Method and system for transporting an autonomous agricultural vehicle

1. A method for transporting an autonomous agricultural vehicle using a separate operator-driven agricultural vehicle, each of the vehicles having respective front ends and rear ends, each of the respective rear ends including a respective hitch, the method comprising:

arranging the autonomous agricultural vehicle and the operator-driven agricultural vehicle such that the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle faces the rear end of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle;

coupling the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle with the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle; and

towing the autonomous agricultural vehicle behind the operator-driven agricultural vehicle with the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle facing a forward travel direction of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle;

connecting an electrical system of the autonomous agricultural vehicle with an electrical system of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle to form an electrical connection; and

transmitting an electrical signal from the electrical system of the autonomous vehicle to the electrical system of the operator-driven vehicle to control the operation of a component of the autonomous agricultural vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , further including driving the operator-driven agricultural vehicle on a public road while towing the autonomous agricultural vehicle behind the operator-driven agricultural vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the operation of a component of the autonomous agricultural vehicle includes illuminating an indicator light of the autonomous vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 , further including sending a request from an operator-driven agricultural vehicle controller to an autonomous agricultural vehicle controller to control the operation of a component of the autonomous agricultural vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising connecting a hydraulic system of the autonomous agricultural vehicle with a hydraulic system of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle to form a hydraulic connection.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising controlling a hydraulic actuator associated with the hydraulic system of the autonomous agricultural vehicle from the operator-driven agricultural vehicle using the hydraulic connection.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein controlling the hydraulic actuator includes applying a brake of the autonomous agricultural vehicle based on an operator input received at the operator-driven agricultural vehicle.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein controlling the hydraulic actuator includes steering at least one wheel of the autonomous agricultural vehicle based on an operator input received at the operator-driven agricultural vehicle.

9. A method for transporting an autonomous agricultural vehicle using a separate operator-driven agricultural vehicle, each of the vehicles having respective front ends and rear ends, each of the respective rear ends including a respective hitch, the method comprising:

arranging the autonomous agricultural vehicle and the operator-driven agricultural vehicle such that the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle faces the rear end of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle;

coupling the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle with the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle; and

towing the autonomous agricultural vehicle behind the operator-driven agricultural vehicle with the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle facing a forward travel direction of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle;

wherein arranging the autonomous agricultural vehicle and the operator-driven agricultural vehicle includes automatically controlling, with one or more computing devices, the movement of the autonomous agricultural vehicle relative to the operator-driven agricultural vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein arranging the autonomous agricultural vehicle and the operator-driven agricultural vehicle further includes sensing, with one or more computing devices, a position of the autonomous agricultural vehicle relative to the operator-driven agricultural vehicle.

11. A method for transporting an autonomous agricultural vehicle using a separate operator-driven agricultural vehicle, each of the vehicles having respective front ends and rear ends, each of the respective rear ends including a respective hitch, the method comprising:

arranging the autonomous agricultural vehicle and the operator-driven agricultural vehicle such that the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle faces the rear end of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle;

coupling the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle with the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle; and

towing the autonomous agricultural vehicle behind the operator-driven agricultural vehicle with the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle facing a forward travel direction of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle;

wherein coupling the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle with the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle includes automatically actuating, with one or more computing devices, at least one of the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle or the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein coupling the hitch includes automatically sensing, with one or more computing devices, a distance between the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle and the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle and automatically moving, with the one or more computing devices, the autonomous agricultural vehicle relative to the operator-driven agricultural vehicle.

13. A system for transporting autonomous agricultural vehicles, the system comprising:

an operator-driven agricultural vehicle configured to be driven by an operator, the operator-driven agricultural vehicle including a front end facing towards a forward travel direction of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle, a rear end facing away from the forward travel direction, and a hitch attached to the rear end;

an autonomous agricultural vehicle configured for autonomous operation, the autonomous agricultural vehicle including a front end, an opposite rear end, and a hitch attached to the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle; and

wherein the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle is coupled with the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle such that the operator-driven agricultural vehicle is configured to tow the autonomous agricultural vehicle with the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle facing the forward travel direction of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle;

at least one of the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle or the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle includes a hitch arm and an associated actuator configured to deploy the hitch arm; and

the autonomous agricultural vehicle includes an autonomous agricultural vehicle controller including a processor and associated memory, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the implement controller to:

sense a hitch distance between the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle and the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle;

compare the distance with a predetermined distance range; and when it is determined that the sensed hitch distance is within the predetermined distance range, automatically deploy the hitch arm.

14. The system of claim 13 , further comprising:

a first electrical system associated with the autonomous agricultural vehicle; and

a second electrical system associated with the operator-driven agricultural vehicle, the second electrical system being electrically connected with the first electrical system to form an electrical connection between the vehicles when the operator-driven agricultural vehicle is towing the autonomous agricultural vehicle.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein:

the autonomous agricultural vehicle includes a first hydraulic system;

the operator-driven agricultural vehicle includes a second hydraulic system; and

the first hydraulic system of the autonomous agricultural vehicle is hydraulically connected with the second hydraulic system of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle to form a hydraulic connection when the operator-driven agricultural vehicle is towing the autonomous agricultural vehicle.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the operator-driven agricultural vehicle further includes an operator-driven agricultural vehicle controller in wireless communication with the autonomous agricultural vehicle controller.

17. A system for transporting autonomous agricultural vehicles, the system comprising:

an operator-driven agricultural vehicle configured to be driven by an operator, the operator-driven agricultural vehicle including a front end facing towards a forward travel direction of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle, a rear end facing away from the forward travel direction, and a hitch attached to the rear end;

an autonomous agricultural vehicle configured for autonomous operation, the autonomous agricultural vehicle including a front end, an opposite rear end, and a hitch attached to the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle; and

wherein the hitch of the autonomous agricultural vehicle is coupled with the hitch of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle such that the operator-driven agricultural vehicle is configured to tow the autonomous agricultural vehicle with the rear end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle facing the forward travel direction of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle;

wherein the autonomous agricultural vehicle includes an agricultural implement attached to the front end of the autonomous agricultural vehicle and facing opposite the forward travel direction of the operator-driven agricultural vehicle.