Autonomous vehicle connected tool interchange systems and methods

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for execution by an autonomous vehicle, the computer-executable instructions comprising instructions for:

• determining a location corresponding to a connectable tool;
• determining an orientation for interconnecting with the connectable tool;
• aligning the autonomous vehicle for interconnecting with the connectable tool based on a location and an orientation of the connectable tool;
• engaging the connectable tool at one or more physical connection points and at least one electrical connection point;
• establishing power line modem (PLM) communications between the autonomous vehicle and the connectable tool via an electrical power connection resulting from the engaging the at least one electrical connection point;
• and
• before commencing full power operations over said electrical power connection, determining that the electrical power connection is without current diversion by:
• transmitting a fixed amount of non-lethal electrical power from the autonomous vehicle to the connectable tool via the electrical power connection, and
• determining whether the difference between the power transmitted by the autonomous vehicle and the power received by the connectable tool exceeds a threshold for indicating current diversion.

An autonomous vehicle comprising at least one subsystem capable of:

• determining a location corresponding to a connectable tool;
• determining an orientation for interconnecting with the connectable tool;
• aligning the autonomous vehicle for interconnecting with the connectable tool based on the location and the orientation of the connectable tool;
• engaging the connectable tool at one or more physical connection points and at least one electrical connection point;
• establishing power line modem (PLM) communications between the autonomous vehicle and the connectable tool via an electrical power connection resulting from the engaging the at least one electrical connection point;
• and
• before commencing full power operations over said electrical power connection, determining that the electrical power connection is without current diversion by:
• transmitting a fixed amount of non-lethal electrical power from the autonomous vehicle to the connectable tool via the electrical power connection;
• and
• determining whether the difference between the power transmitted by the autonomous vehicle and the power received by the connectable tool exceeds a threshold for indicating current diversion.