Boom-Mounted Imaging for Sprayer Trajectory and Obstacle Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators of agricultural machines with long booms struggle to accurately judge the positions of boom tips and sprayer nozzles due to parallax, often leading to collisions with obstacles or misapplication of chemicals, especially with less skilled labor.
Innovation Solution
An imaging system that displays images captured from a boom perspective on an electronic display, superimposing trajectory lines to predict the path of the boom and tools, with real-time updates based on steering signals, and identifies obstacles to generate warnings or automatic collision prevention actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a long boom (100 to 120 feet) is used to cover wider field areas, then productivity increases, but the operator's ability to accurately judge boom tip position deteriorates due to parallax
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses camera systems mounted on the boom to capture images of the boom tip and surrounding environment. These images are transmitted to the operator cabin, creating a visual copy of the remote boom tip position that the operator can accurately perceive without parallax distortion. This allows the operator to see the actual position of the boom tip as if viewing it directly, resolving the position judgment accuracy issue while maintaining long boom productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary visual feedback system consisting of cameras, image processing units, and display screens. This intermediary system bridges the gap between the operator in the cabin and the remote boom tip, providing real-time visual information about boom position and trajectory. The intermediary system eliminates the need for the operator to directly perceive the boom tip position, thereby removing parallax errors while maintaining long boom operation
2Area of stationary object
If the boom operates 50 to 60 feet from the operator's position, then wider coverage is achieved, but collision avoidance capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system creates visual copies of obstacles and the boom tip position, allowing the operator to see potential collisions before they occur. The visual feedback shows the boom tip's relationship to surrounding objects in real-time, enabling the operator to take corrective action before collisions happen, thereby maintaining reliability at extended operating distances
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides continuous visual feedback about boom tip position and surrounding environment to the operator. This feedback loop allows the operator to monitor boom trajectory and make real-time adjustments to avoid obstacles, maintaining collision avoidance capability even when the boom operates 50-60 feet from the operator's position
3Productivity
If chemical sprayers are mounted at the boom tip, then application coverage improves, but positioning accuracy deteriorates due to parallax
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system captures images showing the position of sprayer nozzles mounted on the boom relative to the target area. These visual copies are displayed in the operator cabin, allowing precise monitoring of nozzle positioning and chemical application accuracy without parallax distortion, thereby maintaining both coverage and positioning precision
Data Source
AI summary
Imaging systems and related computing systems and methods for processing images and determining equipment trajectories are disclosed. A computing system is configured to display, on an electronic display, an image taken from a boom perspective that is remote from an operator of the agricultural machine, a boom trajectory corresponding to a path predicted to be traveled across the image for a point along the boom responsive to a steering signal and display a trajectory line superimposed over the image. An imaging system includes an image capture device mounted to a boom and a processor. The processor is configured to identify an object in an image captured by the image capture device, determine whether the identified object is an obstacle to movement of the boom, and generate a warning signal responsive to a determination that the identified object is an obstacle to movement of the boom.