Tillage implement with vision sensors
A control system for a tillage implement broadly includes front and rear sensors, a leveling assembly, and a controller. The front sensor is positioned on a front of a central section, wherein the front sensor is configured to obtain height information indicative of a height of the front of the central section above a ground. The rear sensor is positioned on a rear of the central section, wherein the rear sensor is configured to obtain height information indicative of a height of the rear of the central section above the ground. The leveling assembly is configured to adjust a front to rear orientation of the central section. The controller is configured to receive the height information from the front sensor and the height information from the rear sensor, and to provide instructions to the leveling assembly to adjust the front to rear orientation of the central section based on the received height information.
1 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium with a computer program stored thereon for controlling a tillage implement, wherein when executed by one or more processors the computer program instructs the one or more processors to perform the following steps:
receive, via a user interface, one or more target settings for soil conditions;
obtain, via one or more sensors, information indicative of one or more soil condition parameters of the ground, wherein the one or more sensors comprise a time-of-flight sensor;
generate soil condition parameters based on the information indicative of the one or more soil condition parameters;
compare the soil condition parameters with the target settings; and
adjust operating characteristics of the tillage implement based on the comparison between the soil condition parameters and the target settings.
2 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more target settings are selected from one or more of the following: target soil depth, target residue level, target soil levelness, target soil clod size, target soil moisture, and target soil temperature gradient.
3 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , where the one or more sensors comprise a time-of-flight sensor.
4 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , where the one or more sensors comprise a time-of-flight sensor with at least one or more additional sensors.
5 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4 , where the one or more additional sensors comprises an RGB camera or a temperature sensor.
6 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4 , where the one or more additional sensors comprises a LiDAR sensor, a radar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and/or a sonar sensor.
7 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more soil condition parameters are selected from one or more of the following: soil roughness and residue coverage.
8 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , where the soil condition parameters are generated based on machine vision algorithms and/or neural networks.
9 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein when executed by the one or more processors the computer program instructs the one or more processors to perform the following additional step:
generate an alert upon at least one of the one or more soil condition parameters falling outside of a target setting value or range.
10 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein when executed by the one or more processors the computer program instructs the one or more processors to perform the following additional steps:
generate a recommendation to perform an additional pass over all or part of the ground with the tillage implement.
11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the recommendation includes a recommendation to perform the additional pass using a different tool associated with the tillage implement.
12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the tillage implement includes one or more ground engaging tools, wherein said step of adjusting operating characteristics of the tillage implement includes:
automatically adjusting a position of the one or more ground-engaging tools.
13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein said step of automatically adjusting a position of the one or more ground-engaging tools includes automatically adjusting angles of the one or more ground-engaging tools.
14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein said step of automatically adjusting a position of the one or more ground-engaging tools includes automatically adjusting operating depths the one or more ground-engaging tools.
15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein said step of automatically adjusting a position of the one or more ground-engaging tools includes automatically adjusting down forces of the one or more ground-engaging tools.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the one or more ground-engaging tools include coulter blades.
17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the one or more ground-engaging tools include harrow assemblies.
18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the one or more ground-engaging tools include finishing reels.
19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the one or more ground-engaging tools include multiple tools that are separately adjustable from each other.
20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the multiple tools are different types of tools.
21 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the multiple tools are the same type of tool.
22 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the multiple tools include tools set apart laterally from each along a width of the implement.
23 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the tillage implement includes a frame, and wherein said step of automatically adjusting a position of the one or more ground-engaging tools includes automatically adjusting a position of the frame.
24 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the step of automatically adjusting a position of the frame includes adjusting the frame so that the frame is not level with respect to the ground.
25 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein said step of adjusting operating characteristics of the tillage implement includes automatically adjusting a speed of the tillage implement.
26 . An agricultural system comprising:
a tillage implement including at least one ground-engaging tool;
one or more sensors configured to obtain information indicative of soil condition parameters;
a user interface; and
a controller comprising a processing element and a memory element, wherein the controller is configured to:
receive, via the user interface, one or more target settings for soil conditions;
obtain, via the one or more sensors, information indicative of one or more soil condition parameters of the ground;
generate soil condition parameters based on the information indicative of the one or more soil condition parameters;
compare the soil condition parameters with the target settings; and
adjust operating characteristics of the tillage implement based on the comparison between the soil condition parameters and the target settings.