Methods and apparatus to generate automated agricultural vehicle paths

1 . An apparatus to generate automated agricultural vehicle paths comprising:

interface circuitry;

machine readable instructions; and

programmable circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to:

receive an indication of a field to be worked;

obtain data representative of the field to be worked, the data indicating a perimeter of the field;

make a plurality of curvature measurements of a perimeter;

detect continuous portions of the perimeter where curvature is less than a turning radius of an automated vehicle;

label detected continuous portions as edges of the field;

analyze the edges of the field for suitability of working the field;

present edges on a user interface in order of suitability, from most suitable to least suitable, the edges to determine a basis of paths within the field;

in response to a user selecting a target edge of the edges, generate automated vehicle paths through the field, the paths being substantially parallel to the target edge and covering the field; and

cause a vehicle to perform an agricultural function following the paths.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein determining the edges of the field includes categorizing the edges as straight edges, edges that are curved but drivable, or edges that are curved and not drivable.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein suitability includes at least one of a length of an edge, a straightness of an edge, or an alignment with the field boundary.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein suitability is determined by an efficiency of the automated vehicle paths generated based on the target edge.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the efficiency of the automated vehicle paths includes at least one of a number of tracks to cover the field, a number of turns in the automated vehicle paths, an amount of total time the vehicle spends on the automated vehicle paths, or an amount time the vehicle spends turning on the automated vehicle paths.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the user selecting the target edge includes receiving an input from the user through a touch screen device.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the user selecting the target edge includes the user modifying at least one of a start point or an end point of the target edge.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the target edge is a curved edge and the automated vehicle paths includes curved portions offset from the target edge.

9 . A vehicle mounted touch screen apparatus to direct a vehicle along a path comprising:

an automated vehicle, the vehicle having a working implement; and

a touch screen computer including:

interface circuitry;

machine readable instructions; and

programmable circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to:

determine a target operating environment of the vehicle;

obtain data representative of the target operating environment, the data indicating a perimeter of a field;

determine edges of the field;

generate vehicle paths, ones of the vehicle paths based on corresponding ones of the edges, the vehicle paths being substantially parallel to the corresponding edges;

present edges to a user on the touch screen computer, the edges sorted by a quality of the corresponding vehicle paths;

in response to a user input, display a selected edge and a corresponding selected vehicle path;

in response to a user input, modify the selected edge by moving a selected endpoint of the edge around the perimeter in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction; and

begin automated operation of the vehicle after the modification, the vehicle to perform a task with the working implement along the selected vehicle path.

10 . The vehicle mounted touch screen apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the quality of the vehicle paths is at least one of a number of passes to cover the operating environment, a number of turns in the vehicle paths, an amount of total time the vehicle spends on the vehicle paths, or an amount time the vehicle spends turning on the vehicle paths.

11 . The vehicle mounted touch screen apparatus of claim 9 , wherein determining the target operating environment includes receiving location data from the vehicle or the user.

12 . The vehicle mounted touch screen apparatus of claim 9 , wherein receiving user touch input of the selected edge further includes the user modifying at least one of a start point or an end point of the selected edge.

13 . The vehicle mounted touch screen apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the working implement is mounted to the vehicle or towed from behind the vehicle.

14 . The vehicle mounted touch screen apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the selected edge is a curve and the corresponding vehicle path includes offset curves.

15 . A non-transitory machine readable storage medium comprising instructions to cause programmable circuitry to at least:

locate a field to be worked;

receive boundary data of the field, the boundary data representing a perimeter of the field;

detect edges within the boundary data;

evaluate the edges for a suitability of working the field;

present edges in order of suitability to a user, the user to select a target edge;

generate a vehicle path having a first pass that is a longest possible line operation of an automated vehicle within the perimeter, the longest possible line and the vehicle path to be substantially parallel to the target edge; and

control an automated vehicle to perform work along the vehicle path.

16 . The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the suitability includes at least one of a length, a straightness, or an efficiency of the vehicle path based on an edge.

17 . The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the efficiency of the vehicle path based on the edge includes at least one of a number of turns, a total drive time of the vehicle path, or a total turning time of the vehicle path.

18 . The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the longest possible line is a straight line.