System and method of monitoring payload volume utilization on a work vehicle

A grapple payload volume utilization system comprising:

• a frame with a ground-engaging mechanism;
• a boom assembly coupled to the frame, wherein the boom assembly includes:
• an arch section pivotally coupled to the frame and moveable relative to the frame by an arch actuator,
• a boom section pivotally coupled to the arch section and moveable relative to the arch section by a boom actuator;
• and
• a grapple pivotally coupled to the boom section and moveable by a grapple actuator;
• an image capture device coupled to one of the frame and the boom assembly, the image capture device having a field of view including the grapple and configured to output an image data of the grapple;
• and
• a controller including a processor and a non-transitory computer readable medium having a program instruction permitting the controller to monitor the grapple arms, the program instruction when executed cause the processor of the controller to:
• receive the image data of the grapple from the image capture device;
• determine a grapple volume based on a position of the grapple arms relative to each other;
• identify an object of interest between the grapple arms, from the image data;
• determine a characteristic of the object of interest;
• calculate a grapple volume utilization based on the characteristic;
• and re-orient one or more of a boom and a grapple head based in part on the grapple volume utilization and the characteristic of the object of interest
• wherein the system is configured to provide real-time operator guidance based on the calculated grapple volume utilization and the determined characteristic of the object of interest.

A method of monitoring a grapple payload volume utilization for a work vehicle comprises:

• receiving an image data of a pair of grapple arms from an image capture device coupled to the work vehicle;
• determining a grapple volume based on a position of the grapple arms relative to each other;
• identifying an object of interest within the grapple arms of the image data;
• determining one or more characteristics of the object of interest;
• calculating a grapple volume utilization based on the one or more characteristics;
• and
• re-orienting one or more of a boom and a grapple head based at least in part on the grapple volume utilization
• wherein the method further comprises providing real-time operator guidance based on the calculated grapple volume utilization and the determined characteristic of the object of interest.