidance is needed. This preliminary generation of waypoints simplifies the overall system by pre-computing navigation points, maintaining precision while avoiding the complexity of real-time waypoint calculation during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The path is segmented into multiple discrete preliminary waypoints at different locations along the travelled path. This segmentation breaks down the continuous path into manageable discrete points, simplifying the navigation system's complexity while maintaining precise path-following capability through the sequence of waypoints.
3Ease of operation
If operators manually define working areas, then they can control machine movement, but operator workload is high
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically generating preliminary waypoints and presenting them for operator selection, eliminating the need for operators to manually define working areas. This maintains operator control capability while reducing the complexity of manual input requirements, as operators only need to review and select from pre-generated options.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs the complex task of waypoint generation in advance, presenting only the essential selection task to the operator. This preliminary action by the system reduces operator workload while maintaining ease of operation, as operators deal with pre-processed information rather than raw path definition.
Data Source
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AI summary
A guidance system for a mobile machine includes a location determining device for determining a location of the machine, a user interface and a controller. The controller is configured to receive location information from the location determining device, detect a path followed by the machine using the location information, present a plurality of preliminary waypoints to a user via the user interface, receive waypoint information from the user via the user interface indicating one or more selected waypoints corresponding to one or more of the preliminary waypoints, and automatically guide the machine using the one or more selected waypoints. The controller may automatically generate the plurality of preliminary waypoints as the machine traverses the path.