Granted Patent B2

US 12,724,423 · App. 18/767,674 · Granted Sep 1, 2026

Inventors: Scott N. Clark (Bettendorf, IA); Nathan R. Vandike (Geneseo, IL); Nathan E. Krehbiel (Bettendorf, IA); Patrick D. Elledge (Le Claire, IA)

Assignee: Deere & Company

G05D1/249A01D41/127G05D1/622G05D2105/15G05D2107/21

Abstract

Claims (66)

1 . An agricultural system comprising;

a sensor system disposed on a drone communicably coupled to and remotely positionable from an agricultural work machine at a worksite;

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions, executable by the one or more processors, that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

identify a plurality of attributes to be detected;

identify one or more characteristics of an obstruction at the worksite;

generate, based, at least, on the one or more characteristics of the obstruction, a travel plan for the drone, the travel plan instructing travel of the drone at the worksite to detect the plurality of or more attributes;

control the drone based on the travel plan to travel at the worksite to detect, with the sensor system, the plurality of attributes and generate sensor data indicative of the plurality of attributes;

determine the plurality of attributes based on the sensor data; and

control, based on the determined plurality of attributes, one or more of:

a travel speed of the agricultural work machine;

a travel direction of the agricultural work machine;

a position of a component of the agricultural work machine; and

an operating speed of a component of the agricultural work machine.

2 . The agricultural system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more characteristics of the obstruction include one or more of:

a location of the obstruction; and

a future location of the obstruction.

3 . The agricultural system of claim 2 , wherein the obstruction comprises a debris cloud.

4 . The agricultural system of claim 2 , wherein the obstruction comprises a moveable component of the agricultural work machine.

5 . The agricultural system of claim 4 , wherein the moveable component is a part of an unloading subsystem of the agricultural work machine.

6 . The agricultural system of claim 1 , wherein travel plan includes one or more monitoring locations and a monitoring sequence, wherein each monitoring location of the one or more monitoring locations is associated with a respective set of the plurality of attributes and wherein the monitoring sequence instructs an order in which the drone is to travel to each of the one or more monitoring locations.

7 . The agricultural system of claim 6 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:

identify the one or more monitoring locations based, at least, on the plurality of attributes; and

identify the monitoring sequence based, at least, on the one or more characteristics of the obstruction.

8 . A computer implemented method comprising:

identifying a plurality of attributes to be detected;

identifying one or more characteristics of an obstruction at the worksite;

generating, based, at least, on the one or more characteristics of the obstruction at of the worksite, a travel plan for a drone, the travel plan instructing travel of the drone at the worksite to detect, with a sensor system disposed on the drone, the plurality of attributes;

controlling the drone based on the travel plan to travel at the worksite to detect, with the sensor system disposed on the drone, the plurality of attributes to be detected and generate sensor data indicative of the plurality of attributes;

determining the plurality of attributes based on the sensor data; and

controlling, based on the determined plurality of attributes, one or more of:

a travel speed of the agricultural work machine;

a travel direction of the agricultural work machine;

a position of a component of the agricultural work machine; and

an operating speed of a component of the agricultural work machine.

9 . The computer implemented method of claim 8 , wherein identifying the one or more characteristics of the obstruction comprises identifying one or more of:

a location of the obstruction; and

a future location of the obstruction.

10 . The computer implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the obstruction comprises one of a component of the agricultural work machine or a debris cloud.

11 . The computer implemented method of claim 8 , wherein identifying the one or more characteristics of the obstruction comprises:

obtaining weather data indicative of one or more weather attributes at the worksite.

12 . The computer implemented method of claim 8 , wherein identifying the one or more characteristics of the obstruction comprises:

obtaining data indicative of an upcoming unloading operation.

13 . The computer implemented method of claim 8 , wherein generating the travel plan comprises generating the travel plan including one or more monitoring locations and a monitoring sequence, wherein each monitoring location of the one or more monitoring locations is associated with a respective set of the plurality of attributes and wherein the monitoring sequence instructs an order in which the drone is to travel to each of the one or more monitoring locations.

14 . The computer implemented method of claim 13 , wherein generating the travel plan comprises:

identifying the one or more monitoring locations based, at least, on the plurality of attributes; and

identifying the monitoring sequence based, at least, on the one or more characteristics of the obstruction.

15 . An agricultural system comprising;

a sensor system disposed on a drone communicably coupled to and remotely positionable from an agricultural work machine at a worksite;

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions, executable by the one or more processors, that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

identify a plurality of attributes to be detected;

identify one or more characteristics of an obstruction at the worksite;

generate, based, at least, on the one or more characteristics of the obstruction, a travel plan for the drone, the travel plan instructing travel of the drone at the worksite to detect the plurality of attributes and including one or more monitoring locations and a monitoring sequence, wherein each monitoring location of the one or more monitoring locations is associated with a respective set of the plurality of attributes and wherein the monitoring sequence instructs an order in which the drone is to travel to each of the one or more monitoring locations;

control the drone based on the travel plan to travel at the worksite to detect, with the sensor system, the plurality of attributes and generate sensor data indicative of the plurality of attributes;

determine the plurality of attributes based on the sensor data; and

control, based on the determined plurality of attributes, one or more of:

a travel speed of the agricultural work machine;

a travel direction of the agricultural work machine;

a position of a component of the agricultural work machine; and

an operating speed of a component of the agricultural work machine.

16 . The agricultural system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more characteristics of the obstruction include a future location of the obstruction and wherein the obstruction comprises a debris cloud.

17 . The agricultural system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more characteristics of the obstruction include a future location of the obstruction and wherein the obstruction comprises a moveable component of the agricultural work machine.

18 . The agricultural work machine of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:

identify the one or more monitoring locations based, at least, on the plurality of attributes; and

identify the monitoring sequence based, at least, on the one or more characteristics of the obstruction.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (140)