Bale Retriever Path Planning for Fuel Use and Soil Compaction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bale retrievers are inefficient in fuel usage and not suited for simultaneous operation with balers, leading to suboptimal bale transportation and ground compaction issues.
Innovation Solution
A bale retriever system with a controller that generates steering control signals based on baler travel paths and operating parameters, allowing simultaneous operation with balers and switching between efficiency and compaction modes to optimize fuel use and minimize ground compaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a known bale retriever picks up and transports bales, then bales are moved to the staging area, but fuel use remains high and ground compaction occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by predicting bale drop locations in advance based on baler travel paths and operating parameters. The controller defines expected bale locations before the baler actually drops the bales, allowing the bale retriever to navigate directly to these predicted locations rather than searching or following the baler. This advance planning reduces unnecessary travel distance and fuel consumption while maintaining high productivity.
2Productivity
If a known bale retriever picks up and transports bales, then bales are moved to the staging area, but the retriever is not well-suited for simultaneous operation with actively producing balers
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously receiving real-time operating parameters from the baler (travel speed, bale size, current location) and using this information to dynamically update expected bale location predictions. The controller adjusts the bale retriever's navigation targets based on ongoing baler operations, enabling coordinated simultaneous operation between the baler and retriever without interference or collision.
3Productivity
If the bale retriever follows the baler's travel path, then bale collection is efficient, but ground compaction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by providing different navigation guidance to different areas of the field. Instead of uniformly following the baler's path everywhere, the controller calculates expected bale locations and directs the retriever to specific localized points where bales are predicted to be dropped. This selective navigation approach maintains efficient bale collection while minimizing travel through already-compacted areas, thereby reducing overall ground compaction.
Data Source
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AI summary
A bale retriever includes: a chassis; a steering assembly carried by the chassis and configured to steer the bale retriever; a bale pick up carried by the chassis; and a controller operatively coupled to the steering assembly. The controller is configured to: receive a field signal corresponding to a field map; receive a baler travel signal corresponding to at least one of a baler planned path or a baler travel path of at least one baler; define an expected location of at least one bale on the field map based at least partially on the baler travel signal; generate a steering control signal based at least partially on the expected location of the at least one bale; and output the steering control signal to the steering assembly.