Mobile station for an unmanned vehicle

• US 20070042803A1
• Filed: 08/16/2005
• Published: 02/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Anderson, Noel
• Granted Patent: US 7,610,122 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/556.100
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 2201/0201 Agriculture or harvesting machine

Abstract

A mobile station for an unmanned vehicle comprises a vehicular storage area for storing a vehicle during transit or at rest. A first wireless transceiver communicates a status or command between the vehicle and the mobile station during at least one of vehicular deployment and rest. A station controller manages a management plan of the vehicle comprising at least one of retooling the vehicle, loading a payload on the vehicle, and recharging or refueling of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A mobile station for an unmanned vehicle, the mobile station comprising:

a vehicular storage area for storing a vehicle during transit or at rest;

a wireless communications device for communicating a status or command between the vehicle and the mobile station during at least one of vehicular deployment and rest; and

a station controller for managing an integral management plan of the vehicle comprising at least one of retooling the vehicle, loading a payload on the vehicle, and recharging or refueling of the vehicle.

2. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a communications interface for remotely monitoring at least one of the status of the vehicle and a performance of the integral management plan.

3. The mobile station according to claim 1 comprising a plan manager for managing coupling and decoupling of at least one implement to the vehicle to perform a particular task consistent with the integral management plan;

4. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

at least one sensor for collecting agronomic data, the at least one sensor associated with the vehicle, and

a management planner for developing an agronomic management plan as a component of the integral management plan based on the collected agronomic data.

5. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a soil moisture sensor for collecting soil moisture data, the soil moisture sensor associated with the vehicle;

a location-determining receiver for determining location data corresponding to the collected soil moisture data; and

a management planner for creating an agronomic management plan that includes irrigating a material portion of a field if the corresponding collected soil moisture data falls below a certain threshold for the material portion, defined with respect to the location data.

6. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a nutrient uptake sensor for detecting nutrient concentration data in at least one of plant tissue samples and soil samples, the nutrient uptake sensor associated with the vehicle;

a location-determining receiver for determining location data corresponding to the detected nutrient concentration data;

a management planner for creating an agronomic management plan that includes applying a deficient nutrient to a material portion of a field if the corresponding collected nutrient data falls below a certain threshold for the material portion, defined with respect to the location data.

7. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a plant disease detector for detecting a plant disease by gathering one or more sample images of crops, with or without magnification, the plant disease detector associated with the vehicle;

the communications interface transmitting the gathered images to a lab for analysis; and

a location-determining receiver for determining location data corresponding to the collected images.

8. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a plant disease detector for detecting a plant disease by gathering one or more samples of crop tissue and testing the tissue for the presence of a defined gene sequence indicative of a corresponding pathogen, the plant disease detector associated with the vehicle;

a location-determining receiver for determining location data corresponding to the collected samples; and

a management planner for creating a management plan that includes spraying a microbicide or fungicide in a material portion of the field if the corresponding test indicates the presence of the pathogen.

9. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a chlorophyll sensor for electromagnetically detecting a level of chlorophyll content of crop vegetation, the chlorophyll sensor associated with the vehicle;

a location-determining receiver for determining location data corresponding to the collected samples; and

a management planner that includes conducting plant disease detection and nitrate concentration readings in a material region where the detected level of chlorophyll falls below a certain threshold level, the material region defined with reference to the location data.

10. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a vehicular guidance system comprising a location-determining receiver for determining a location of the vehicle outside of the mobile station, and an optical positioning system for determining position data for the vehicle within an interior of the mobile station with reference to at least one of a recharging system, a loading system, and a retooling system.

11. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a container for storing a payload for disbursement in a designated field in accordance with an agricultural management plan;

12. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a door associated with the mobile station for ingress and egress of the vehicle;

an identification and authentication system for opening the door of the mobile station upon receipt of a vehicle identifier transmitted by the vehicle.

13. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising an intrusion detection system for determining whether an intrusion event has occurred and reporting the intrusion event to an end user via a communications network, the intrusion event comprising a person or entity violating a boundary or perimeter about the mobile station.

14. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising:

a first coupling unit attached to the vehicle;

a second coupling unit attached to a transportable module and engagable with the first coupling unit, wherein the transportable module comprises at least one of an implement, a tool, a payload, and a crop input.

15. The mobile station according to claim 14 further comprising:

a storage assembly for storing a group of transportable modules and generally aligning the first coupling unit with the second coupling unit by rotation or other movement of the storage assembly.

16. The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising a recharging system for recharging the vehicle with electrical energy.

17. The mobile station according to claim 1 wherein the mobile station comprises a shipping container, and wherein the vehicle is secured to an interior portion of the mobile station.

18. A method for operating an unmanned vehicle, the method comprising storing an unmanned vehicle in a mobile station during transit or at rest;

communicating a status or command between the vehicle and the mobile station during at least one of vehicular deployment and rest; and

managing an integral management plan of the vehicle comprising at least of retooling the vehicle, loading a payload on the vehicle, and recharging or refueling of the vehicle.

19. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

managing coupling and decoupling of at least one implement to the vehicle within the mobile station to perform a particular task consistent with an agricultural management plan;

20. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

collecting agronomic data, and developing an agronomic management plan as a component of the integral management plan based on the collected agronomic data.

21. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

collecting soil moisture data;

determining location data corresponding to the collected soil moisture data; and

creating an agronomic management plan that includes irrigating a material portion of a field if the corresponding collected soil moisture data falls below a certain threshold for the material portion, defined with respect to the location data.

22. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

detecting nutrient concentration data in at least one of plant tissue samples and soil samples;

determining location data corresponding to the detected nutrient concentration data;

creating an agronomic management plan that includes applying a deficient nutrient to a material portion of a field if the corresponding collected nutrient data falls below a certain threshold for the material portion, defined with respect to the location data.

23. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

detecting a plant disease by gathering one or more sample images of crops, with or without magnification;

transmitting the gathered images to a lab for analysis, if the gathered images do not indicate the presence of a plant disease with a desired level of reliability; and

determining location data corresponding to the collected images.

24. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

detecting a plant disease by gathering one or more samples of crop tissue and testing the tissue for the presence of a defined gene sequence indicative of a corresponding pathogen;

determining location data corresponding to the collected samples; and

creating a management plan that includes spraying a microbicide or fungicide in a material portion of the field if the corresponding test indicates the presence of the pathogen.

25. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

electromagnetically detecting a level of chlorophyll content of crop vegetation;

determining location data corresponding to the collected samples; and

conducting plant disease detection and nitrate concentration readings in a material region where the detected level of chlorophyll falls below a certain threshold level, the material region defined with reference to the location data.

26. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

determining position data for the vehicle within an interior of the mobile station with reference to at least one of a recharging system, a loading system, and a retooling system.

27. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

storing a payload for disbursement in a designated field in accordance with an agricultural management plan.

28. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

opening a door of the mobile station upon receipt of a vehicle identifier transmitted by the vehicle.

29. The method according to claim 18 further comprising determining whether an intrusion event has occurred and reporting the intrusion event to an end user via a communications network, the intrusion event comprising a person or entity violating a boundary or perimeter about the mobile station.

30. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:

engaging a first coupling unit attached to the vehicle to a second coupling unit attached to a transportable module and engagable with the first coupling unit, the transportable module comprising at least one of an implement, a tool, a payload, and a crop input.

31. The method according to claim 30 further comprising:

moving a storage assembly for storing a group of transportable modules and generally aligning the first coupling unit with the second coupling unit by rotation or other movement of the storage assembly.

32. The method according to claim 18 further comprising recharging the vehicle with electrical energy.

33. The method according to claim 18 further comprising securing the vehicle to an interior portion of the mobile station and shipping the mobile station via freight at an end of a growing season.

34. The method according to claim 18 further comprising shipping the mobile station after a particular task is completed, the particular task being selected from plowing, seeding, planting, fertilizing, harvesting, and spraying, moving soil, transporting material, removing material, a construction task, a turf-care task, mowing, removing grass, sand-trap raking, removing fallen leaves, removing trash, supplying military supplies, disposing of ordinance, collecting hazardous waste, inspecting soil for bio-hazard contamination, and detecting land mines.