Autonomous Farming Machine Self-Service Failure Recovery

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional farming machines, especially autonomous ones, frequently encounter operational failures due to harsh conditions, leading to performance issues and significant delays in farming operations, as they require human intervention for repairs and can cause damage to fields or crops.

Innovation Solution

The farming machine is equipped with sensors and a control system that detects operational failures, configures itself to a remedial operational state to diagnose and address issues, selecting and performing solution operations to resolve the failures, and may return to a designated location if problems persist, allowing for autonomous recovery or redundancy operations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If autonomous farming machines are used to perform farming operations, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to frequent operational failures in harsh conditions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefarming operation performanceVSAvoidmachine operational reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The farming machine is equipped with a control system that enables it to autonomously detect operational failures through sensors, diagnose the nature of failures by analyzing sensor data, select appropriate solution operations from a data store, and execute repairs or workarounds without human intervention, allowing the machine to service itself during field operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The control system continuously monitors operational parameters through sensors during field operations and proactively detects potential failures before they completely disable the machine. The system pre-loads multiple potential solution operations into a data store, enabling rapid response when failures occur, thus maintaining productivity while improving reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If the farming machine ceases operation to allow technician repair, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases due to delays in farming operations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemachine operational reliabilityVSAvoiddowntime for repairs

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The farming machine autonomously detects operational failures through sensors, diagnoses the nature of failures by analyzing sensor data, selects appropriate solution operations from a data store, and executes repairs or workarounds without human intervention, allowing the machine to service itself during field operations and eliminating downtime associated with technician intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The control system continuously monitors operational parameters through sensors during field operations and proactively detects potential failures before they completely disable the machine. The system pre-loads multiple potential solution operations into a data store, enabling rapid response when failures occur, thus maintaining productivity while improving reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Loss of time

If the farming machine operates in remedial state to autonomously resolve failures, then loss of time is reduced, but device complexity increases due to additional sensors and control systems

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetime to resolve failuresVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control system serves multiple functions: it monitors operational parameters through sensors, detects operational failures, diagnoses the nature of failures by analyzing sensor data, selects appropriate solution operations from a data store, executes repairs or workarounds, and verifies resolution. This multi-functional approach consolidates what could be separate systems into a unified control architecture, managing complexity while enabling autonomous failure resolution

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The farming machine autonomously detects operational failures through sensors, diagnoses the nature of failures by analyzing sensor data, selects appropriate solution operations from a data store, and executes repairs or workarounds without human intervention, allowing the machine to service itself during field operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS20230200286A1Compensatory Actions for Automated Farming Machine Failure

Publication Date: 2023.06.29 DEERE & CO

AI summary

As a farming machine travels through a field of plants, the farming machine operates in a normal operational state to perform one or more farming operations. The farming machine detects an operational failure of a component of the farming machine using measurements obtained from one or more sensors coupled to and monitoring the farming machine. The operational failure of the component impacts performance of a first farming operation of the farming operations. The farming machine configures the farming machine to operate in a remedial operational state. In the remedial operational state, the farming machine diagnoses the operational failure of the component using the obtained measurements. In the remedial operational state, the farming machine selects a solution operation to address the operational failure of the component based on the diagnosis. The farming machine performs the determined solution operation.