Land mapping and guidance system
A system and method for generating land maps of a land area. The land maps can include two-dimensional and three-dimensional land maps. The land maps may be efficiently generated based on field data obtained by mobile machines configured to traverse the land area, with the mobile machines associated with one or more sensors. The land maps may be used to accurately and efficiently guide other mobile machines as such mobile machines traverse through or operate within the land area.
1. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
a plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines for traversing the land area;
at least one sensor associated with each of said mobile machines, wherein said sensors are configured to obtain field data in the form of soil conditions, soil composition, or crop conditions as said mobile machines traverse the land area; and
a mapping device comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructs the processor to perform the following steps:
instruct the mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of said mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by said sensors associated with said mobile machines as said mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive paths,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area field, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value, and
instruct said mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area.
2. The mapping system of claim 1 , comprising at least two autonomously-operated mobile machines.
3. The mapping system of claim 1 , wherein said mobile machines comprise wheeled or tracked robotic machines.
4. The mapping system of claim 1 , wherein said mobile machines comprise aerial vehicles.
5. The mapping system of claim 1 , wherein said sensors comprise position detecting devices configured to obtain position data.
6. The mapping system of claim 5 , wherein said position detecting devices comprise global positioning system receivers.
7. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
one or more computing devices configured to—
instruct one or more autonomously-operated mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of the mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by sensors associated with the mobile machines as the mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive path, the sensors being configured to obtain field data in the form of soil conditions, soil composition, or crop conditions,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area field, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value, and
instruct the mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area.
8. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
one or more computing devices configured to—
instruct one or more autonomously-operated mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of the mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by sensors associated with the mobile machines as the mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive path,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value, and
instruct the mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area,
wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to generate a land map of the land area based on the field data collected by the autonomously-operated mobile machines traversing the initial drive paths and the secondary drive paths,
wherein the autonomously-operated mobile machines comprise a set of first mobile machines, wherein the mapping system further comprises a second mobile machine, wherein the second mobile machine is configured to be guided through the land area based on the generated land map.
9. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
a plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines for traversing the land area;
at least one sensor associated with each of said mobile machines, wherein said sensors are configured to obtain field data as said mobile machines traverse the land area; and
a mapping device comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructs the processor to perform the following steps:
instruct the mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of said mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path, wherein adjacent initial drive paths are separated by an initial separation distance based on a size of the land area,
receive field data obtained by said sensors associated with said mobile machines as said mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive paths,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value, and
instruct said mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area.
10. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
a plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines for traversing the land area;
at least one sensor associated with each of said mobile machines, wherein said sensors are configured to obtain field data as said mobile machines traverse the land area; and
a mapping device comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructs the processor to perform the following steps:
instruct the mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of said mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by said sensors associated with said mobile machines as said mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive paths,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value, wherein the expected value is an average value of the field data collected by the sensors of each mobile machine, and
instruct said mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area.
11. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
a plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines for traversing the land area;
at least one sensor associated with each of said mobile machines, wherein said sensors are configured to obtain field data as said mobile machines traverse the land area; and
a mapping device comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructs the processor to perform the following steps:
instruct the mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of said mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by said sensors associated with said mobile machines as said mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive paths,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value, wherein the expected value is a slope value of the land area adjacent to a boundary of the land area, and
instruct said mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area.
12. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
a plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines for traversing the land area;
at least one sensor associated with each of said mobile machines, wherein said sensors are configured to obtain field data as said mobile machines traverse the land area; and
a mapping device comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructs the processor to perform the following steps:
instruct the mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of said mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by said sensors associated with said mobile machines as said mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive paths,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with at least two of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area, with such anomalous area being between the at least two initial drive paths, and
instruct said mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area.
13. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
a plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines for traversing the land area;
at least one sensor associated with each of said mobile machines, wherein said sensors are configured to obtain field data as said mobile machines traverse the land area; and
a mapping device comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructs the processor to perform the following steps:
instruct the mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of said mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by said sensors associated with said mobile machines as said mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive paths,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value, and
automatically instruct said mobile machines, based on the identification of the anomalous area, to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area.
14. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
a plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines for traversing the land area, each of the plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines including a guidance controller for controlling operation of the autonomously-operated mobile machine;
at least one sensor associated with each of said mobile machines, wherein said sensors are configured to obtain field data as said mobile machines traverse the land area;
a mapping device comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructs the processor to perform the following steps:
instruct the mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of said mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by said sensors associated with said mobile machines as said mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive paths,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value, and
instruct said mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area, and
wherein the steps of instructing said mobile machines to traverse along the initial drive paths and the secondary drive paths include sending instructions to the guidance controllers to control said mobile machines in traversing along the initial drive paths and the secondary drive paths.
15. A mapping system for obtaining field data for a land area, said mapping system comprising:
a plurality of autonomously-operated mobile machines for traversing the land area;
at least one sensor associated with each of said mobile machines, wherein said sensors are configured to obtain field data as said mobile machines traverse the land area; and
a mapping device comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium with a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructs the processor to perform the following steps:
instruct the mobile machines to traverse the land area, wherein each of said mobile machines is instructed to travel along an initial drive path,
receive field data obtained by said sensors associated with said mobile machines as said mobile machines travel along their respective initial drive paths,
analyze the received field data to determine if the field data associated with any of the initial drive paths deviates from an expected value by more than a predetermined amount,
upon a determination that the field data associated with one or more of the initial drive paths deviates from the expected value by more than the predetermined amount, identify an anomalous area within the land area, with such anomalous area being adjacent to the one or more initial drive paths that deviates from the expected value,
instruct said mobile machines to traverse along secondary drive paths extending through the anomalous area, and
generate a land map of the land area based on the field data collected by said mobile machines traversing the initial drive paths and the secondary drive paths,
wherein said autonomously-operated mobile machines comprise a set of first mobile machines, wherein said mapping system further comprises a second mobile machine, wherein said second mobile machine is configured to be guided through the land area based on the generated land map.