Harvester-Transport Fill Level Estimation for Harvest Logistics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current harvesting operations lack coordination between harvesting and transport vehicles, resulting in empty trips and unnecessary wait times due to a lack of information about fill levels and handover locations.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising portable electronic devices on harvesting and transport vehicles that determine geographic positions and estimate fill levels, allowing for real-time communication of fill levels and predicted locations, enabling intelligent resource planning and efficient logistics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If real-time geographic position tracking and fill level estimation systems are implemented, then coordination between harvesting and transport vehicles is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The portable electronic devices serve multiple functions: they track geographic positions, estimate fill levels, communicate with other vehicles, and provide navigation guidance. By making each device multi-functional, the system achieves comprehensive coordination capabilities without requiring separate specialized equipment for each function, thus improving productivity while limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the vehicles' existing positioning components and electronic devices to gather and process data, rather than requiring external monitoring infrastructure. Each vehicle independently tracks its own position and fill level, and the system automatically calculates and shares this information, reducing the need for additional complex infrastructure.
2Loss of time
If real-time communication between vehicles is implemented, then wait times are reduced, but information processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential information needed for coordination - geographic position and fill level estimates - and transmits this minimal data set between vehicles. By filtering out unnecessary information and focusing only on critical parameters, the system reduces communication overhead and processing requirements while still achieving real-time coordination to minimize wait times.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously tracks and pre-calculates fill levels and positions before actual coordination events occur. This preliminary data preparation allows vehicles to make immediate coordination decisions without extensive real-time processing, reducing both wait times and the instantaneous information processing load during critical moments.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprises a first portable electronic device associated with an agricultural harvester and a second portable electronic device associated with a crop transport vehicle. At least one of the first portable electronic device and the second portable electronic device is configured to receive a geographic position of the other portable electronic device and, using only the first geographic position and the second geographic position, identify a harvesting operation performed by the agricultural harvester; determine a harvesting distance, a harvesting duration of time, or both of the harvesting operation; and estimate a current fill level of the crop transport vehicle based on the harvesting distance, the harvesting duration of time, or both.