Vehicle row follow system

1. A vehicle row follow system comprising:

a vehicle comprising at least one sensor configured to output signals serving as a basis for a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud and to output signals corresponding to a two-dimensional (2D) image of a region forward the vehicle;

a processor;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions to direct the processor to:

output control signals to the at least one sensor to capture a particular 2D image of a region forward the vehicle;

output control signals to the at least one sensor to output the signals serving as a basis for a particular 3D point cloud of the region forward the vehicle;

determine plant row lines in the 2D image;

determine a yaw of the vehicle based upon a slope of a heading line relative to a centerline between the plant row lines in the 2D image;

identify consecutive plant rows in the particular 3D point cloud;

determine a lateral offset of the vehicle from a centerline between the consecutive plant rows based upon the identity of the consecutive plant rows in the 3D point cloud; and

output steering control signals based upon the determined yaw and lateral offset of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle row follow system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a stereo camera.

3. The vehicle row follow system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are to direct the processor to use texture and feature mapping to determine the plant row lines in the 2D image.

4. The vehicle row follow system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are to direct the processor to use a histogram and a vanishing point to determine the plant row lines in the 2D image.

5. The vehicle row follow system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are to direct the processor to identify the consecutive plant rows in the particular 3D point cloud based upon the determined plant row lines in the 2D image.

6. The vehicle row follow system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are to further direct the processor to:

obtain wheel odometry and inertial measurement unit signals;

determine a second yaw of the vehicle and a second lateral offset of the vehicle based upon the wheel odometry and the inertial measurement unit signals;

adjust the determined yaw of the vehicle and the determined lateral offset of the vehicle based upon the second yaw of the vehicle and the second lateral offset.

7. The vehicle row follow system of claim 6 , wherein the instructions direct the processor to adjust the determined yaw of the vehicle and the lateral offset based upon a fusing of the yaw and the second yaw and a fusing of the lateral offset and the second lateral offset.

8. The vehicle row follow system of claim 7 , wherein the fusing is with a Kalman filter.

9. The vehicle row follow system of claim 8 , wherein the fusing is with an extended Kalman filter.

10. A vehicle row following method comprising:

acquiring a two-dimensional (2D) image of a region forward a vehicle, the image depicting consecutive plant rows;

acquiring a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud of the region;

determining plant row lines corresponding to consecutive plant rows in a 2D image;

determining a yaw of the vehicle based upon a slope of a heading line relative to a centerline between the plant row lines in the 2D image;

identifying the consecutive plant rows in the 3D point cloud;

determining a lateral offset of the vehicle from the centerline between the consecutive plant rows based upon the identity of the consecutive plant rows in the 3D point cloud; and

outputting steering control signals based upon the determined yaw and lateral offset of the vehicle.

11. The vehicle row follow method of claim 10 , wherein the 2D image and the 3D image are acquired with a stereo camera.

12. The vehicle row follow method of claim 10 , wherein the determining of the slope is by application of texture and feature mapping.

13. The vehicle row follow method of claim 10 , wherein a histogram and a vanishing point are used to determine the plant row lines in the 2D image.

14. The vehicle row follow system of claim 10 , wherein the identifying of the consecutive plant rows in the 3D point cloud is determined based upon the determined slope in the 2D image.

15. The vehicle row follow method of claim 10 further comprising:

obtaining wheel odometry and inertial measurement unit signals;

determining a second yaw of the vehicle and a second lateral offset of the vehicle based upon the wheel odometry and the inertial measurement unit signals;

adjusting the determined yaw of the vehicle and the determined lateral offset of the vehicle based upon the second yaw of the vehicle and the second lateral offset.

16. The vehicle row follow method of claim 15 , wherein the adjustment of the determined yaw of the vehicle and the lateral offset is based upon a fusing of the yaw and the second yaw and a fusing of the lateral offset and the second lateral offset.

17. The vehicle row follow method of claim 16 , wherein the fusing is with a Kalman filter.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions to direct a processor, the instructions comprising:

2D image acquisition instructions for acquiring a two-dimensional image of a region forward a vehicle, the image depicting consecutive plant rows;

3D point cloud acquisition instructions for acquiring a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud of the region;

row line instructions for determining a slope of consecutive plant rows in the 2D image;

vehicle yaw instructions for determining a yaw of the vehicle based upon a slope of a heading line relative to a centerline between the plant row lines in the 2D image;

point cloud row identifying instructions for identifying the consecutive plant rows in the 3D point cloud;

lateral offset instructions for determining a lateral offset of the vehicle from the centerline between the consecutive plant rows based upon the identity of the consecutive plant rows in the 3D point cloud; and

steering response instructions for outputting steering control signals based upon the determined yaw and lateral offset of the vehicle.

19. The medium of claim 18 further comprising adjustment instructions for:

obtaining wheel odometry and inertial measurement unit signals;

determining a second yaw of the vehicle with respect to the centerline and a second lateral offset of the vehicle based upon the wheel odometry and the inertial measurement unit signals;

adjusting the determined yaw of the vehicle and the determined lateral offset of the vehicle based upon the second yaw of the vehicle and the second lateral offset.

20. The medium of claim 18 , wherein the row line instructions to direct the processor to identify the consecutive plant rows in the 3D point cloud based upon the determined slope of the consecutive plant rows in the 2D image.