System and method for controlling the operation of agricultural sprayers

A system for controlling the operation of agricultural sprayers, the system comprising:

• an agricultural sprayer including a boom extending outwardly in a lateral direction and a plurality of nozzles mounted on the boom, the lateral direction extending perpendicular to a direction of travel of the agricultural sprayer;
• a vision-based sensor configured to capture data indicative of a crop row or a seedbed ridge present within a field across which the agricultural sprayer is traveling;
• a controller communicatively coupled to the vision-based sensor, the controller being configured to:
• identify the crop row or the seedbed ridge present within the field based on the data received from the vision-based sensor;
• determine a lateral distance defined between a nozzle of the plurality of nozzles and the identified crop row or the identified seedbed ridge in the lateral direction;
• and
• initiate a control action to adjust the position of the nozzle in the lateral direction when the determined lateral distance exceeds a predetermined maximum lateral distance.

An agricultural sprayer, comprising:

• a frame;
• a tank mounted on the frame, the tank being configured to store an agricultural substance;
• a boom extending outwardly from the frame in a lateral direction extending perpendicular to a direction of travel of the agricultural sprayer;
• a plurality of nozzles mounted on the boom, each nozzle being configured to dispense the agricultural substance stored within the tank;
• a vision-based sensor positioned on the agricultural sprayer such that the vision-based sensor has a field of view directed toward a portion of a field across which the agricultural sprayer is traveling, the vision-based sensor being configured to capture data indicative of a crop row present within the field;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the vision-based sensor, the controller being configured to:
• identify the crop row within the field based on the data received from the vision-based sensor;
• determine a lateral distance defined between a nozzle of the plurality of nozzles and the identified crop row in the lateral direction;
• and
• initiate a control action to adjust the position of the nozzle in the lateral direction when the determined lateral distance exceeds a predetermined maximum lateral distance.