Off-Road Vehicle Path Planning for Swath Tracking Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current off-road vehicle guidance systems lack efficient path planning capabilities, especially when multiple vehicles operate in the same agricultural field, leading to suboptimal resource utilization and increased operational challenges due to changing field conditions.
Innovation Solution
A modular path planning system that uses a processor to derive and assign swaths and partitions based on a plan request, generating a vehicle plan by assigning costs to potential connections between swaths, enabling autonomous or semi-autonomous operation while adapting to changes in field conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple off-road vehicles operate in the same field with basic GPS navigation, then vehicle deployment flexibility is improved, but path planning efficiency deteriorates due to lack of coordination and adaptation to changing conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the field into multiple partitions and assigns different vehicles to different partitions, enabling coordinated operation. The path planning system divides the overall field area into manageable sections, allowing multiple vehicles to work simultaneously without conflict while maintaining overall efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The path planning system dynamically adjusts vehicle paths based on changing field conditions, vehicle positions, and operational requirements. The system continuously monitors and recalculates optimal paths in real-time, allowing adaptation to dynamic environments while maintaining high productivity.
2Ease of operation
If manual guidance is used for off-road vehicles, then operational flexibility is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to operator workload and response time limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous path planning system acts as an intermediary between the operator and the vehicle controls. It receives high-level operational goals from operators and automatically generates detailed navigation paths, combining the flexibility of manual control with the speed and precision of automated execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle autonomously plans and executes its own navigation paths without continuous operator intervention. The system independently processes field conditions, calculates optimal routes, and controls vehicle movement, enabling high-speed operation while maintaining operational flexibility through initial goal setting.
3Productivity
If autonomous path planning is implemented, then productivity is improved, but system complexity worsens due to multiple vehicles coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The complex multi-vehicle coordination problem is segmented into independent partition-level planning tasks. Each vehicle operates within its assigned partition with localized path planning, reducing the overall system complexity while maintaining high productivity through coordinated operation of multiple simpler subsystems.
Data Source
AI summary
A swath tracking system for an off-road vehicle includes a control system with a processor and a memory. The control system is configured to receive a plurality of vehicle location points and a current vehicle state, wherein the current vehicle state comprises a current vehicle location, generate a planned vehicle path through one or more of the plurality of vehicle location points, generate a correction path from the current vehicle location to a point along the planned vehicle path ahead of the current vehicle location along a direction of travel, generate a blended path by blending the planned vehicle path and the correction path based at least in part on an assigned weight, wherein the assigned weight is based at least in part on a heading error, a distance between the current vehicle location and the planned path, or a combination thereof, and guide the off-road vehicle along the blended path.