Controlling an agricultural vehicle based on soil damage score
A soil measure, such as a soil cone index, and a vehicle index indicating the amount of force the vehicle exerts on the ground as it travels over the ground, are obtained and compared to identify a soil damage score. The soil damage score can be mapped over a field and an agricultural vehicle can be controlled based upon the soil damage score.
1. A computer implemented method, comprising:
obtaining a soil measure for soil indicative of an ability of the soil to bear a load;
obtaining a vehicle index indicative of a force imparted by an agricultural vehicle on the soil, as a load corresponding to the agricultural vehicle varies as the agricultural vehicle travels over the field;
comparing the soil measure to the vehicle index to obtain a comparison result;
identifying a soil damage value based on the comparison result; and
generating a control signal to control the agricultural vehicle based on the soil damage value.
2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein obtaining a soil measure comprises:
obtaining a plurality of different soil measure values, each soil measure value corresponding to a different geographic location across a field.
3. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein obtaining a vehicle index comprises:
identifying a plurality of different vehicle index values, each vehicle index value corresponding to a different geographic location across the field.
4. The computer implemented method of claim 3 wherein comparing the soil measure to the vehicle index comprises:
comparing each different soil measure value corresponding to a geographic location to a different vehicle index value corresponding to the geographic location.
5. The computer implemented method of claim 4 wherein identifying a plurality of vehicle index values comprises:
identifying the plurality of different vehicle index values accounting for the variation in the load as the agricultural vehicle travels along a travel path.
6. The computer implemented method of claim 5 wherein identifying the plurality of different vehicle index comprises:
identifying a set of vehicle characteristics corresponding to the agricultural vehicle; and
identifying the plurality of different vehicle index values accounting for the variation in the load as the agricultural vehicle travels along a travel path and based on the vehicle characteristics of the agricultural vehicle.
7. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein obtaining a plurality of different soil measure values comprises:
obtaining a map of each of the soil measure values mapped to the different corresponding geographic location.
8. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein obtaining a plurality of different soil measure values comprises:
obtaining, as the plurality of different soil measure values, a plurality of different cone index scores.
9. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein the agricultural vehicle is a planting machine and wherein obtaining a plurality of different soil measure values comprises:
detecting down force and down force margin on the planting machine; and
obtaining, as the plurality of different soil measure values, a plurality of proxy soil measure values based on the detected down force and down force margin.
10. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein obtaining a plurality of different soil measure values comprises:
obtaining a set of field characteristics corresponding to the field; and
predicting the plurality of different soil measure values based on the set of field characteristics.
11. The computer implemented method of claim 10 wherein obtaining a set of field characteristics comprises:
obtaining terrain data indicative of terrain along a travel path traveled by the agricultural vehicle across the field;
obtaining soil type data indicative of a soil type of the soil along the travel path; and
obtaining soil moisture data indicative of soil moisture along the travel path.
12. An agricultural system, comprising:
at least one processor; and
a data store that stores computer executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor cause the at least one processor to perform steps comprising:
obtaining a soil measure for soil indicative of an ability of the soil to bear a load;
obtaining a vehicle index indicative of a force imparted by an agricultural vehicle on the soil, as a load corresponding to the agricultural vehicle varies as the agricultural vehicle travels over the field;
comparing the soil measure to the vehicle index to obtain a comparison result;
identifying a soil damage value based on the comparison result; and
generating a control signal to control the agricultural vehicle based on the soil damage value.
13. The agricultural system of claim 12 wherein obtaining a soil measure comprises:
obtaining a plurality of different soil measure values, each soil measure value corresponding to a different geographic location across a field.
14. The agricultural system of claim 13 wherein obtaining a vehicle index comprises:
identifying a plurality of different vehicle index values, each vehicle index value corresponding to a different geographic location across the field.
15. The agricultural system of claim 14 wherein comparing the soil measure to the vehicle index comprises:
comparing each different soil measure value corresponding to a geographic location to a different vehicle index value corresponding to the geographic location.
16. The agricultural system of claim 15 wherein identifying a plurality of vehicle index values comprises:
identifying the plurality of different vehicle index values accounting for the variation in the load as the agricultural vehicle travels along a travel path.
17. The agricultural system of claim 13 wherein obtaining a plurality of different soil measure values comprises:
obtaining a map of each of the soil measure values mapped to the different corresponding geographic location.
18. The agricultural system of claim 13 wherein obtaining a plurality of different soil measure values comprises:
obtaining a set of field characteristics corresponding to the field; and
predicting the plurality of different soil measure values based on the set of field characteristics.
19. A computing system, comprising:
a soil measure identification system obtaining a soil measure for soil indicative of an ability of the soil to bear a load;
a vehicle index identification system obtaining a vehicle index indicative of a force imparted by an agricultural vehicle on the soil, as a load corresponding to the agricultural vehicle varies as the agricultural vehicle travels over the field;
a soil damage score generation system configured to compare the soil measure to the vehicle index to obtain a comparison result and identify a soil damage value based on the comparison result; and
a control signal generator generating a control signal to control the agricultural vehicle based on the soil damage value.
20. The computing system of claim 19 wherein the soil measure identification system is configured to obtain a plurality of different soil measure values, each soil measure value corresponding to a different geographic location across a field, wherein the vehicle index identification system is configured to identify a plurality of different vehicle index values, each vehicle index value corresponding to a different geographic location across the field, and wherein the soil damage score generation system is configured to compare each different soil measure value corresponding to a geographic location to a different vehicle index value corresponding to the geographic location.