Residue sensing and cleaning system

A method for monitoring an accumulation of a residue on a transmission surface of a sensor of an agricultural machine and controlling a cleaning of the transmission surface, the method comprising:

• determining whether a first value for the transmission surface of the sensor satisfies a first threshold, the first value being determined from a first information captured by the sensor;
• activating, in response to determining the first value does not satisfy the first threshold, an operation of a cleaning system to remove at least a portion of the residue from the transmission surface;
• determining whether a second value for the transmission surface satisfies a second threshold, the second value being determined from a second information captured by the sensor, the second threshold corresponding to the transmission surface having less accumulated residue than the first threshold;
• and
• deactivating, in response to determining the second value satisfies the second threshold, the operation of the cleaning system.

A system for monitoring an accumulation of a residue on a transmission surface of a sensor of an agricultural machine, the system comprising:

• the sensor;
• a cleaning system;
• a controller having a processor;
• and
• a memory coupled with the processor, the memory including instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to:
• determine whether a first value for the transmission surface of the sensor satisfies a first threshold, the first value determined from a first information captured by the sensor and indicative of the accumulation of the residue on the transmission surface;
• generate, in response to a determination that the first value does not satisfy the first threshold, a first signal that indicates the accumulation of the residue on the transmission surface;
• determine, if the first threshold is not satisfied, whether a second value for the transmission surface satisfies a second threshold, the second value determined from a second information captured by the sensor after the sensor captures the first information and indicative of the accumulation of the residue on the transmission surface, the first threshold corresponding to a larger accumulation of residue on the transmission surface than the second threshold;
• and
• automatically activate, in response to a receipt of at least one of the first signal and the second signal, an operation of the cleaning system to remove at least a portion of the residue from the transmission surface.