GNSS-IMU Spray Boom Height Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing GNSS-based agricultural spray boom height control systems face challenges in maintaining uniform boom height over varying terrain and crop canopies, especially at high speeds, and struggle with long-term drift and positioning errors from low-cost gyroscopes, leading to inefficiencies and inaccuracies in precision farming.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing position sensors like GNSS and IMU to accurately locate the spray boom, combined with a real-time compute engine that compares sensor data to a terrain model for precise height control, and integrates with work order management to automate operations across multiple machines and locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If low-cost gyroscopes (MEM gyroscopes) are used for vehicle navigation, then short-term positioning accuracy and noise performance are improved, but long-term drift error increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing systems (GNSS, IMU with gyroscopes and accelerometers, and optional other sensors) into an integrated navigation system. The inertial measurement unit provides high-frequency attitude and position data that complements GNSS, while the fusion algorithm combines these diverse data sources to achieve both short-term precision and long-term stability, resolving the contradiction between using low-cost gyroscopes and maintaining reliable long-term positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through sensor fusion where GNSS position and attitude measurements continuously correct and reset the drift accumulated by the inertial sensors. The integrated navigation algorithm processes feedback from multiple sensors to maintain accurate positioning over extended periods, allowing the use of lower-cost gyroscopes while ensuring long-term reliability through continuous correction.
2Device complexity
If GNSS velocity is used to derive vehicle heading, then system complexity is reduced, but positioning accuracy deteriorates due to lag times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional method of deriving heading from GNSS velocity (which suffers from lag) with direct heading measurements from inertial sensors (gyroscopes). The IMU provides high-frequency, real-time attitude information including accurate heading without the lag inherent in GNSS-based calculations, thereby improving measurement precision while maintaining acceptable system complexity through sensor fusion.
3Manufacturing precision
If spray boom height control is maintained over varying terrain and crop canopies, then application uniformity is improved, but system response time is reduced at high speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by using real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS to pre-determine precise position and attitude information before the vehicle reaches varying terrain features. The integrated navigation system processes and stores advance terrain and canopy height data, allowing the spray boom control system to prepare appropriate height adjustments in advance, thereby maintaining application uniformity even at high travel speeds where real-time response would be too slow.
Data Source
AI summary
A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) based control system is provided for positioning a working component relative to a work surface, such as an agricultural spray boom over a crop field. Inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, are mounted on the working component and provide positioning signals to a control processor. A method of positioning a working component relative to a work surface using GNSS-based positioning signals is also disclosed. Further disclosed is a work order management system and method, which can be configured for controlling the operation of multiple vehicles, such as agricultural sprayers each equipped with GNSS-based spray boom height control subsystems. The sprayers can be remotely located from each other on multiple crop fields, and can utilize GNSS-based, field-specific terrain models for controlling their spraying operations.