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US006285930B1
(12) United States Patent ao) Patent No.: us 6,285,930 Bi
Dickson et al. (45) Date of Patent: Sep. 4,2001
(54) TRACKING IMPROVEMENT FOR A VISION GUIDANCE SYSTEM
(75) Inventors: Monte Andre Dickson, Naperville;
Bingcheng Ni, Clarendon Hills;
Shufeng Han, Darien, all of IL (US)
(73) Assignee: Case Corporation, Racine, WI (US)
( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
(21) Appl. No.: 09/514,475
(22) Filed: Feb. 28, 2000
(51) Int. CI.7 G05D 1/01
(52) U.S. CI 701/28; 701/23; 701/50
(58) Field of Search 701/23, 28, 50,
701/24; 11/25; 172/3, 4.5, 7
(56) References Cited
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FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
B-39747/95 11/1995 (AU) . WO 96/17279 6/1996 (AU) .
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Buffalo®, Scout 11 Guidance System, Paper No. Li-Sll
99450M, Fleischer Manufacturing, Inc., Columbus, NB.
Sukup® Guidance System Slide Guide, Paper No.
L1164-9205P, © 1992, Sukup Manufacturing Company,
Sheffield, IA.
Row Crop Navigator®, John Day Company, ©1994 Auto-
matic Equipment Mfg. Co., Pender, NB.
Sukup® Pivoting Guidance System Auto Guide, Paper No.
L1135-9301M, ©1993, Sukup Manufacturing Company,
Sheffield, IA.
* cited by examiner
Primary Examiner—-William A. Cuchlinski, Jr.
Assistant Examiner—Marthe Marc-Coleman
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Foley & Lardner
(57) ABSTRACT
An automatic vision guidance system for an agricultural vehicle is disclosed and described. The vision guidance system uses a K-means clustering algorithm in image processing to distinguish between crop and non-crop features. The vision guidance system utilizes moment algorithms to determine the location and orientation of crop rows, from which desired wheel angles are determined and steering is commanded. The vision guidance system may adjust the location and orientation of visually determined crop rows according to a predetermined distance between crop rows. Further, the vision guidance system may utilize a redundant number of regions of interest in determining crop row locations and orientations.
17 Claims, 12 Drawing Sheets
