Tractor Steering Waypoint Buffering for Smart-Device Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The cost of precision agriculture technologies is a barrier to their widespread adoption, particularly due to the non-determinism of smart devices which can disrupt wireless communications, processor time allocation, and multitasking, complicating their integration into larger systems.
Innovation Solution
A precision steering system that utilizes a smart-device to generate waypoints in advance, which are then transmitted to a real-time steering computer on a tractor, allowing for batched, time-ordered coordinates to steer the tractor, while ensuring continuous operation even in case of service interruptions or communication failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If smart devices are used for precision agriculture guidance systems, then cost is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to non-determinism in wireless communications and processor time allocation
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two separate computing components: a non-real-time smart device for path planning and waypoint generation, and a real-time steering computer for critical steering control. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, maintaining reliability while reducing overall system cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The path planning function is extracted from the real-time steering computer and placed in the smart device. This extraction removes the computationally intensive path planning tasks from the time-critical steering control system, allowing the steering computer to focus solely on reliable, real-time control operations.
2Device complexity
If smart devices are used for path planning, then device complexity is reduced, but time precision deteriorates due to multitasking and processor time allocation disruptions
Solution Approach 1:
Path planning and waypoint generation are performed in advance by the smart device before the tractor reaches those locations. The waypoints are generated in batches ahead of time and transmitted to the steering computer, eliminating the need for real-time path planning during critical steering operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Waypoints serve as an intermediary data structure that bridges the non-real-time path planning process and the real-time steering control process. The waypoints encapsulate the path information in a format that can be processed reliably by the real-time steering computer without requiring continuous complex calculations.
3Productivity
If batched waypoints are transmitted from smart device to steering computer, then productivity is improved, but communication reliability may worsen due to potential service interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The steering computer maintains a buffer queue of pre-transmitted waypoints that can be used if communication with the smart device is interrupted. This cushioning ensures that the steering control can continue operating reliably using stored waypoints even when communication reliability deteriorates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system ensures continuous steering operation by having the steering computer independently process and execute waypoints from its buffer queue without requiring continuous communication with the smart device. This continuity maintains productivity while being resilient to communication interruptions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A precision steering computer installed on a tractor uses waypoints generated by a hand-held smart-device to steer a tractor. The smart-device is the operators primary interface and is a component of the entire precision agriculture guidance system. The batched, time ordered waypoints represent a list of coordinates for steering the tractor. As the tractor is automatically steered in the field, the waypoints are consumed and discarded by the real-time steering computer in the order they are received from the non-real-time smart device. A planned path is generated by the tractor operator on the smart device and the tractors progress and status are displayed on the same smart-device.