Composite Swath Guidance for Autonomous Interswath Turning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural vehicle guidance systems struggle with fully autonomous driving along swaths and seamless turning between swaths, leading to crop damage and potential collisions due to operator-dependent turns and inadequate handling of obstacles.
Innovation Solution
A guidance assembly with a composite guidance system that includes a swath guidance system and a turn guidance system, controlled by an interswath turning element, seamlessly transitions between guidance modes to ensure autonomous driving and minimize crop damage and collisions by using sensors and pre-planned turn profiles based on field characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If operator manually controls vehicle during turns between swaths, then vehicle can avoid obstacles and minimize crop damage, but automation level decreases and operator intervention is required
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-plans turn profiles between swaths before autonomous operation begins. These pre-planned turn profiles include predetermined paths and speed profiles that the vehicle follows automatically during interswath turns, eliminating the need for operator intervention while maintaining safety through预先 calculated collision-free paths
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous guidance system continuously monitors vehicle position, speed, and surrounding environment during turns, comparing actual performance against the pre-planned turn profile. Real-time feedback allows the system to make automatic adjustments to maintain safe operation and avoid collisions without operator input
2Productivity
If vehicle turns quickly between swaths, then productivity increases, but crop overrunning and damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts vehicle speed during turns based on real-time conditions. The speed profile is not fixed but adapts to the specific turn geometry, crop row orientation, and environmental factors, allowing optimal balancing of turning speed and crop protection for each unique interswath maneuver
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes multiple operational parameters simultaneously during turns, including speed, steering angle, and timing, to optimize the trade-off between productivity and crop damage. These parameter adjustments are calculated based on the pre-planned turn profile and executed automatically by the autonomous control system
3Object-affected harmful factors
If vehicle follows precise swath guidance, then crop damage decreases, but turning between swaths becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The turn operation is segmented into distinct phases: approach phase, turn execution phase, and alignment phase. Each phase has specific control objectives and parameters, allowing the system to efficiently transition between swaths while maintaining precise crop row alignment when required and reducing overall turn time through optimized phase transitions
Data Source
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Figure 2A
AI summary
A guidance assembly for an agricultural vehicle includes a pathing system configured to provide an array of swaths. The guidance assembly includes a composite guidance system in communication with an automated driving interface and the pathing system. The composite guidance system includes a turn guidance system configured to guide the agricultural vehicle along at least one turn segment extending between a first zone swath and a transverse second zone swath, and a swath guidance system configured to guide the agricultural vehicle along the first zone swath and the transverse second zone swath. The system includes a comparator configured to compare the agricultural vehicle position with swath departure and arrival locations. An interswath turning element automatically toggles the turn and swath guidance systems between activated and paused configurations according to the compared agricultural vehicle position and the swath departure and arrival locations.