Collaborative Field Maps for Real-Time Planting Coverage Sharing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural machines like planters and combines lack effective methods to share and utilize collaborative maps for planting and harvesting operations, leading to inefficiencies such as accidental replanting of regions and inaccurate yield calculations due to the lack of real-time data sharing and geo-referenced information.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system that generates and shares collaborative maps between machines through processing logic, using GPS data and cloud-based systems to create and update maps in real-time, allowing operators to avoid replanting regions and ensuring accurate yield calculations by integrating data from multiple machines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each machine generates and uses only its own coverage map, then the system is simple and easy to operate, but machines cannot avoid replanting regions already planted by other machines and yield calculations are inaccurate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud-based system as an intermediary that receives coverage map data from multiple machines, processes it to create collaborative maps, and distributes these maps back to the machines. This mediator enables accurate yield calculations and replanting avoidance without requiring direct complex peer-to-peer communication between machines, thus improving reliability while managing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines individual coverage maps from multiple machines into a single collaborative coverage map that integrates data from all sources. This merging allows the system to achieve accurate yield calculations across the entire field and prevent replanting by any single machine, while the combination process is managed through the cloud-based intermediary.
2Productivity
If machines operate independently without sharing map data, then equipment costs and operational complexity are low, but productivity decreases due to accidental replanting and re-harvesting
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by generating and distributing collaborative coverage maps to machines before they complete their field operations. This allows machines to anticipate and avoid regions already planted or harvested by other machines, preventing productivity losses from replanting or re-harvesting before they occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where machines continuously transmit their coverage data to the cloud-based system, which processes this information and returns updated collaborative maps to all machines. This real-time feedback loop ensures that each machine has current information about field status, enabling proactive avoidance of redundant operations and maintaining high productivity.
3Measurement precision
If real-time map sharing is implemented between machines, then redundant planting is prevented and yield accuracy improves, but system complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cloud-based system serves as an intermediary that handles the complex real-time data processing, map generation, and distribution tasks. Individual machines only need to transmit their coverage data and receive updated maps, significantly reducing their onboard processing complexity while still achieving real-time collaborative accuracy through the centralized mediator.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are methods and systems for generating shared collaborative maps for planting or harvesting operations. A method of generating a collaborative shared map between machines includes generating a first map for a first machine based on a first set of data and generating a second map for a second machine based on a second set of data. The method further includes generating at least one shared collaborative map for at least one of the first and second machines based on the first and second maps.