Agricultural Tillage Machine Operator Assistance Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural soil tillage machines face challenges in adjusting settings automatically, as they cannot detect all relevant factors with sufficient precision, limiting the operator's ability to account for important influences during the soil processing operation.
Innovation Solution
A method that provides a setting suggestion to the machine operator, allowing them to adjust parameters like traction point, front furrow width, and working depth, while enabling manual input and consideration of data from sensors and external devices, with visual and acoustic outputs to facilitate decision-making.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automatic adjustment of setting parameters is implemented, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates because sensors cannot detect all relevant factors with sufficient precision
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a suggestion intermediary that bridges automatic sensor-based parameter determination and operator decision-making. The control device generates setting suggestions based on sensor data and presents them to the operator, who can then accept or modify them. This intermediary approach allows automatic processing to improve productivity while preserving operator oversight to ensure reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by presenting setting suggestions to the operator and allowing manual override. The operator's decisions (accepting or modifying suggestions) provide feedback that can be used to refine future automatic settings. This feedback loop ensures that while automation speeds up the process, the operator can correct any inaccuracies based on experience or unmeasured factors.
2Loss of time
If automatic parameter setting is used, then loss of time is reduced, but loss of information occurs because factors not detected by sensors are overlooked
Solution Approach 1:
The operator acts as an intermediary information source, supplementing sensor data with experience-based knowledge about factors not detected by sensors. The system presents automatic suggestions to the operator, who can incorporate additional information from their expertise to adjust parameters appropriately, preventing information loss while maintaining time efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary automatic parameter determination based on available sensor data before operator review. This preliminary action provides a time-efficient starting point that can be quickly accepted if appropriate, or modified if the operator identifies additional factors. This approach minimizes time loss while preserving the ability to account for undetected factors.
3Adaptability or versatility
If full manual control is maintained, then adaptability is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to time-consuming manual adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The setting suggestion system serves as an adaptable intermediary that can be configured to different degrees of automation. Operators can accept suggestions fully, modify them partially, or ignore them completely based on the situation. This flexible intermediary approach maintains operator adaptability while providing productivity benefits when suggestions are accepted.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows partial automation where operators can accept some automatic suggestions while manually adjusting others. This partial action approach provides productivity improvements for parameters where sensor data is reliable, while maintaining manual control for parameters requiring experience-based judgment, thus balancing productivity and adaptability.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for assisting a machine operator in setting up an agricultural tillage machine, in particular a plow, comprising the steps of: determining one or more suitable setting parameters for the agricultural tillage machine for a current or planned tillage operation and issuing a setting proposal for the agricultural tillage machine, which, if followed, leads to the setting of one or more suitable setting parameters on the agricultural tillage machine.