Agricultural Header Vision Control for Crop Contact Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural harvesters struggle to accurately determine the location of initial contact between crop ears and deck plates, leading to inefficiencies in separating desirable crop material from stalks, which can result in unwanted material being fed into processing machinery.
Innovation Solution
An impact detection system using computer vision techniques with cameras and controllers to analyze imagery from multiple row units, identifying the location of initial crop contact with deck plates and adjusting the header's position and orientation for optimal harvesting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional harvesting methods are used without computer vision systems, then the device complexity is lower, but the measurement precision of crop contact location is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical impact sensors with a computer vision system using cameras and image processing to detect crop contact location. The controller captures images from multiple cameras, processes them to identify crop portions and determine contact points, substituting mechanical detection with optical and computational methods.
2Measurement precision
If computer vision systems with multiple cameras are implemented, then the measurement precision of contact location improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple cameras into a unified computer vision system where the controller integrates images from different camera angles to determine contact location. This merging approach allows the system to achieve high measurement precision through multi-perspective image fusion while managing complexity through centralized processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses optical copies (images) of the crop and header interaction from multiple camera perspectives to determine contact location. Instead of direct mechanical sensing, the controller creates and analyzes visual representations of the harvesting process, enabling precise measurement without physical contact sensors.
3Productivity
If the header position and orientation are adjusted for optimal contact, then the productivity improves, but the ease of operation increases due to automated control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback loop where the computer vision system continuously monitors crop contact location, and the controller automatically adjusts header position and orientation based on this feedback. This closed-loop control optimizes harvesting efficiency by maintaining ideal contact conditions while reducing manual operation complexity through automated adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The header system transitions from static positioning to dynamic adjustment, where the controller continuously modifies header position and orientation based on real-time contact location data. This dynamic adaptation enables optimal harvesting performance across varying field conditions while simplifying operator workload through automated control.
Data Source
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AI summary
An impact detection system for a header (200) of an agricultural system (100) includes a first camera (230) coupled to the agricultural system (100) and configured to capture imagery of at least one row unit (204) of the header (200). The impact detection system also includes a controller (400) configured to utilize computer vision techniques to identify a portion of a crop in the imagery and to determine a location of initial contact of the portion of the crop at the header (200) based on the imagery.