Collaborative Field Maps to Prevent Redundant Planting And Harvesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural machinery, such as planters and combines, lack effective methods to share and utilize collaborative maps for planting and harvesting operations, leading to inefficiencies like redundant planting or harvesting, increased operational costs, and inaccurate yield calculations due to the lack of real-time data sharing and georeferenced information.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system that generates and shares collaborative maps between machines in real-time, using processing logic to create and communicate georeferenced data sets between planters and combines, allowing for the creation of shared maps that indicate planted or harvested regions, seed types, population, spacing, and yield, thereby preventing redundant operations and enhancing operational efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If machines operate independently without sharing map data, then each machine can complete its operations autonomously, but redundant planting or harvesting occurs leading to increased operational costs and time loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges map data from multiple machines into a shared collaborative map that is accessible to all machines. The system combines individual machine maps (planting maps, harvesting maps, yield maps) into a unified data structure that prevents redundant operations by allowing machines to see what has already been treated by other machines.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously updating machines with information about field regions that have been treated by other machines. The shared collaborative map provides real-time feedback to each machine's control system, enabling dynamic adjustment of operations to avoid redundant work.
2Productivity
If machines share and process collaborative map data in real-time, then redundant operations are prevented and efficiency increases, but system complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal shared collaborative map data structure that serves multiple functions: tracking planting operations, monitoring harvesting progress, calculating yields, and preventing redundant work. This single multi-functional data structure replaces what would otherwise require multiple separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a shared collaborative map as an intermediary data layer between individual machines. Rather than machines directly communicating with each other, they all interact through this centralized map structure, which simplifies the complexity of direct machine-to-machine communication.
3Measurement precision
If yield calculations are performed without considering partial header width harvesting, then calculations are simpler, but yield accuracy decreases due to inability to detect already harvested regions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and storing harvesting data in the shared collaborative map before yield calculations are performed. The map is continuously updated with harvesting progress information, so when yield calculations are needed, the data is already organized and ready for accurate computation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical sensing systems that would physically detect header width and harvested regions with an information-based system using shared collaborative maps and GPS data. This substitution of mechanical detection with informational processing simplifies the physical system while maintaining or improving measurement accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are methods and systems for generating shared collaborative maps for planting or harvesting operations. An example computer-implemented method includes generating a shared collaborative map for a first and/or second agricultural machine(s), based on data gathered from the first and second agricultural machines. The map indicates locations in a field where the first and second agricultural machines have already planted seed. The method also includes providing the map to a cab monitor of the first and/or second agricultural machine(s), generating a trigger based on the map for the first agricultural machine, and communicating the trigger to the first agricultural machine, based on a current location of the first agricultural machine relative to the map, to prevent the first agricultural machine from replanting regions that have been already planted by the first agricultural machine or the second agricultural machine.