Autonomous Bale Collection Path Planning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for collecting agricultural bales dispersed across a ground surface are inefficient, as they often require manual operation and lack a systematic approach to optimize the bale collection process, leading to increased time and resource consumption.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a mobile machine equipped with computing devices that receive location and orientation information of bales, automatically determines a preferred stacking location and path for collection, and presents this information to the operator or guides the machine to follow the path, optimizing the bale collection process by considering constraints like bale orientation, machine turning radius, and terrain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual operation is used for collecting bales, then the system is simple to operate, but the productivity is low and time consumption is high
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the mobile machine to autonomously determine its own collection path and stacking location using onboard computing devices that process bale location data and generate optimized routing instructions, reducing the need for external operational control while improving productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system receives and processes bale location and orientation information in advance, automatically determining preferred stacking locations and collection paths before the mobile machine begins its operation, allowing for optimized routing that improves productivity without requiring complex real-time decision-making
2Productivity
If automated path determination is implemented, then the productivity increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system is divided into distinct functional modules: data reception module that receives bale location information, computation module that determines optimal paths and stacking locations, and guidance module that provides routing instructions to the operator, allowing for manageable automation complexity while maintaining high productivity
3Productivity
If optimal paths are calculated considering multiple constraints, then the productivity improves, but the computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system considers specific local constraints such as bale orientation, machine turning radius, and terrain characteristics at each decision point along the collection path, rather than applying uniform complex algorithms throughout, optimizing productivity while managing computational complexity through localized problem-solving
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprising a mobile machine for collecting a plurality of bales dispersed across a ground surface, and one or more computing devices. The one or more computing devices are configured to receive location and orientation information for the plurality of bales, the location and orientation information including a location and an orientation of each of the bales, using the location and orientation information, automatically determine a preferred bale stacking location and a preferred path for collecting the bales, the preferred path for collecting the bales including placing the bales in the preferred stacking location, and present information about the preferred path to an operator of the machine.