Agricultural Vehicle Ridge Tracking With 3D Point Cloud Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional agricultural vehicles experience instability and frequent left-right movements when traveling along a ridge, especially when the ridge is collapsed or uneven.
Innovation Solution
A control device that generates direction identifying data using point group data from a laser irradiation device, allowing the agricultural vehicle to identify and follow the direction of the ridge, thereby stabilizing its travel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the agricultural vehicle uses ultrasonic sensor to measure distance from ridge, then the vehicle can detect ridge position, but the vehicle frequently moves left-right when ridge is collapsed or uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the ultrasonic sensor-based mechanical measurement system with a laser irradiation device that uses optical principles (time-of-flight measurement) to generate point group data. This substitution enables more precise and stable ridge direction identification by creating three-dimensional spatial information, eliminating the left-right movement instability caused by ultrasonic sensor limitations on collapsed or uneven ridges.
2Ease of operation
If the agricultural vehicle travels based on ultrasonic distance measurement, then the vehicle can follow the ridge, but the vehicle experiences frequent left-right movements on uneven terrain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional ultrasonic distance measurement to three-dimensional point group data acquisition using laser irradiation. By generating spatial coordinates (X, Y, Z) that represent the ridge's three-dimensional structure, the system can accurately identify ridge direction even on collapsed or uneven terrain, thereby maintaining stable automatic ridge following without frequent left-right movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces point group data as an intermediary between the laser irradiation device and the travel control system. This intermediate data structure processes the raw laser measurement data into meaningful spatial information about ridge direction, enabling stable and accurate automatic ridge following by filtering out noise from terrain variations.
3Device complexity
If the agricultural vehicle uses conventional ultrasonic sensing, then the system remains simple, but measurement accuracy deteriorates on collapsed or uneven ridges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the simple but inaccurate ultrasonic sensing system with a laser irradiation device that uses optical time-of-flight measurement. Although this increases device complexity, it dramatically improves measurement precision by generating three-dimensional point group data that accurately represents the ridge structure even when collapsed or uneven, enabling reliable automatic navigation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution improves the stability of the agricultural vehicle by allowing it to travel consistently along the ridge, reducing frequent left-right movements and enhancing operational efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
a laser irradiation device that transmits point group data generated by radiating pulsed laser light in front of the agricultural vehicle in a traveling direction
Data Source
AI summary
A control device includes a direction identifying data generator that generates direction identifying data including point group data corresponding to the same height in a range lower than the ridge in a region including a ridge, a direction identification part that identifies a direction of the ridge on the basis of the direction identifying data, and a travel control part that controls the agricultural vehicle on the basis of the direction of the ridge identified by the direction identification part.