Work Vehicle Path Teaching for Low-Load Autonomous Travel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing work vehicles face inefficiencies in performing iterative operations along the same path, leading to increased processing loads due to repeated autonomous travel tasks like mowing and pest control, which can be exacerbated by unsuitable travel conditions.
Innovation Solution
A travel control system for work vehicles that includes a positioning device, sensors, and a controller capable of recording and reproducing travel paths, with conditions for terminating recording and restricting user alterations to ensure efficient self-driving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If SLAM technique is used for every instance of autonomous travel, then positioning accuracy is improved, but processing load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary recording of travel paths and operational data during a teaching run, storing this information for later reproduction. This eliminates the need to perform complex SLAM processing during every iterative operation, as the path is pre-established and simply reproduced afterward.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the travel path and operational data during the teaching run, then reproduces this copied information during subsequent operations. Instead of recalculating the complete path using SLAM each time, the system replicates the stored waypoint information, significantly reducing processing load while maintaining positioning accuracy.
2Quantity of substance
If recording continues under all conditions, then data completeness is improved, but data quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different recording strategies based on local conditions - it terminates recording when specific termination conditions are met (such as when the work vehicle is stationary or when operational data is unavailable), ensuring that only high-quality, meaningful data is stored rather than continuously recording all conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors multiple parameters simultaneously (positioning data quality, vehicle state, operational data availability) and changes the recording state based on these parameter values. When parameters indicate unsuitable conditions for recording, the system terminates recording, thereby maintaining data quality while still achieving reasonable data completeness.
3Adaptability or versatility
If user can freely alter travel path, then adaptability is improved, but operational efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the level of user control based on the operational context. During teaching run, users have full control to define the path. During reproducing mode, alterations are restricted to maintain efficiency. The control characteristics change depending on the operational phase, providing adaptability when needed while preserving efficiency during automated execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The system alternates between teaching mode (where path modification is encouraged) and reproducing mode (where path alteration is restricted). This periodic switching between flexible and rigid control modes allows the system to gather adaptive path information during teaching phases while maintaining operational efficiency during execution phases.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A travel control system for a work vehicle includes a positioning device to output position data of the work vehicle, a sensor to detect a state of the work vehicle and output sensor data, and a controller. In a recording mode, while the work vehicle is traveling, the controller is configured or programmed to record waypoint information including information concerning a position and the state of the work vehicle. In a reproducing mode, the controller is configured or programmed to control operation of the work vehicle during self-traveling based on the waypoint information recorded in the recording mode. In response to a user operation while in the recording mode to make an alteration to the state of the work vehicle to produce an altered state, the alteration that is based on the user operation is restricted when the altered state is unsuitable for recording of the waypoint information.