A route search system for a work vehicle includes a receiver, a processor, and a controller. The receiver is to obtain a reference position of the work vehicle. The processor is to define, as a search area, an area around a vehicle reference point in a plan view. The vehicle reference point indicates the reference position of the work vehicle. The controller is to determine a guidance travel route along which the work vehicle is to travel and which is closest to the vehicle reference point in the search area among travel route candidates stored in a memory.

An object identification and collection method is disclosed. The method includes receiving a pick-up path that identifies a route in which to guide an object-collection system over a target geographical area to pick up objects, determining a current location of the object-collection system relative to the pick-up path, and guiding the object-collection system along the pick-up path over the target geographical area based on the current location. The method further includes capturing images in a direction of movement of the object-collection system along the pick-up path, identifying a target object in the images; tracking movement of the target object through the images, determining that the target object is within range of an object picker assembly on the object-collection system based on the tracked movement of the target object, and instructing the object picker assembly to pick up the target object.

A method of maintaining vehicle formation includes receiving a desired formation distance between a lead vehicle and a follower vehicle; receiving a pre-planned path for the follower vehicle; and defining a dynamic zone around a current position of the lead vehicle. The dynamic zone has a boundary characterized by a first radius from the current position of the lead vehicle. The first radius can be substantially equal to the desired formation distance. The method further includes determining a next speed of the follower vehicle based on a current position of the follower vehicle with respect to the boundary of the dynamic zone; determining a commanded curvature of the follower vehicle based on the current position of the follower vehicle with respect to the pre-planned path; and outputting the next speed and the commanded curvature to a control system of the follower vehicle for navigation of the follower vehicle.

A method, using an autonomous, unmanned device and a control device, includes the steps of automatically harvesting feed crop in a part of a crop field by means of the autonomous, unmanned device; automatically loading the harvested feed crop directly into a storage space provided on the autonomous, unmanned device without said harvested feed crop contacting the soil; choosing a destination location from a feeding location and a stationary crop processing location; automatically transporting the harvested feed crop from the crop field to the chosen destination location by means of the autonomous, unmanned device; and automatically unloading harvested feed from the storage space of the autonomous, unmanned device at the chosen destination location.

A control device includes a direction identifying data generator that generates direction identifying data including at least a portion of acquired point group data indicating a position of a region including the ridge in front of an agricultural vehicle in a traveling direction, a direction identification part that identifies a direction of the ridge on the basis of the direction identifying data, and a travel control part that controls the agricultural vehicle such that the agricultural vehicle travels in the direction of the ridge identified by the direction identification part.

A GNSS antenna 26 and an inertial measurement unit 25 are placed at a longitudinal center of a unit base 55 mountable onto a work vehicle. A wireless communication unit 27 is placed at the longitudinal one end side of the unit base 55. A wireless communication antenna 28 of the wireless communication unit 27 is placed in a front part of the unit base 55, which is located on the front side of a vehicle body when the unit base 55 is mounted on the work vehicle. The GNSS antenna 26 is provided above the inertial measurement unit 25.

An agriculture support device includes a traveling creator to create a scheduled traveling route of an agricultural machine in an agricultural field, a display controller to display on an external terminal a virtual traveling status of the agricultural machine to travel on the scheduled traveling route created by the traveling creator, and a correction permitting controller to permit correction of the scheduled traveling route created by the traveling creator when the external terminal requests the correction. The display controller displays, on the external terminal, the virtual traveling status and a result traveling status of the agricultural machine that has traveled on the scheduled traveling route.

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. In another example, a detector detects a fill level of a material storage compartment on an agricultural vehicle. The inflation pressure of tires on the agricultural vehicle is controlled based upon the detected fill level.

To make it possible to correct a current position detected by an autonomous traveling work machine to the correct position with a simple configuration. A robot lawn mower includes a first position detecting unit for detecting a current position by using odometry and a second position detecting unit for detecting a current position by using an image capture. When position detection accuracy of both of the first and second position detecting units decreases to less than or equal to a predetermined value, the robot lawn mower is controlled to travel to either of zones Z1 and Z2 in which the position detection accuracy of the second position detecting unit is relatively high, and when the robot lawn mower moves to either of the zones Z1 and Z2, a current position used for autonomous traveling is corrected to the current position detected by the second position detecting unit.

Described herein are mobile sensing units for capturing raw data corresponding to certain characteristics of plants and their growing environment. Also described are computer devices and related methods for collecting user inputs, generating information relating to the plants and/or growing environment based on the raw data and user inputs, and displaying same.